As a June, 2011 Ontario Chamber of Commerce report notes “Human capital - the ideas, skills and expertise of people - is a fundamental driver of economic growth”. A strong workforce is the basis for a flourishing economy and the reason behind the LEDC’s continued focus in this area. Recent headlines have brought attention to workforce development in London and we want to share with you one of the new programs we are engaged in to connect employers with the talent they need to grow and sustain their industries.
The workforce initiatives of the LEDC help to ensure a sufficient and appropriately skilled workforce is in place to support new business investments and local expansions. According to Phil Hunt, Director of Workforce Development with the LEDC, this comes down to a basic demand and supply equation.
“London businesses continue to have hiring requirements to support growth and we know from the unemployment numbers we have people looking to fill job vacancies. LEDC is working to connect employers to the appropriate academic, technical and/or trade skills that exist on the supply side” explains Hunt. Noting that our shifting economy is seeing changes in the types of skills required by businesses, Hunt states that “we need to stay on top of what emerging skills are required and work collaboratively with academia, government and industry to ensure the necessary training and re-training programs are available for those looking for work, and those entering the job market:businesses succeed when they can hire the appropriately skilled and experienced workers, when they need them.”
To facilitate the process of connecting employer needs with skilled labour and talent the LEDC is launching the Labour Market Information (LMI) Project. Funded by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, the LMI project is a community-driven research initiative to strengthen the London CMA region’s labour force planning system, by establishing the processes and tools to track the area’s current and projected labour market supply and demand, on an ongoing basis.
Local labour market information is critical to understanding the supply and demand of any workforce; this project’s goal is to develop that information and make it available for the local community to use. The LEDC in partnership with six key partners will identify, design and build a shared solution to address the challenge of providing sustained labour market information to assist employers, job seekers, students, support agencies, labour, government and educators.
The need for an on-going, consistent source of reliable, shared employment related data has been identified by many people, groups and organizations. Different audiences (employers, job seekers, supporting organizations) need different information that meets their needs and is clear, concise and consistent. The fact that so many entities are asking for this indicates the demand for a shared information system, where both the input data and results are broad enough to capture all audiences and provide useful information back to them.
The project intends to accomplish two key outcomes:
- Present a comprehensive and current overview of LMI to provide a foundation for future labour market planning and decision making.
- Develop a model for integrating various local economic data and labour market information within a community-based data consortium.
The LEDC has contracted Robert Collins to act as Program Director to coordinate the various activities across multiple stakeholder groups that will be required to achieve these goals. “We are very fortunate to have Robert acting as project lead. His experience in government and non-profit sectors, including leadership in one of London CMA’s top career assistance organizations ensures we have access to the best knowledge, skills and networks available to ensure the best possible outcomes.”
Hunt remarks, “This ongoing shared supply of labour market information is just what we need to help ensure this area’s future prosperity by knowing and developing our labour force to meet current and future needs. Adding to the LEDC’s workforce development portfolio, which includes completed projects and resources for public use such as Experience Works, Global Talent, London Works, the Student-2-Business Networking Conference and the Digital Interactive Gaming Conference, the LMI project will enhance our ability to connect employer needs with skilled labour and talent.”
For more information, or to see how your organization can get involved in this initiative, please contact either Phil Hunt at (519) 661-4526 or phunt@ledc.com, or Robert Collins at (519) 661-8471 or rcollins@ledc.com.
