By Canadian HR Reporter |
Despite low confidence in the economy, Canadian entrepreneurs are looking to invest more in hiring new talent and in training employees in the first quarter of 2020, according to a report from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
Entrepreneurs have a -37 confidence in the world economy, down 11 points from the previous quarter, based on a survey of 1,000 business owners of small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs). However, confidence in increasing the number of employees is at +19, from +11 last quarter, while spending on employee training is up to +8 from +6 in the final quarter of 2019.
Business owners will also invest more in technology (up +10 from +8), marketing initiatives (up to +11 from +7) and intellectual property (up to +2 from -2).
Business owners in the manufacturing sector (+15 from +14) show the most confidence in investing while those in the retail and wholesale trade sectors (-10 from -9) are the least confident.
Talent attraction is one of the top concerns for C-suite members for the year 2020, according to a global report. More than two-thirds (66 per cent) of Canada’s employers are also set to exceed payroll budgets to attract new hires, says Hays Canada.