2016/2017

CANADA
TALENT
SHORTAGE
SURVEY
 OVERVIEW
For the past several years, Canadian employers have experienced ongoing skills
shortages. Due to significant changes in the economy and a deep recession
creating record levels of unemployment, the percentage of employers reporting
talent shortages has fluctuated between 36 and 34% over the past 11 years.
Unprecedented technological growth, constantly shifting demographics,
increasing customer sophistication and the rise of individual choice continue to
drive a new world of work.

ManpowerGroup surveyed hiring managers in Canada for the 11th Annual Talent
Shortage Survey.1 The survey has found that amongst the ever-changing world of
work, a constant challenge has emerged—talent shortages.

ManpowerGroup surveyed employers to gain insights

into the following hiring challenges:
• Compared to last year at this time, how much difficulty are you having filling jobs?

• What one job you are typically having the most difficulty filling?

• Why are you having difficulty filling this specific job?

• What strategies are you pursuing to overcome these challenges?

1
Talent Shortage Survey. (2016, October). ManpowerGroup. manpowergroup.ca/talent-shortage

2 2016/2017 CANADA TALENT SHORTAGE SURVEY

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2016/2017 CANADA TALENT SHORTAGE SURVEY

66% 36% 31% 24% 21% 29% 25% 34% 31% 32% 34%
In Canada, 34%
OF EMPLOYERS
are having
DIFFICULTY
FILLING JOBS
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

HARDEST JOBS TO FILL IN 2016 For the seventh consecutive

year, SKILLED TRADES roles
are the HARDEST TO FILL
Skilled
1 Trades 2 Engineers 3 Sales
Reps 4
Management/
Execuives 5 Drivers IN CANADA and for the fifth
consecutive year, skilled trades
roles are the HARDEST TO
FILL GLOBALLY.

WHY JOBS AREN’T FILLED

TALENT SHORTAGES ARE
DRIVEN BY A LACK OF HARD SKILLS,
with nearly a quarter of employers citing this
as the main reason they cannot fill jobs.

HOW EMPLOYERS ADDRESSING THE TALENT SHORTAGE

• THREE QUARTERS are offering training

and development to existing staff
• More than half are recruiting outside
the talent pool
• 40% are using alternative sourcing strategies
• About 1 in 3 are
–– paying higher salary packages to recruits
–– providing additional perks/benefits to recruits

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 CANADA TALENT SHORTAGE
HOW MUCH DIFFICULTY DO EMPLOYERS HAVE FILLING JOBS
DUE TO LACK OF AVAILABLE TALENT?
The talent shortage in Canada is at its highest level since 2013,
indicating challenges still abound for employers.
Over the past 11 years, significant changes in the economy have had dramatic impacts on employers’ ability
to fill jobs. Though Canada has maintained fairly stable figures when it comes to talent shortages, the country
continues to face unique hiring challenges.

In 2006, the number of employers finding it hard to fill jobs stood at an alarming 66%, before dropping to
almost half that amount the following year. Since then, talent shortage rates in Canada have not fluctuated
dramatically.

The outlook was good for Canadian employers in 2012, when only 25% expressed difficulty filling open roles.
However, by 2013, that figure had risen to 34%, signaling a resurgence of hiring challenges. After slightly
better performances in 2014 and 2015 (31% and 32%, respectively), 2016 proved to be another difficult year
for employers, with 34% reporting issues with talent shortages.

Despite the fact more than one third of Canadian employers face hiring challenges today, the country has
consistently fared better than global averages (Figure 1).

FIGURE 1

WHAT IS THE ONE JOB EMPLOYERS HAVE MOST DIFFICULTY FILLING?

In Canada, skilled trade workers remain the hardest to find, followed by engineers, sales
representatives and managers and executives.

Across Canada, employers report that skilled trade roles remain the hardest to fill, as has been the case for the
past six years. The 2016 Talent Shortage Survey also revealed:
• Engineers continue to be in high demand with engineering roles being in the list of the top ten hardest roles
to fill since 2010;
• Sales reprenstatives continue to be among the top five hardest positions to fill in Canada;
• Employers are having an easier time finding drivers in 2016 than they have in the past three years;
• Since 2013, management and executive roles have been among the top three hardest kinds of roles to fill.

4 2016/2017 CANADA TALENT SHORTAGE SURVEY

Rounding off the top ten hardest positions to fill in Canada are IT
professionals at number six. It has generally not been difficult for
employers to find IT workers over the past 11 years; the group
made their first appearance on the list in 2012, taking the number
nine position. Since then, the need for IT professionals has
remained steady; the group has claimed the number eight or nine
position until this year, when they jumped to number six (Figure 2).
In 2016, technicians continue to be in high demand, claiming the
number seven spot on the list. Since 2009, technicians have been
a steady fixture on the hardest jobs to fill list, moving between
the number three and number five spot, before following falling
this year to their lowest ranking since their first appearance in the
survey.
In the same vein, accounting and finance staff made their sixth
appearance in a row on the list. Since 2010, this particular group
has claimed the number ten or seven spot and peaked at number
five in 2008.
Office and support staff take the number nine spot this year,
making their first appearance on the list in 11 years.
Finally, labourers are the tenth hardest kind of worker to find in
2016. Since 2007, labourers have usually made an appearance FIGURE 2
on the list, albeit more toward the bottom after peaking at number
six in 2008.
Globally, the top four hardest position to fill have remained
consistent over the past few years; however, in 2016, IT
professionals jumped to the number two spot, eclipsed only by
skilled trade workers.
Just one year ago, IT professionals were the ninth hardest kind of
employees to find; the fact this group has risen seven places in
the ranking represents the greatest change to any sector included
in the survey. Analysts have connected the rising need for IT
workers to an increasingly global economy.

