Canadian Chamber wants to get Canadians back to work, the smart way

(OTTAWA) – June 9, 2020 – The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Senior Director of Workforce Strategies and Inclusive Growth, Leah Nord, released the following statement today in an effort to get Canadians back to work in a coordinated and strategic way.

“To move out of this crisis, through transition and into recovery, Canada’s path starts and ends with small businesses, the drivers of our economy. The solutions they need going forward need to be designed by business for small businesses, in addition to being sector-specific and tailored by communities for communities. These solutions need to be driven by local and real time data, including labour market information and delivered through local employer collaborations.

Local employer collaborations will help to connect the skill sets of Canadians to businesses and communities where they are needed most. They can also be used to collect and analyze local data and related information that can be collated at the community, regional, provincial/territorial and national levels.

The strength of this approach is that it allows for managing and mitigating both major expansions and contractions in the economy and workforce.  It would allow Canada to build resiliency in the labour market, and futureproof workforce planning.

We need labour market solutions in five key areas that are specifically designed for our national and community economies. They are:

• Career guidance and awareness
• Recruitment, onboarding, retention  and career laddering
• Inclusive growth outcomes
• Identification and implication of training, upskilling and reskilling
• Overall labour market data and workforce planning

Even before COVID-19, Canada’s industries and workforce were facing significant changes and challenges. We need a system that provides local business with the talent they need. Canada’s recovery will start on Main Streets across Canada, and we need a program that will be there to support them.”

The Roadmap to Recovery is part of the ongoing relief and recovery effort of the Canadian Business Resilience Network. Supported by the Government of Canada and led by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the network is a coordinated, business-led, inclusive campaign to help businesses emerge from this crisis and drive Canada’s economic recovery. Click here to learn more.

About the Canadian Chamber of Commerce – Because Business Matters

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce helps build the businesses that support our families, our communities and our country. We do this by influencing government policy, by providing essential business services and by connecting businesses to information they can use, to opportunities for growth and to a network of local chambers, businesses, decision-makers and peers from across the country, in every sector of the economy and at all levels of government, as well as internationally. We are unapologetic in our support for business and the vital role it plays in building and sustaining our great nation.

For more information, please contact:

Alita Fabiano

External Communications Officer

afabiano@chamber.ca

613.716.8039