Since the last months, the workplace has been greatky affected by the economic downturn due to Covid-19.

We have seen an unprecedented and spectacular jump in the umemployment rate during the crisis, but we must not believe that the labor shortge is now a thing of the past.

Indeed, despite the significant economic slowdown and this rise in unemployment, several companies (manufacturing sector, civil engineering and construction, real estate, science, environment, information and telecommunications technologies, etc) are still having difficulty recruiting workforce, espacially for skilled jobs.

Data from the Labor Force Survey (EPA) confirm that this health crisis affects each sector in very different ways. But we have the same concern about the labor shortage that there was before the pandemic and there are still thousands of jobs to be filled in Quebec and Canada for several sectors of economic activity.

There is definitely a challenge in this employment stratum. We needeed brains and arms before the pandemic, and we still need them today. Nothing as changed, althought at first glance it may seem really surprising. The basin of workers for there types of jobs is simply not sufficient in Québec.

We also notice that one of the most pressing issue related to several sectors is the aging workforce. Currently, about 40% of Canadians aged 60 to 69 are in the workforce, compared to 34% in Québec (Source). As the baby boom generation moves into retirement, the skills shortage will continues, as there will not be enought new engineering graduates in Canada to remplace them (Source).

In addition, it shoud be noted that in Canada, the manfacturing sector provides jobs for more than 1.7 million people ( 9% of the Canadian workforce). It represents more than 10% of Canada's GDP and 68% of all the country's merchandise exports and can make a real difference for the return to growth of the Québec economy.

So in a such context, we encourage young people to continue their studies in engineering and in other sectors in high demand in order to keep pace with the growth of the sectors and fill this labor shortage.

If you are already a recent graduate, you will have a number of employment options to choose from and you will have no difficulty building a long and successful career in these booming industries. The processes related to the recruitment continue and companies are always on the active search for new talents.

If you are an employer and have vacancies that are causing you difficulty, please contact us to see how we coul help you.