Windsor company unable to attract new employees — and they aren't alone
Some sectors are 'crying out for people' says Workforce WindsorEssex
The president of a Windsor company is struggling to find the employees he needs, as the region experiences its highest job vacancy rate in two years.
Kevin Kelly, president of Shurlok Products, is looking to add about 15 employees to his workforce — in labour and technical jobs — but says it hasn't been easy to find people to fill those positions.
"People don't want to work," he said. "I have to be a little more careful about the work that I take on [as a business], because if we don't have the skill set for a particular job, I have to be careful."
Workforce WindsorEssex aggregates job postings from 54 job boards across the region.
In August, it said 3,396 new jobs were posted, creating 5,730 active listings. Two years ago, the organization said approximately 3,000 jobs were posted each month for the region.
Workers not returning
"We have more employers trying to recruit and we have more and more sectors, you know, crying out for people," said Justin Falconer, CEO of Workforce WindsorEssex. "We have seen more job postings than any time in the last two years, so it's increasing."
Yet the unemployment rate for Windsor is 10.6 per cent. That is down half a percentage point from July.
Kelly said during the pandemic, Shurlok Products had to shut down for nine months. When the company came back online, some workers decided not to return.
"There's a lot of people who aren't ready to come back to work," he said.
Hear more on why Kevin Kelly says workers aren't returning to their jobs:
Kelly said early retirements and the microchip shortage at some major car manufacturers has affected his company's ability to properly train younger employees and guarantee steady work for new hires.
"We've lost sales because of it," he said.
According to Statistics Canada, there are 165,900 people employed in Windsor-Essex. That is 30,500 more people than in May 2020.
Justin Falconer explains what jobs are in hot demand for our region:
