The Need For Talent
There has never been a greater need for talent attraction, retention, and development in the Windsor-Essex region. On one-hand, demand for skilled workers is at a historic high in our region: according to Statistics Canada, there were more job vacancies in the last quarter of 2018 in Windsor-Sarnia economic region than ever recorded (9,720), employment reached an all-time high in May 2019, and unemployment numbers have remained historically low. Further, employers in Windsor-Essex face chronic labour shortages: in recent consultations with local employers, we found that 78% struggle to fill key positions, while 25% are concerned about the loss of their workforce due to retirements.
On the other hand, the region is vulnerable to systemic losses of important segments of our workforce. For every two working people with a university education who moved to Windsor-Essex from another part of Canada between 2011 and 2016, 3 left. For every 10 working people between the ages of 25 and 44 who moved to Windsor-Essex from another part of Canada in this time frame, 13 left.
STARTYQG TOOLKIT
To support local organizations in attracting and developing a robust and diverse workforce in the Windsor-Essex region, the Workforce WindsorEssex, the region’s Local Employment Planning Council, created a toolkit for local organizations to develop regional talent attraction and retention strategies and authored blog posts featuring individuals who have chosen to relocate to Windsor-Essex for work.
