Here is a concept that has been a tough one to cover. Friends and clients all the time make comments that they haven't seen much benefit from the so-called "Job Boom" here in Alberta. Yet company after company and employer after employer comment almost daily that they are struggling to fill key job vacancies.
So which is it? Is there a boom or isn't there?
Well what I would like to suggest that the answer to that question is BOTH, um .... sort of.
First, companies are struggling to fill employment needs, this is a fact. I can only talk directly from a contractors point of view in the Alberta market, but it is very apparent from many different sources that this booms is very much a reality.
Over the recent months the Government of Alberta has been providing a wide variety of stats informing the public, its staff and even its contractor, that even if it forced everyone who is able to work into a job, there would still be a shortage of in excess of 10,000+ workers. There has also been stats passed around but numerous sources claiming that the Alberta work force will be 100,000 short within the next 3-5 years. (Stats like this are very common. Unfortunately what I find, is that these stats differ greatly from source to source. It is my hope that I can do some extensive research and post some "actual" stats in the very near future.)
But even if we are to look at the at the low end of the spectrum, we are still facing a substantial deficit of workers in Alberta. We have had the Provincial Government agency that deals with employment just recently change its name completely from:
Alberta Human Resources & Employment
to
Alberta Employment, Immigration & Industry
This is the first time, self-admittedly, that the Alberta Government has had to look at Employers or "Industry" as a client. There is just such a need by employers for workers that the problem has grown to large to be ignore. The government, as well as their contractors, are currently in a huge scramble to try and identify, develop and implement viable solutions to the current Alberta Boom.
Now with that intro, let me explain a concept that is HUGELY over looked when we hear JOB BOOM. There are two major factors in most JOB BOOMS - 1) LABOUR SHORTAGES and 2) SKILL SHORTAGES:
Labour Shortage - is an overall shortage of workers within a current labour force
Skill Shortage - is a shortage of specific workers with specific skill sets within the current labour force
(Please be aware these are very simplified definitions as well as the fact that there are numerous factors, not just these two, that lead to JOB BOOMS.)
Just because we hear "JOB BOOM" doesn't mean that we are automatically dealing with both JOB shortages and a SKILL shortages. It may be that only one factor is affecting a certain area or province, yet we are generally us the term "JOB BOOM" to describe a complicated issue.
Find using the term "JOB BOOM", is similar to saying that I have a cold or I am sick. There are some general causes of colds or sickness, but to say that I am generally "sick" or "have a cold" simply states that I am experiencing a problem with common symptoms.
When examined, these symptoms can be caused by anything from a general cold to pneumonia or even more serious, life threatening ailments.
So if someone with where to say:
"I have a cold and I tried Neo Citran but it didn't help at all! I am so mad, I am still stuffed up and have a hard time breathing even though it says that it treats nasal and chest congestion."
It may be that they have purchased a bad batch of medication or that they TREATMENT they chose for the symptoms is actually the wrong one. If you have pneumonia, no amounts of Neo Citran will be able to help you, you need a specialized treatment to be able to remove that problem from your body.
This is very similar to my friends saying:
"There is no JOB BOOM, I have been looking for work for over 3 months now and I can't find any job that fits my skills. I am a computer programmer, with 20 years experience and I am having to work in a job making $10.00 an hour just to make the ends meet! This so called JOB BOOM is a joke!"
They have mistakenly viewed the Alberta JOB BOOM, like a common cold, requires a general fix. They have assumed that every sector requires workers, which is the general fix (Neo Citran) attributed to a LABOUR SHORTAGE. And just as in the above example, no matter how much of a general treatment someone takes, if it is a more complex or even different illness, it would solve the problem.
This computer programmer is in a sector that has an over abundance of workers, or what is commonly referred to as a SKILL SURPLUS. It doesn't mean that just because he can't find work in his sectors of choice, that the whole JOB BOOM is a farce.
He is trying to treat the WHOLE JOB BOOM with a general treatment when it is requiring a specific treatment which, namely large amounts of workers in SPECIFIC SECTORS OF HIGH DEMAND. Some sectors, like a $10.00/hr Customer Service job at Tim Horton's, are screaming for workers with specific skills to fill large voids in the service sector.
Now some will say that is the Timmy's example is a LABOUR SHORTAGE because anyone can do it! And I will respond to those comments, I will respond with a challenge. Go out to any service or restaurant based company, and see if ANYBODY can do that job in reality.
I have heard more people complain about bad service, poor food quality, long line ups and sub-par experiences atservice companies and restaurants then talk of the weather. It is common problem that most everyone can see. So in my opinion, clearly it isn't just a LABOUR SHORTAGE, it is also a SKILL SHORTAGE. Not only can't they find workers to fill thes service jobs that are available but the individuals who are filling them are deficent functional skills to do the job right.
Hope that makes some kinda sense? Sorry for the length, I will try and limit it to quick thoughts from now on.
Agree or Disagree, new insight is always welcomed,
The Boomsdayer
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