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Priority Sector Profile Reports

The Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) engaged in five Sector Planning Partnership Grants (SPPG) to better understand the changing landscape in Durham Region.  This included the healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, construction, and agriculture sectors.

The five sector profile reports were undertaken to provide an assessment of the current state of each sector at the local level in Durham. The analysis took into account the impacts of local workforce developments, technological advancements, and the pandemic to assess the required, sector-specific, supports required to ensure ongoing, positive growth and development.

The sector profile reports provide a detailed overview of each sector, analyze current data trends, and provide strategic guidance for local intervention in the economic and labour market development of local industry in each sector.

The need for this research was first signaled by the Region of Durham Economic Development and Tourism’s intention to update their regional economic development plan in the near future and workforce development is a key component of this plan.  To ensure each of the five sectors continues to grow and thrive within the region, it was essential to study the current state of the sector, the workforce, pandemic, technology impacts, and the required regional sector supports that will influence these sectors.

Click here to view the full sector reports.

DWA Guest Blog: Lorna Weston-Smyth

Here at Durham Workforce Authority (DWA), we are constantly looking for ways to ensure the community is aware of the valuable resources we provide. As part of that process, we are working to develop a series of monthly blogs to help our stakeholders better understand the value the DWA provides in the community.

For the month of August, we are proud to publish a Guest Blog Post featuring: Lorna Weston-Smyth – Executive Coach and Trainer and Independent Executive Director of the John Maxwell Team, LWS Coaching and Training.

“Adam Grant

‘In a stable world, it’s best to be data-driven. In a changing world, it’s better to be data-informed.

Data can reveal patterns from the past. It takes judgement to predict how those patterns will evolve in the future. Data shouldn’t guide decisions. It should inform decisions.’

In this fast-paced digital world, we have an unprecedented amount of data available at the touch of a button and data is probably the most valuable asset there is. It can tell you if you should wear a rain jacket and when you should get your car serviced before you get stuck on the side of the road in the rain. It can predict a heart attack or natural disasters and so much more.

Seeking out, capturing and harvesting mass amounts of electronic data through a process called “data mining” has raised the bar for knowing how to manage that data so it becomes usable information.  That information can then be acted upon by decision makers in virtually any endeavor or company.

Today’s services and industries require a range of options when it comes to leveraging sources of information in order to capitalize on new opportunities, make smarter decisions, forecast trends, identify risks and generally be less vulnerable as an organization.  The amount of information available in today’s fast-paced world can be overwhelming. Making good use of this information often requires transforming the data into information that’s more digestible.

For instance, I when attended the Data Walk presented by the Durham Workforce Authority, I learned something important about the skills development training that I offer to my clients. You see, I am an executive coach and trainer and I specialize in teaching leadership and communication skills, the so called soft skills that are much more intangible but have a significant impact on success.

Let me back up for a second and share with you what exactly a Data Walk is. A Data Walk is a regular event that the Durham Workforce Authority hosts that takes the important data they collect and makes it relevant for businesses and organizations in the Durham Region. Heather McMillan and the staff put on presentations around specific data sets that really put a face to the numbers to make it not only understandable but impactful.

One of the sets they did a presentation on was essential skills and employability skills in the under 25 demographic. In that presentation I learned that may of the skills that I deliver training on are in fact employability skills and not only that they showed me the numbers that supported what I already knew from experience but no data to support it.

Having the numbers to support what I knew gave me a way to show my clients and prospects just how important this kind of training is for not only their current workforce but to also help them attract new talent and earns their loyalty. Soft skills ARE essential skills!

Data reveals past instances and gives an idea how to best approach situations and circumstances in the future that we might not have an answer for right now. It also helps us find ways to present our product to the customers and to just understanding them better at any given time.

At its very core, data helps us to establish one of the most important foundations in developing a company, which is effective allocation of time and resources. Data can tell us what we need to do next. It exposes inefficiencies and disadvantages. It reveals truths about our habits and what we might do next.

Data opens windows into opportunity, while offering a glimpse into the future. Data has the power to make those possibilities a reality. The more information we collect regarding customers and sales, for example, the better are our chances of getting some further insight regarding our target market.

Whether you are a large company of a small entrepreneur, you don’t have to do the data mining yourself. The Durham Workforce Authority can help you pull the numbers you need and help you understand what it means. You need to embrace data and learn to use it properly if you want this idea of yours to come to successful fruition.”

Lorna Weston-Smyth – Executive Coach and Trainer and Independent Executive Director of the John Maxwell Team, LWS Coaching and Training.(2021)

The Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) provides local workforce information and champions workforce development initiatives unique to Durham Region.

The DWA is one of a network of 26 Workforce Planning Board areas across the province.

