Vol 4, Issue 1, April 1, 2021
Hamilton's Labour Market Connection
Your weekly news & updates from WPH!
In this week's edition: WPH has moved! ; 2020-2021 year in review from WPH; Hamilton LMI February 2021
WPH Has MOVED!

This is not an April Fool's joke - after many years in the City Centre Building - WPH has moved our office location. We are now located at 1 Young Street in Hamilton.

Please update your mailing list: 1 Young Street, Suite 218, Hamilton, L8N 1T8
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A Year in Review for WPH

It's been a challenging year for many businesses. WPH faced our own challenges but are excited as we enter our new fiscal year which means many new projects will be launching.

We spent the year monitoring our local community labour market and studying the trends happening in Hamilton as businesses and our community were adjusting to the ever changing regulations. Our partnership projects were each a success and we have included an overview of each our projects below. As we pivoted to working from home and adjusting to new working parameters, we would like to thank all our partners who contributed to our projects success throughout the year. We enjoy working closely with our community partners and look forward to future projects together.

The main projects we released this year are listed in detail below.

  1. Restart & Recovery: COVID-19 in Hamilton
  2. Business Impact Survey - EmployerOne Report
  3. Employer Apprenticeship Toolkit
  4. Scenario Planning Project
  5. Hamilton's Local Labour Market Plan Report
  6. Skills for the Future forum

Please note French versions of our publications are also available on our website.
Restart & Recovery:
COVID-19 in Hamilton

The world’s economy has been shaken by the global COVID-19 pandemic, shutting down cities, millions of people losing their jobs, and ultimately taking the lives of many people. Hamilton was no exception; and the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on our city, our economy, and our labour market.

Workforce Planning Hamilton knew it was important to understand the impact COVID-19 had on Hamilton businesses and this survey was aimed at local employers to gather real time information. The survey was open from August 10 to 19th 2020, to all sectors and sizes, and focused on main aspects of business. We received 244 responses, and although this may not be a statistically significant result, the aggregate data collected will provide insight to how Hamilton businesses are faring during these challenging times (for most). The breakdown of businesses that completed the survey shows a good representation reflecting Hamilton’s economic make-up.
Business Impact Survey - EmployerOne Report Launched!
The results are in! For the eighth year Workforce Planning Hamilton (WPH) has delivered the EmployerOne Survey. This year, EmployerOne pivoted; we partnered with City of Hamilton Economic Development to develop and distribute the Business Impact Survey. This survey included workforce development question from our usual EmployerOne survey but also focused on the impacts businesses have endured through the global pandemic. Hamilton employers across all industries shared their hiring experience on the most in-demand jobs in Hamilton and highlighted recruitment, retention and skills concerns. This survey provides a snapshot of how local employers were fairing in the January 2020 labour market. This year 1,559 employers completed the EmployerOne Business Impact survey.

Employer Apprenticeship Toolkit COMPLETED!
Workforce Planning Hamilton (WPH) in collaboration with Mohawk College Apprenticeship Community Hub (The Hub) have developed online content to support your recruitment and retention efforts to support Apprenticeship success. Many small and medium employers (SME) have identified barriers and have difficultly navigating the apprenticeship process. In an effort to ensure a seamless navigation of process, it is our hopes that this will lead to more skilled apprentices to fill the jobs industry has been requesting. 



Hamilton's Scenario Planning Partnership Project
Workforce Planning West is comprised of the nine Workforce Planning Boards operating in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Members include Chatham-Kent Workforce Planning Board, Elgin Middlesex Oxford Workforce Planning and Development Board, Four County Labour Market Planning Board, Niagara Workforce Planning Board, Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board, Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie, Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin, Workforce Planning Hamilton, and Workforce WindsorEssex.

The factors and scenarios were enveloped by research and consultations with employers, service providers, and other stake holders in the community. Each scenario has potential recommendations and we have an overall recommendation at the end for the project. This then is an opportunity to find an overlap with your organization or think about how other stakeholders in the community can be connected to this project.

Each report describes how the supply and demand of the labour market in Southwestern Ontario may shift in the next 12-24 months as a result of COVID-19 and identifies specific actions and initiatives that employment and training services, government, secondary and post-secondary education, and community leaders can implement in the near future to mitigate impacts or bridge skills gaps that emerge in each of the future scenarios.




Hamilton's Local Labour Market Plan
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Workforce Planning Hamilton takes great pride in releasing our latest Labour Market Plan. The LMP is the result of Workforce Planning Hamilton’s evidence-based planning process that documents
Hamilton’s current labour market conditions and creates a plan that captures key labour market issues and priorities.

Our Local Labour Market Report looks at the labour market in 2020 and reveals the top trends. This includes tracking news stories in the local media and reviewing any reports that we have developed or other research conducted by community partners. We also review the latest statistics available through Statistics Canada and review this information and how it aligns with and enhances local intelligence gathered through our own employer networks. Finally, we check in with local employment service providers to understand how these conditions are impacting the clients that they serve and how those clients are faring in the local economy.

This year eight indicators are also added in the appendix that tracks the labour market in the medium term. Many of the indicators are also incorporated into the report.
Skills for the Future Forum

WPH partnered with Mohawk College Enterprise to present our virtual series: Skills for the Future Forum. A series of three weekly virtual interactive sessions featuring in-depth discussions and learning from a range of experts delving into the skills of today with a focus on the future. 

Session 1. February 9: Skills in a Pandemic Era

Session 2. February 16: Funding Opportunities to Support Skills Development

Session 3. February 23: The Evolution of Workplace Skills

We had a range of speakers and panelists in each sessions that fostered an interactive dialogue creating excellent discussions with those attending. We have captured some of the discussions and are happy to share these videos with you! They can be found on our Youtube Channel.
Hamilton Labour Force Information:
February 2021

The Hamilton COVID Concierge for Business is a one-stop online resource centre and phone line dedicated to supporting Hamilton businesses with their COVID-19 business questions and concerns.
Hamilton businesses can call the COVID Concierge at 905-521-3989 (Mon-Fri, 8:30am-4:30pm) or Contact Us online.


The Hamilton COVID Concierge for Business is brought to you by the Hamilton COVID Concierge Team, comprised of the City of Hamilton and the three local Chambers of Commerce.
Workforce Planning Hamilton | 905-521-5777| info@workforceplanninghamilton.ca | www.workforceplanninghamilton.ca