Shanny Hallé – QMI Agency
Friday, 11 August 2017 19:39
UPDATE
Friday, 11 August 2017 19:39
Look at this article
A lack of labor history! It is as well as Sherbrooke Innopole described as a situation.
“It is quite critical. No, from memory, I’ve never experienced it. The first issue that comes to the top of the list, this is not the need for funding, or to find customers. No, it is the workforce,” says Josée Fortin from Sherbrooke Innopole.
Machinists, welders, labourers… In the industrial park of Sherbrooke, nearly one company out of two is in search of labour.
In the Fountain, it needs to fill a dozen positions by the fall.
“I think in all the businesses currently, we are looking for staff. It is sure that you want to attract the best candidates, the most qualified people,” explains Geneviève Couture, advisor, marketing and human resources, at the Fountain.
Currently, the unemployment rate is down 6 % in the region. However, it is difficult to quantify the number of vacancies in the region.
“The mass recruitment is a big challenge. We participate, we try all the ways to recruit, with programs of search engine optimization employees. But this is not easy to get a cv,” says Martin Ball, chairman and chief executive officer of Wiptec Pick, Pack & Ship.
Fifty employees of Neptune Technologies have lost their jobs this week. However, they are not likely to stay on unemployment much longer. Twenty if them are already in process to be relocated.
“With the situation of full-employment current, it will be very easy for these employees to relocate,” adds Fortin.
The lack of employees can have important consequences, such as slow development and the growth of some businesses.
“It will have to be imaginative and think outside of the box, but it is already thinking of avenues to solutions”, said Ms. Fortin.
To get out of this impasse, Sherbrooke Innopole is working on strategies such as the automation of processes, the promotion of employment among young people, and develop internship programs, and retention of foreign students.