DWA Guest Blog: Bonnie Wrightman

Here at Durham Workforce Authority (DWA), we are constantly looking for ways to ensure the community is aware of the valuable resources we provide. As part of that process, we are working to develop a series of monthly blogs to help our stakeholders better understand the value the DWA provides in the community.

For the month of July, we are proud to publish a Guest Blog Post featuring: Bonnie Wrightman – Manager of Business Development, Clarington Board of Trade & Office of Business Development.

“Durham Region is fortunate to have an engaging, talented and interactive team at Durham Workforce Authority.  The Clarington Board of Trade & Office of Economic Development feels the labour market information collected and presented by DWA, and various formats of data in terms reports made available by DWA, has great value to not only our organization but to our market: members of the Clarington business community.

We are privileged to have the opportunity to access and share relevant data helping to inform employers on labour market trends and labour force activity helping to bridge the gap between employer needs and labour force skill sets. As well, DWA has provided us with community occupation/wage data for employers looking for this information.

Job growth and job demand data have been very useful in helping identify growth trends and industry workforce needs. We also integrate labour force data in our business investment and community profile package – valuable information for any business looking to expand or locate to the Clarington community.”

Bonnie Wrightman – Manager of Business Development, Clarington Board of Trade & Office of Business Development (2021)

The Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) provides local workforce information and champions workforce development initiatives unique to Durham Region.

The DWA is one of a network of 26 Workforce Planning Board areas across the province.

Sector Spotlight: Transportation

The transportation & warehousing sector is focused on transporting passengers and goods, warehousing, and storing goods. This sector uses truck, transit and ground passenger, rail, water, air, and pipeline. Durham Region stands at an integral position in the transport activities of this economic region and benefits from several multi-modal transport systems such as three 400 series highways, provincial roads, transit operators such as Metrolinx and Via Rail, a port, and an airport.

Transport and warehousing are one of the main sources of employment and revenue for the Durham Region, with potential for growth.

The Oshawa Executive Airport generates approximately $1.5 million in property tax revenue. Flight training, air ambulance, passenger charter services, freight services, aerial police operations, aircraft maintenance, and aircraft restoration services are all provided at the airport. The airport provides employment to approximately 215 people in various occupations.

The Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority transports cargo through the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Oshawa port handled 408,000 metric tonnes of cargo in 2017. The Port estimates that 398 jobs are supported by the Port, out of which 150 jobs are directly generated by the marine cargo and vessel activity at the marine terminals.

Durham Region is emerging as a destination for distribution centers due to the availability of well-connected road networks. Employment in warehousing is growing; the following table shows the major transportation occupations in the Region:

Census 2016

In air transportation, people aged 25-44 years form 70 percent of the total employment and the rest are between 45-54 years old. Employees over 55 years and over form 30 percent of employment in the industry and with almost half of the transit and ground passenger transportation being 55 years and over.

The Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) provides local workforce information and champions workforce development initiatives unique to Durham Region.

The DWA is one of a network of 26 Workforce Planning Board areas across the province.

www.durhamwa.ca

Photo Credit: https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/character”>Character vector created by vectorjuice – www.freepik.com

Census Metropolitan Unemployment Rates Across Ontario

Click Here to See Larger Image

The Unemployment Rate Comparison graph provides a visual display of the monthly unemployment rates for various Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) across Ontario.  The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force. Estimates are percentages, rounded to the nearest tenth.

The Oshawa CMA is comprised of Oshawa, Whitby and Clarington. The Oshawa CMA is used as a data proxy in Durham Region as Pickering, Ajax and Uxbridge are part of the Toronto CMA and Brock and Scugog are not surveyed in the monthly report due to population size. The Oshawa CMA includes the most Durham Region residents and provides the best depiction of the labour market in the Region as a whole.

The Unemployment Rate Comparison graph reflects many of the job losses and recoveries experienced across various areas in the Greater Golden Horseshoe as a result of COVID-19.  Now over a  year and a half into COVID, we are seeing some of the extended effects of COVID-19 on the Canadian economy.  Initially, in March 2020 as public health measures were first implemented, there was a spike in all areas across the Greater Golden Horseshoe.  We saw a gradual decline throughout the summer and into the autumn months as various businesses began to re-open after the first wave of the virus.

In Ontario, the highest unemployment rate among the comparators in August 2021 was Windsor at 11.2%    The lowest unemployment rate among the comparators continues to be the Peterborough CMA which saw a slight reduction from 7% to 6.5%.  Looking forward the data should reflect the easing of stricter public health measures introduced across the country.

Source: Statistics Canada. Table  14-10-0378-01, Labour force characteristics, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality (August 2021).

