Workforce WindsorEssex summit May 12, 2017. (Photo by Maureen Revait) Workforce WindsorEssex summit May 12, 2017. (Photo by Maureen Revait)
Windsor

Skill Gap Concern Increases

Matching people to jobs is becoming more difficult in Windsor-Essex as the unemployment rate decreases and companies continue to grow.

Workforce WindsorEssex held a summit Friday to help employers and organizations develop tools to re-train and educate people to fill those roles.

Executive Director Michelle Suchiu says, with the unemployment rate at 4.9% last month, there are still a number of jobs in the community without people to fill them.

"The purpose of today is to create a pathway, a training pathway for those on demand occupation jobs. To say we need these skill sets, this is what we have currently available to us and how can we top those up," says Suchiu.

Stephen MacKenzie with the Economic Development Corporation says to continue to attract new companies here the community needs to show it has the people to fill the positions available.

"You can't recruit new companies in if you have no workers for them and our companies who are here who have the opportunity to grow, can't grow if they don't have the workers to do the work," says MacKenzie.

According to the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce the region's economy loses out on about $600-million annually due to the skills gap.

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