'Designed with business owners in mind': Aurora responds to pandemic's impact on labour market

#LabourPains: Business recovery hub, town initiatives among the solutions

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 14, 2021
Lisa Queen

No doubt the pandemic has changed the labour market landscape in less than two years.

That includes lockdowns killing off some businesses and leaving some others struggling to survive, employers scrambling to find staff in a job market where prospective employees hold the cards, workers re-evaluating their place in the workforce, work-from-home models and changing demands for delivery of products.

Aurora continues to respond to the changing business world.

Look no further than the new Accelerate Business Recovery Virtual Hub, a self-guided free resource open to all GTA businesses.

Launched by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, the hub provides supports for businesses, especially as they look to emerge successfully from the pandemic.

That includes video instruction curated by York University's Schulich School of Business on digital marketing, strategic planning and financial planning as well as individualized expert supports and a certificate of business management program for 100 business owners severely impacted by the pandemic.

“The hub was designed with business owners in mind,” chamber president Sandra Ferri said.

“The strong support we offer our business owners today will accelerate their businesses to new heights and see them grow and employ more people from our communities.”

Marian Bernard is an Aurora-based certified professional resume writer with more than three decades of experience partnering with clients to set them apart from other job-seekers.

She pinpointed three issues impacting the labour market.

The first is a juxtaposition of near-record job openings despite relatively high unemployment rates.

“Although Canada's unemployment rate declined from 6.9 per cent in September 2021 to 6.7 per cent in October 2021, it is still higher than the 5.7 per cent tally from February 2020, mere weeks before COVID-19 devastated life as we know it,” Bernard said.

“At the same time, job-seekers continue to vent that they have not been able to secure employment, even though they have accessed such prominent job boards as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Monster.ca.”

While these high-profile websites are often top-of-mind among job-seekers, clients can find themselves competing against thousands of other individuals, she said.

Job-seekers need to tap into the hidden job market where they will accelerate their chances of landing a job, Bernard said.

Second, job security has all but evaporated, with today’s average worker holding 12 jobs during their lifetime, Bernard said.

“Job-seekers must carve out the time and effort to keep up to date on trends in job searching, networking, and interviewing,” she said, adding bona fide career professionals also offer vast resources.

Third, job seekers need to gain confidence regarding the value they offer, including crafting resumes that illustrate how their expertise contributes to an employer's success, Bernard said.

Aurora is fortunate to have the Aurora Economic Development Corporation, which facilitated the town’s Economic Development Strategic Plan, according to an email from the town’s economic development division.

It identifies areas designed to address the town’s workforce development opportunities.

One of the first actions in 2021 was to gather business leaders from key sectors for industry roundtables called “Involved Aurora: Bringing Business to the Table”.

The leaders provided “excellent” feedback on current and future challenges in workforce recruitment and retention, the email said.

Moving into 2022, the town will implement initiatives related to retention of staff, training and recruitment targeted to local businesses.

In its “2021 Workforce Trends in York Region” report, non-profit Workforce Planning Board of York Region painted a picture of challenges and opportunities for the region’s labour market.

The pandemic has “radically altered the business landscape,” it said.

With the region dominated by small and medium-sized businesses, which make up 99 per cent of companies, the pandemic has taken a significant toll on businesses but could also result in future market possibilities.

The potential for more work to be executed from home could have significant consequences for York Region, including an increase in demand for local services, it said.

There needs to be a focus on the shortage of skilled trades in York Region as well as improving job opportunities for youth and immigrants, the report said