In the recent 2016 Tourism HR Canada study “Labour Challenges Threaten Tourism’s Growth”, sixty percent of employers surveyed felt that labour issues were a significant challenge, with respondents identifying that the greatest labour difficulty was finding qualified and reliable employees.
While this issue isn’t unique to the tourism and hospitality sector, most workforce organizations have yet to fully embrace the power of true sector strategies. To be effective, regions and organizations need to focus on a more strategic role in building regional talent pipelines, addressing skill gaps and creating meaningful career pathways. By connecting the business community with the local academic and employment service providers, workforce development organizations can think more broadly and create demand-driven, full-scale sector strategies to help businesses thrive and grow beyond simply placing workers in jobs and arranging training.
OTEC has been leading in the development of workforce strategies to help connect job seekers at all skill levels, including entry level candidates, to the training they need to access jobs. OTEC’s sector partnership planning model brings together the powerful voices of employers, stakeholders and practitioners to identify what employers are looking for, and, what employers can do to attract motivated candidates. Successfully implemented in four Ontario regions: Kitchener/Waterloo, Kingston, Windsor and Toronto, OTEC has seen quantifiable results and actionable outcomes benefitting those regions.
In a transitioning labour market the key to business and community success is partnerships and the right planning process to reveal the gaps holding the sector back. To learn about OTEC’s Tourism and Hospitality Regional Sector Partnership Planning Services click here!
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