The EmployerOne Survey is conducted annually from January 1-31.  It is a Provincially mandated project under the Local Board Program and is conducted in 8/9 Western Region Boards.  This survey allows us to hear directly from employers about their experiences with the workforce in the previous calendar year.

The CKWPB is a provincial board under the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. CKWPB has been a recognized board under the program since 2013.  The board is tasked with gathering, analyzing, and disseminating local labour market information that will help organizations with planning to meet the needs of our local workforce.

 Is the lack of available rental housing in Chatham having an effect on either attracting workers or employers to the area?

Many CK Employers are currently struggling with filling their workforce needs.  It is the down side of having low unemployment!  It means that those who can and want to be working are pretty much out there working.  The needs of our employers exceed the availability of our talent pools right now.  We need to bring more workers to ck, which means that, if they are coming from any distance, accommodations will be required. 

     Is there any prevalent employment trends in C-K right now? 

Many sectors are struggling right now to fill vacant positions.  Pain points have been hit in the senior health care sector (including all roles in long term care facilitites); Early Child hood education sector; Manufacturing; and our Agricultural sector (including green houses, cannabis operations).  Age trends show that we will most likely continue to have high demands for support in the Senior Health Care, and ECE areas.  Manufacturing has changed significantly over the last 15-20 years, and there is a new skills base needed.  The cannabis sector is so new, that we can’t even begin to fully understand how deeply it will impact our workforce in the coming years!

    What advice would you give to job seekers in C-K?

There are lots of great jobs here in CK!  Many of the employers who responded to the EmployerOne Survey state that they are planning to hire in 2019 – in most cases they are hoping to hire to fill their existing vacancies with the potential to grow their operations –

Be diligent in your job search – career exploration is the key to finding your career – spend time networking, talk to people, learn about what is out there….

      What efforts are being made to get young people to return to C-K after graduation from post-secondary education? 

Many organizations and community groups are doing great work to encourage CK’s youth to return home after graduating from post-secondary school.  One of the best things we can do as a community, is to educate our students and young people about the great opportunities that exist here in CK!  If they don’t know what awesome careers and opportunities exist here, then they’ll never know they want them!