WHY EMPLOYERS ARE

HAVING DIFFICULTY FILLING JOBS
Talent shortages in Canada are generally caused by a
lack of available, experienced applicants.
The most common reason employers have trouble filling
positions is that applicants lack the hard skills and technical
competencies necessary to succeed on the job. Nearly a
quarter of Canadian employers identified this as their most
pressing hiring challenge in 2016 (Figure 3).

A lack of available applicants, or applicants in general, is

the second major reason employers are encountering talent
shortages, with 21% of employers citing this as the main
reason they cannot fill jobs.

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 Similarly, applicants’ lack of experience is contributing to WHY employers say it’s HARD TO
the talent shortage, while 16% of employers say applicants FILL positions
are looking for more pay than is being offered. Eight percent
of employers are having trouble finding applicants with the
necessary soft skills.

STRATEGIES EMPLOYERS
ARE PURSUING TO OVERCOME
TALENT SHORTAGES
NEARLY HALF OF EMPLOYERS ARE
IMPLEMENTING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
WITH EXISTING STAFF TO FILL OPEN POSI-
TIONS.
As skills shortages escalate and the demand for talent
intensifies, many employers are looking inside their own
organizations for solutions, with three quarters (76%) of
Canadian employers choosing to up-skill their own people by
offering training and development (Figure 4).

“Low unemployment paired with shorter skills cycles due to

the speed of technological change means employers across
Canada are struggling to fill positions. We see this particularly
in industries like manufacturing, construction, transportation
and education,” said Kip Wright, Senior Vice President of
Manpower North America.

“When the talent isn’t available, organizations need to turn

to training and developing their own people – and in many
cases this means first identifying the skills that will be required
in increasingly digital industries, like manufacturing.”
FIGURE 3
Training and development programs are often an integral part
of an employer’s retention strategy. The right development
programs can improve employee engagement and, in return,
reduce turnover. These programs also offer opportunities to
up-skill existing employees into new roles, helping companies
mitigate talent shortages while giving employees the chance
to advance their careers.

At the same time, employers are exploring new talent sources

by recruiting outside the talent pool (61%) and implementing
alternative sourcing strategies (40%) to fill open positions.

Thirty-four percent of employers are offering higher salary

packages to recruits, while one in three employers are
offering additional perks and benefits to win over new
recruits.

6 2016/2017 CANADA TALENT SHORTAGE SURVEY

Employers are PURSUING A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES to
OVERCOME HIRING DIFFICULTIES.
76% Offer training and development to existing staff
1

61% Recruit outside the talent pool

1

40% Explore alternative sourcing strategies

1

34% Pay higher salary packages to recruits

1

33% Provide additional perks / benefits to recruits

1

19%
30% Change existing work models
1

23% Outsource the work

1

FIGURE 4

In 2016, several large companies announced wage increases for employees, including Starbucks, Walmart
and JPMorgan Chase. The Society for Human Resource Management’s 2016 Employee Job Satisfaction
and Engagement Survey 1 cites the top three drivers of job satisfaction as respectful treatment of employees
at all levels, compensation and benefits. “Compared with last year, compensation appears to be rising in
importance in relation to other factors,” said Evren Esen, director of SHRM’s survey programs. “While factors
such as respectful treatment and trust remain important, compensation is a critical job satisfaction factor—
especially among Millennial and Gen X employees.” 2

Employers should ask themselves:

• What skills are needed for the available jobs?
• What are my competitors paying for similar positions?
• What is the supply of in-demand talent in my market?

“Candidates are looking for more competitive employment packages due to the tightening labor market,” says
Sunny Ackerman, Vice President and General Manager of Manpower North America. “Offering wages at or
above the market average allows employers and recruiters to more quickly source and attract the best talent.”

Additionally, some employers are also changing work models (30%) or outsourcing the work (23%) to
overcome talent shortages.

As talent shortages remain prevalent, hiring managers will be charged with implementing the right mix
of solutions to allow their organizations to attract and retain the in-demand talent they need to succeed.
This will require an acute understanding of the demands of their business, priorities of their workforce and
changing dynamics of the talent market. When this knowledge is paired with innovative recruitment and
retention strategies, employers can overcome talent shortages and win in the changing world of work.

1
Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement Report. (2016, April). Society for Human Resource Management. Retrieved from
https://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Documents/2016-Employee-Job-Satisfaction-and-Engagement-Report.pdf
2
Miller, S. (2016) Better Pay and Benefits Loom Large in Job Satisfaction. Society for Human Resource Management.
Retrieved at https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/compensation/pages/pay-benefits-satisfaction.aspx

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To learn more about strategies and solutions to overcome the talent shortage in order to
move your organization forward, contact your local ManpowerGroup workforce expert.

manpowergroup.ca/talent-shortage
#TalentShortage

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