Technicolour Dreams and a Cold Splash of Reality: Waking up to the labour shortage and what to do about it.

Atlantic Canada has to wake up to the reality of the labour shortage before it is too late. A tremendous shortfall of workers has already begun to wreak havoc on certain industries and impedes economic growth.

This Commentary, Technicolour Dreams and a Cold Splash of Reality: Waking up to the labour shortage and what to do about it, is based on remarks delivered by AIMS acting President Charles Cirtwill to the Nova Scotia Trucking Human Resource Sector Council. Cirtwill explains that, like the trucking industry, there are several fields where workers are far too hard to come by in Atlantic Canada.

First, the dream of surplus labour. This is the NUMBER ONE problem facing every industry in Canada. We have a labour shortage now, and it is only going to get worse.
In 2001, AIMS estimated that by 2020 there would be almost 80,000 fewer workers in Atlantic Canada, 11,000 in Nova Scotia.

Technicolour Dreams examines the causes and effects of Atlantic Canada’s labour woes while applauding measures taken by the industry as an excellent contribution to help solve the problem.

With zero unemployment comes severe disruption in the economy, goods don’t get made, crops don’t get picked, product doesn’t get delivered, people go hungry. It is this problem, and its devastating result, that your work in expanding the opportunities in your industry to non traditional entrants will help to overcome.

To read the complete Commentary, click here.