The Research
Overview
Questions probed current staffing needs, skills required, difficulties hiring these skills, barriers to hiring, and the role of government income support programs in any hiring challenges.
Methodology
In the summer of 2022, an online survey was completed by 482 businesses within Alberta. In addition, 80 members of ACC’s insight community answered a number of follow-up questions appended to the end of the survey. These are found at the end of the report.
How we’ll use our findings
- Broaden and deepen the evidence the ACC and local chambers can bring forward to articulate the perspectives of the province’s business community
- Understand the reality faced by our business community
- Make the research available to individual chambers
Key Findings
- A majority of Alberta business continue to experience staffing shortages of significant or moderate nature.
- Four-in-ten say their workforce needs will likely increase in the next six months and 45% expect this to be the case for the year ahead.
- Almost half say they are already or are considering hiring outside the province in order to meet labour shortages.
- Three broad areas stand out as barriers to recruiting staff: a lack of applicants, the lack of candidates with the right qualifications such as interpersonal and technical skills, and a combination of wage-related issues including not being able to afford the going wage rate, budget constraints, and competition from other employers.
- Three-in-ten businesses say they have invested in capital equipment and/or other technologies to overcome skills shortages.
- This sector is among the most likely to report labour shortages and faces specific difficulties in hiring at the entry level and the high school educated.
- Private sector businesses are far more likely than public sector/NGOs to report significant labour shortages and to expect to increase staff in the next 6 to 12 months.