DWA is Proud to Announce Sector Planning Partnership Grants

The Durham Workforce Authority is proud to announce they have been awarded five Sector Planning Partnership Grants (SPPG) by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (LTSD). These projects will focus on engaging employers from the logistics, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors to understand their challenges with the workforce and develop strategic plans to support them through the COVID-19 recovery and beyond.

Working in conjunction with community partners, the projects will amalgamate information gathered from an employer summit, key informant interviews, and the most recent DWA Employer Survey with existing economic development plans to develop fulsome strategic plans.

Each plan will identify sector-specific needs and opportunities, and propose solutions, to:

• help employers  effectively connect with job seekers who have their desired skill sets;
• identify opportunities to provide training to workers that support skill development (including literacy and essential skills) and advancement;
• help those looking for employment connect their skill set with in-demand jobs in specific sectors;
• address workforce needs and gaps in key sectors by bringing together employers, training providers, employment services, and workforce planning organizations;
• better align regional industry workforce needs with government investments in skills training and workforce development.

Local perspectives and knowledge are important aspects of an integrated system for effectively addressing employment, training, and labour market issues. These reports will explore the role of employers in demand-led training and experiential learning as well as the role that LTSD funded service providers can play in assisting local employers with all forms of workforce development.

“The Durham Workforce Authority is grateful to the Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development for this investment in supporting local employers in several key sectors.  These funds will enable a robust employer consultation and research process that will result in the development of strategic plans on how resources can best be leveraged to support these employers in Durham Region.”

Heather McMillan, Executive Director, Durham Workforce Authority

For more information or to arrange an interview with Heather McMillan please click HERE.

Census Metropolitan Unemployment Rates Across Ontario

Click Here to See Larger Image

The Unemployment Rate Comparison graph provides a visual display of the monthly unemployment rates for various Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) across Ontario.  The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force. Estimates are percentages, rounded to the nearest tenth.

The Oshawa CMA is comprised of Oshawa, Whitby and Clarington. The Oshawa CMA is used as a data proxy in Durham Region as Pickering, Ajax and Uxbridge are part of the Toronto CMA and Brock and Scugog are not surveyed in the monthly report due to population size. The Oshawa CMA includes the most Durham Region residents and provides the best depiction of the labour market in the Region as a whole.

The Unemployment Rate Comparison graph reflects many of the job losses and recoveries experienced across various areas in the Greater Golden Horseshoe as a result of COVID-19.  Now almost one year into COVID, we are seeing some of the extended effects of COVID-19 on the Canadian economy.  Initially, in March 2020 as public health measures were first implemented, there was a spike in all areas across the Greater Golden Horseshoe.  We saw a gradual decline throughout the summer and into the autumn months as various businesses began to re-open after the first wave of the virus.  Looking at January and February 2021, we can now see the lingering effect of the second wave on unemployment.  While Barrie CMA had a major spike in January, we are now seeing a gradual decline as businesses are able to reopen – Barrie now sits at a 13.2% unemployment rate.

Peterborough CMA now sits at 13% with a continual upward trend in unemployment since November, now competing with Barrie CMA.  Toronto and Windsor have similar unemployment rates at 10.7% and 10.5%, respectively.  The effect of the second wave on unemployment in the Oshawa CMA has not been as severe as the first.  While Oshawa CMA saw a smaller bump in January 2021, it held nearly the same in February 2021 at 8%.

In Ontario, the highest unemployment rate in February 2021 was 13.2% in the Barrie CMA.  The lowest unemployment rate in the province is 6.2%% in the Ottawa-Gatineau CMA.  Looking forward the data should reflect the regional approach to the implementation of stricter public health measures, with some regions placed in grey and others in different zones of Ontario’s colour-coded system.  In the coming months, the data could also begin to show the effect of the vaccine rollout in the province.

Source: Statistics Canada. Table  14-10-0378-01, Labour force characteristics, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality (March 2021).

Sector Spotlight: Construction

The construction sector is an important one for Durham Region; it is one of our top five employment sectors. Essentially, construction includes workplaces that construct and renovate buildings, as well as engineering works and the subdivision and development of land. Construction includes parts of projects or complete projects and includes repairs or renovations to existing projects.

