TPT November 2019

G LOBA L MARKE T P L AC E

seen companies change their on-boarding processes to help acclimate those who don’t have the most appropriate skill match.”  Millie Marshall said that Toyota is looking to attract personnel who offer teamwork, problem solving and collaborative working skills, whether from high school, college or even the local coal mines. “Technology is always changing. We have the philosophy our current workforce will have the ability to change with it.” Greenhouse growers see battles for labour while the sector booms The recruitment challenge is not confined to manufacturing. Greenhouse vegetable and flower growers in Canada are facing their own recruitment battle. The greenhouse, nursery and floriculture sectors employ 16 per cent of agricultural workers in Canada and are well used to labour shortages, especially with the current national low unemployment rate. Latest available data shows that the horticulture industry lost $76mn in 2014 when 2,800 vacancies remained unfilled. The Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council (CAHRC) said that gap is expected to grow to 7,500 workers by 2025. Since cannabis was legalised in Canada, in October 2018, the industry has expanded rapidly. As cannabis growing demands the same skill set as growing flowers or vegetables there are only so many skilled workers to go around, and the skilled workers are gravitating to cannabis growers. Andrew Morse, head of the Flowers Canada industry group, commented: “Many of the cannabis producers are very cash rich. They’ve got the resources to pay a very good wage.” Justine Taylor, science and government relations manager for Ontario’s greenhouse growers, believes it is not just the high wages that appeal to workers: “It is a rapidly growing new industry. It’s an exciting new field. It’s very attractive to young people, especially [those] trying to get into the sector.” Statistics Canada reports that, just a month after legalisation, the cannabis sector employed 10,400 workers – a 266 per cent increase from the previous year – at an average hourly rate almost ten per cent higher than the national average. However, the most acute labour gaps are in middle management, causing greenhouse operators to look further afield for appropriately qualified staff: “…including overseas,” added Ms Taylor. Andrew Morse believes that greenhouse operators may need to “lean more heavily on foreign worker programmes or they might have to look for ways to incentivise the local population to take on more of those jobs.” Foreign workers account for 28 per cent of the sector’s employees, with many farms relying on a federal programme

maker Toyota is struggling to source the standard – and number – of workers it needs. In 2017, when Toyota invested $600mn in a plant expansion to build 40,000 extra vehicles a year, it assumed a workforce of 6,000. The current workforce, of around 5,600, is 400 short of Toyota’s target for the plant. Plant manager Millie Marshall believes the region’s flat population trend and low unemployment rates are, in part, responsible: the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows unemployment at 3.4 per cent in Indiana, 4.3 per cent in Kentucky, and 4.2 per cent in Illinois during July 2019. The increase in Toyota’s capacity means the plant’s suppliers must also expand and recruit, so exacerbating competition for the skilled and motivated people who are available. Workforce demand “overpowering” “Not a lot of folks are coming into the area,” Marshall explained to the Evansville Courier and Press . “The sweet spot for southwest Indiana is manufacturing. We have a lot of good paying competitive jobs, but the demand for the workforce is overpowering. We are pulling from the same group.” [31 August, Southwest Indiana employers thirsting for good workers, Evansville Courier & Press ]. Marshall added that local companies are having to re-evaluate their recruiting strategies to avoid simply depleting one another’s workforces, and are searching and advertising further afield. Data from the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana shows that Toyota is not alone. Sara Wortsell, executive director of Grow Southwest Indiana Workforce , perceives a need “…for more technically skilled individuals, and that’s across the board with every manufacturer in our nine-county region.” “Building the brand” to attract workforce Greg Wathen, CEO of the Economic Development Coalition , said social media is playing its part in attracting a new workforce to the area. Agencies are using LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram to connect with potential candidates; individuals with previous connections to Evansville or the surrounding communities are considered prime candidates. Recruiters are also taking advantage of local events for advertising and promotion. As Mr Wathen described it: “We have to continue building the brand.” Mr Wathen believes there are around 13,000 job vacancies waiting to be filled. “Technical skills are in demand, but economic development officials say ‘soft skills’ are important too. Toyota and other companies say technical skills can be taught when people are reliable and willing to learn. We have

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NOVEMBER 2019