By HR Reporter |
‘Our immigration system does not make it easy for employers and immigrants to connect’
Canada’s immigration system is not meeting the needs of small and medium-sized employers that are facing significant labour shortages, according to a report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB).
More than three-quarters (76 per cent) of the employers surveyed have had difficulty hiring workers over the past five years due to skills and labour shortages. And the biggest difficulty is the lack of qualified applicants (71 per cent) as small businesses are looking for workers with a college diploma or apprenticeship training (46 per cent) followed by those with high school diploma or job-specific training (31 per cent).
To address this, 60 per cent of employers have improved working conditions — including salary, vacation and paid time off — to attract more candidates, while 78 per cent did so to retain employees, found the survey of 7,916 employers.
The labour shortages mean 41 per cent of small business owners are losing contracts or sales, and 34 per cent have had to cancel business plans, found CFIB.