Troy Media – By Todd Hirsch
Admittedly, 2009 has been a tough year for Alberta’s economy. Anyone who thought the province was finally off the boom-and-bust rollercoaster that we’ve ridden in the past was proved wrong. Of all provincial economies, we’ve gone from the fastest growing to the fastest contracting in two short years. While the busts are unpleasant, they do provide a golden opportunity to address a looming issue in the province – one that must be dealt with before another boom is upon us. That issue is literacy and basic skills training.
New data released at a Literacy Alberta breakfast presentation this week revealed some shocking developments in our labour market. The data were collected and analyzed by T. Scott Murray, the President of Ottawa-based DataAngel Policy Research. Murray has years of expertise in scrutinizing statistics related to literacy, skills, and the labour force.
An individual’s literacy and skills level can be grouped into five basic categories – Level 1 skills being the lowest, and Level 5 the highest.
According to Murray’s analysis, Alberta faces a classic problem of mismatched supply and demand. There is currently a serious under-supply of skills – that is, literacy and skills levels among certain groups are too low. But there is also the lesser-known issue of an under-demand for skills – many workers’ skills are being underutilized.
Currently in Alberta, there are 400,000 jobs filled by workers with Level 1 skill levels, but the peak demands of these jobs require higher basic literacy and competency skills. In other words, there are times at which these workers won’t be able to adequately do their jobs. The implications for human safety, productivity, and efficiency are clear.
At the same time, Murray points to more than 600,000 jobs in Alberta which require Level 3 skills, but are filled by workers with higher-than-required skill levels. They are not given the opportunity to make full use of their skills, resulting in enormous waste, inefficiency, and worker disengagement.
So, 400,000 workers are being asked to do things for which they don’t have proper skills, and another 600,000 workers are being underutilized. That’s a supply and demand mismatch of skills and jobs affecting about one million Alberta workers – nearly half the entire labour force.
Two different problems requiring two different solutions.
The solution to the first problem, in which workers don’t have adequate skills, is a no-brainer: provide more literacy and skills training to the Level 1 workers. While that should seem quite simple, it’s rarely high on the agendas of companies and governments. Admittedly, governments are all strapped for cash these days.
But boosting basic literacy levels in the workforce is an investment in the economy, and should be considered “stimulus” spending. Cash is tight for companies, too, but what better time to send workers for skills upgrading than during a lull in activity? More generous tax credits for spending on training – like the kind available for investing in R&D or depreciation on capital assets – could give companies added incentive.
Obviously, productivity-enhancing investments in better machinery and equipment can help the economy. Why are skills and literacy enhancements not treated the same way?
Do you know what skills do your workers possess?
Solutions to the second problem, in which workers’ skills are underutilized, is not as straightforward. Employers may not even be aware of the skills possessed by their workers. And workers themselves may not even be aware of what they are capable. Making better use of workers’ skills doesn’t mean just piling on more work. It means taking the time to discover what employees can do, and finding ways to engage those skills in a meaningful way. The worker wins, the company wins!
The recession of 2009 should not sidetrack the efforts to address labour shortages. Yes, unemployment rates are rising, but this is temporary. Over the next few years, labour and skills shortages will once again emerge as a challenge to the economy.
Making sure today’s workers are literate and possess adequate skills to do their jobs is both an economic and a safety issue. And making full use of our workers’ exiting skills is critical to boosting productivity and competitiveness. We may be smarter than we think!
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