3 Main Sectors

• construction of buildings (e.g. homes, commercial buildings)
• heavy and civil engineering construction (e.g. highways, land subdivision)
• specialty trade constructors who perform the required trade activities on constructed buildings and structures (e.g. masonry, electrical work)

Construction Notables

• According to Buildforce Canada (2019), there is projected demand in the construction sector in the next ten years for Ontario.
• Aging is the number one barrier to a declining construction labour force, causing the industry to look towards other industries, provinces or even countries to find adequate workers to meet construction demands (Buildforce Canada, 2019).
• There are federally funded programs in place that help more people become skilled trades workers, to help address the anticipated shortage (Employment & Social Development Canada, 2018).
• According to the last publicly available Annual Building Activity Review report for Durham Region, there was a year-over-year increase of 20.3 percent for the total value of residential permits issued (Durham Region, 2018).
• Most construction businesses in the Durham Region are Specialty trade contractors, without any employees, followed by Construction of building businesses, without any employees
• The construction occupation with highest employment in the Durham Region is Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics, with high median and average employment incomes of 93,800 and 94,816 respectively.
• The construction industry with highest employment in the Durham Region is Building equipment contractors, with a total of 2805 employed persons.
• The median employment income is 56,756 and the average employment income is 65,460, which is higher than the median and average employment incomes for Durham Region, which are $38,893 and $50,161 respectively
• Most workers in construction sectors have educational attainment above a secondary school diploma or equivalent.
• The age distribution that most workers are within the core-aged working population (25 to 44 years). However, almost half the workers in the three construction industries are 45 years and over, which can have implications for workforce availability in the future.

The DWA is one of a network of 26 Workforce Planning Board areas across the province.

Workforce Planning Boards gather intelligence about the supply of labour and the demand side of the local labour market by working with employers to identify and meet their current and emerging skills needs. The primary role of Workforce Planning Boards is to help improve understanding of and coordinate community responses to labour market issues and needs.

Sector Spotlight: Information & Communication Technology

According to the Canadian Information and Communication Technology Council, Information & Communication Technology Sector (ICT) includes goods and services that process, transmit or receive information. These are technologies related to software, hardware, computer services, telecommunications, microelectronics etc. ICT is prevalent in e-commerce, e-learning, e-health, wireless multimedia and digital entertainment, in addition to emerging technologies such artificial intelligence. ICT sector in Canada includes services, manufacturing, wholesale, rental and leasing.

ICT has the potential to be a growth sector for Durham Region. Durham Region has multi-fold advantages in positioning itself to be a technological hub close to Toronto, even more as the economy transitions into a knowledge based one. Durham Region is home to some of the fastest rising businesses and start-ups in the GTA.

In Durham Region ICT strategies at the municipal level are more evolved compared to the existing regional ICT strategy. For example, Town of Whitby has formulated a broadband strategy and the City of Oshawa was a participant in the federally implemented Smart Cities Challenge.

Durham Sector Overview:

• Wireless telecommunications carriers comprise of nearly half of the employment in the ICT industry in Durham Region.
• The second largest sub-industry by employment are the Wired telecommunication carriers contributing to one-fifth of the employment.
• Wireless telecommunication carriers such as Bell and Rogers also provide wired telecommunications services such as broadband connections etc
• Information systems analysts and consultants ranks at the top among the ICT occupations in Durham Region, with 725 employees.
• More than 50 percent of employees in each of the subsectors either have a college diploma or a bachelor’s degree, indicating the need for specialized knowledge to carry out the functions needed in these industries.
• The primary working-age group is ages 25-44 years. This is highest in telecommunications where nearly 60 percent of employees are in this age group. Employees who are 24 or under generally form less than 10 percent of the employee composition in each of the sub-sectors.

Employment in Durham Region in 2016 grew to 5,240 from 5,225 in 2011. Durham Region is ideally placed to connect and take advantage of the ICT Hub of Toronto. The availability of educational opportunities in the sector within the Region implies that further growth potential in forthcoming, especially if it is accompanied by appropriate ICT investment and infrastructure throughout Durham Region.

The DWA is one of a network of 26 Workforce Planning Board areas across the province.

Workforce Planning Boards gather intelligence about the supply of labour and the demand side of the local labour market by working with employers to identify and meet their current and emerging skills needs. The primary role of Workforce Planning Boards is to help improve understanding of and coordinate community responses to labour market issues and needs.

December 2020 Labour Force Report

The Durham Workforce Authority is releasing the December 2020 edition of the Durham Labour Force Report. This report provides accurate, timely, and easy to understand labour market information for the stakeholders of Durham Region. It is updated monthly with information that enables businesses, policy makers and our community at large to better understand the evolving impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our labour force. This includes a breakdown and trend analysis of employment by industry and a fact sheet to help understand how the data is collected and disseminated.

The December 2020 report presents some interesting numbers, including;

• an increase of 2,300 individuals not participating in the labour force,
• a decrease of 1,900 individuals in the total labour force,
• a decrease of 500 employed residents.

The Labour Force Report is informed by data from Statistics Canada on the Oshawa CMA, which includes
Clarington, Whitby, and Oshawa.

View the December 2020 report here; https://durhamworkforceauthority.ca/labour-force-report/