Labour trend shortage will continue on P.E.I.: business organization

With many small businesses across P.E.I. facing labour shortages, more business owners are facing challenges and limitations as they try to keep the doors open by doing the work themselves.

Erin McGrath-Gaudet, the director of PEI and Intergovernmental Policy for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says it's a trend has slowly gained momentum over the past decade. 

"And certainly, I suspect this is a trend that's certainly going to continue for us."

McGrath-Gaudet said the labour shortage will have two significant impacts on the Island.

The first is seasonal businesses that require a significant number of workers for a short period of time.   

"There just aren't the same volume of people to fill those jobs and certainly looking at this time of year, they're closing down not because they don't have customers but because they don't have workers." 

McGrath-Gaudet said the second significant impact will be on the number of skilled workers, given the aging workforce that is retiring.

"People are retiring and leaving the workforce with 30 years of experience," she said. "That may be great for young people who are coming up and looking for work, but it is really hard to replace 30 years of experience overnight." 

Big economic blow

When asked about risk, the director said if there aren't enough people to help run seasonal businesses, it would be a big blow to the economy. 

"It would certainly put a limit on things … particularly if you look at things like tourism and having a shoulder season," she said. 

"That's been a big goal for us as an economy for a number of years and if we don't have the people to operate that then that is certainly at risk." 

McGrath-Gaudet said the potential to export products from the Island could also be affected if there are fewer truck drivers. 

She said one way to help curb the trend is by putting a strong emphasis on immigration, which can help with highly skilled jobs. Finding a way to fill lower skilled jobs will be a bit harder for companies that depend on temporary foreign workers.

"I think that's going to be the next policy challenge for us if we're going to be able to move forward." 

More P.E.I. news