In a town with few jobs today, they’re planning for the labour shortages of tomorrow!

It seems kind of strange to be talking about jobs going begging when your unemployment is as high as it is today, but over the next ten years that could very well be the situation on the North coast.

With an expected turn around of the local economy to come (we hope) over the next few years and existing companies facing a retirement drain of their current work force, the plans are being put together to make sure that local residents have the necessary skills to take on those jobs when they become available.

Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest is working on the Pacific Northwest Gateway Skills Initiative, a project funded by BCIT and Service Canada and designed to determine what skills are presently being used by local businesses and what skills will be required in the future.

The General Manager of Community Futures of the Northwest, Maynard Angus explained the scope of the project and what the net result of it will be; his plans were previewed in Monday’s edition of the Daily News.

GROUP LOOKING TO HELP FILL THE NORTH COAST SKILLS GAP
Community Futures finding out where skills shortages are likely to appear
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, October 23, 2006
Pages One and Five

Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest is working with employers and employees to come up with a detailed picture of what skills will be needed to fill local jobs in the future.

Maynard Angus, general manager of Community Futures of the Northwest, introduced the Pacific Northwest Gateway Skills Initiative to the business community at a chamber of commerce lunch meeting last week.

“There’s a concern about a shortage of a skilled work force, that’s the foundation of this project. There’s a shortage coming and in some cases it’s here now,” said Angus.

Funded by BCIT and Services Canada, the project will assess what skills are currently being used by local businesses, what skills will be needed as future businesses develop, what the retirement rate looks like for the current workforce and when new skills will be needed in the future.

“Just from some of the phone calls we’ve done, in five years are going to hit a shortage, not just with city workers but also teachers. And Ridley Terminals, for example, the average age is 48 years old out there,” said Angus.

“We are doing an inventory search and a GAP analysis, so we will find out what does it look like today, what will it look like in three years, five years and 1o years.”

Community Futures hopes to have a draft report completed by Jan. 31, 2007 with a final report by Feb. 15, 2007.

The report will assess all eight communities on the North Coast that are within Community Futures’ area – Prince Rupert, Port Edward. Metlakatla, Oona River, Dodge Cove, Lax Kw’alaams, Metlakatla and Hartley Bay.

While many reports have been done on the larger skills shortage facing the province, this is the first study of this kind on a local level.

“We talked to quite a number of people and nobody has even seen anything like it (for this area.)” said Angus.

“It will be really interesting because when we get that report it will tell us what are the skills that are out there right now, where are the gaps and when will the gaps occur. There may not be any gaps right now, but in three years we will be able to see where they are going to be.”

Once the report is complete, the findings of the Pacific Northwest Gateway Skills Assessment will go out to educational institutions to help them design training programs.

This way institutions like Northwest Community College and BCIT will know that in three years this is where the needs are going to be. And at the same time, Community Futures is also working hand-in-hand with the Prince Rupert Port Edward Economic Development Commission.

The two entities will work together to find out where employers from the region go to attract prospective employees. This will help the city determine where to send out information for future residents, to attract them to employment opportunities locally.

“We are both going down this road but it’s two different directions that will accomplish the same outcomes,” said Angus.