Business and the staffing challenge

Businesses are facing the challenge of finding qualified and skilled staff in the current labor market. With unemployment at its lowest level ever, businesses must turn to available talent pools like vocational schools, community colleges and trade unions to find qualified professionals.

The post will explore what this means for business owners and what they can do about it.

One-Stop-Shop for Staffing Needs

Some businesses will take advantage of a new recruitment option in the form of a job and career fair. The fair allows businesses to create a section of their stand specifically for their own needs. For example, small businesses can use this as an opportunity to find temporary staff like weekend and evening workers. They can also promote internships and work experience placements for college students, which could be a stepping stone into full-time employment.

While attending the job fair, employers will have the chance to browse applications from potential candidates who have completed questionnaires in advance and register their details on a database to show potential suitability for selection at future events. This is also a great chance for employers to meet with potential staff who may be interested in working for them so they can set up personal interviews.

Another option is to view the fair as a recruitment campaign, which allows employers to advertise their company on the fair's website and select applicants from a pool of applicants who have submitted their information online in advance. This approach enables businesses to find the right candidate at the right time.

Job Fairs vs Recruitment Campaigns

There are both advantages and disadvantages of each approach. In terms of recruiting, employers must be aware that they will only be allowed to display one stand at each fair, with each employer only allowed one stand per event.

With recruitment campaigns, employers can advertise their company and recruit staff through a series of online applications. Recruitment campaigns are flexible; employers can increase or decrease the number of those applying for available positions at any time and they can choose whether to contact everyone who has applied online or just those who have been selected as potential candidates.

As well as providing a variety of ways for businesses to find skilled professionals, the government is also encouraging businesses to employ post-secondary graduates. With unemployment at its lowest level ever, businesses looking to fill vacancies will need to resort to post-secondary graduates during this period.

Currently, employers are entitled to a $1,000 tax credit for each new hire who is a post-secondary graduate and they will be eligible for an additional one-time credit of $2,000 if that employee has been on the job for at least six months.

This program was already active until 2019; however, the federal government decided to extend the incentive beyond this time frame by adding another $3 million per year to help businesses take advantage of this opportunity in July 2017.

Skills Gap is Real Challenge

The shortage of skilled professionals in Canada is a real challenge facing businesses across all industries at the moment. A skills gap is apparent in many jobs on the market at the moment, causing employers to turn to new ways of recruiting staff.

Job fairs and recruitment campaigns are just two ways for businesses to find suitable candidates. As skilled professionals become more difficult to find, businesses can look forward to more job fairs in 2017 and beyond.

References

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadian-economy-skilled-labour-jobs-shortage-1.4146415

] Canada's economic growth faces threat from skills gap: report | CBC News |  | http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadian-economy-skilled-labour-jobs-shortage-1.4146415

An Aside: Post Secondary Education Graduate Jobs in Canada

It is not just employers who will benefit from the introduction of the new Tax Free Canada child care benefit. It is also parents and caregivers, who can now receive a tax deduction on education related costs. This is a significant change as it allows parents to choose the school that best suits their children by taking advantage of tax incentives.

Child care expenses will be eligible for the new child care expense tax credit if you paid for child care during the year, either in person or through an electronic payment system. School fees are also eligible if they were provided in the year by an educational institution to a child 18 years or younger for which you claim one of the following:

– The child is enrolled in a full time program, either at school or university.

– You provide care or supervision for children under the age of 18 at an educational institution that provides full time education.

– You are providing care or supervision for children under the age of 18 at a specialized facility that provides programs to help adults attain post-secondary education credentials.

The new tax-free childcare expenses tax credit is available to Canadians with business income, regardless of whether they have children who depend on them to work. This means it can be used to consolidate income and reduce taxes.

Parents can take advantage of the new tax-free childcare expenses by having their employer arrange to withhold the new tax credit directly from their paycheque. Parents will no longer receive a T4A, which is how they received it in the past.

For more information visit https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/child-care-expenses.html

The Government of Canada offers an Employment Insurance Policy for Post Secondary Graduates

The federal government's EI program is designed to help graduates who have been affected by the skills gap and are looking to enter the workforce. The program can provide financial support to students who are having difficulties finding a job upon graduation and who lose their eligibility for coverage under the Canada Student Loan regime or from other assistance programs.

With an Employment Insurance Policy for Post-Secondary Graduates, graduates can continue to receive EI benefits for up to one year of the date on which they received their diploma, certificate or degree. These benefits provide support in cases where graduates have experienced a reduction of income as a result of being unable to find work that matches their skills and experience.

Employees who have graduated within the past six months can take advantage of this program, which provides you with financial assistance while you are looking for employment in your field.

To find out whether you are eligible for an EI policy for Post-Secondary Graduates and to apply for it, you must apply online via the Service Canada website. This program is only available if you have not yet accessed your EI benefits for the year and if you paid into the program while you were in school.

The application process is straightforward. It requires that you provide information about your education, career plans, work experience and volunteer activities. You must also provide proof of courses taken during your studies (transcripts).

When applying online, the system will ask questions to determine if you qualify and how much money they will pay you based on your answers.

Conclusion

The skills gap doesn't seem to be going anywhere for businesses that are looking to hire skilled candidates. On the bright side, there are unemployment benefits available for post secondary graduates who have been in their field of work for less than 18 months. Available from the federal government and from Service Canada, the Employment Insurance (EI) plan was designed with such graduates in mind. Applicants who have been recently graduated will be eligible for up to one year of EI coverage at a reduced benefit rate and without any waiting period.

It is not all bad news though as employers can now take advantage of a new tax credit on child care expenses which allows them to deduct up to $8,000 per year depending on how many children they have.