Solving for Shortages Series: Employer Experiences and the Labour Market Across Atlantic Provinces

Under the Atlantic Revitalization project, PPF investigated pre-COVID-19 skills and labour shortages in Atlantic Canada and their interaction with immigration to and from the region. PPF partnered with Memorial University to convene employers, leaders in workforce development, immigrant settlement and post-secondary education, business association representatives and decision-makers in provincial and federal governments to discuss employer’s experiences hiring and retaining skilled workers including newcomers and international students, and contextual factors.

The qualitative results from these consultations in each Atlantic province were then combined with labour analysis by Memorial’s research team led by Dr. Tony Fang, Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Cultural and Economic Transformation. Each province-specific report provides a picture of employers and communities experiences with skills and labour shortages in context to key factors affecting change before the COVID-19 pandemic. The reports conclude with employers’ recommendations for improving skilled and immigrant worker retention. 

Read the reports:

• Newfoundland and Labrador
• New Brunswick
• Prince Edward Island
• Nova Scotia

By: Dr. Tony Fang, Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Economic and Cultural Transformation and research team at Memorial University.