By Joe Mancini
Published in June 2014
The upcoming closing of the JM Schneiders plant on Courtland Avenue is a reminder of the continuing trend of workforce upheaval in the face of technological change and globalization. Schneiders has been vital to the Kitchener economy for over 100 years, yet it now joins other Kitchener based companies like Uniroyal, Electrohome, Goodrich, Deilcraft, Kaufman, Hoffmans, Grebs, Burns, Domtar, Kitchener Frame, and Ledco that have been shuttered.
Workers are being warned that even harsher challenges are around the corner. Anthony D Williams, the author with Don Tapscott of Wikinomics, presented his ideas on the changing labour market to the network of employment centres in Ontario. Williams also leads the Centre for Digital Entrepreneurship and Economic Performance at the CIGI building in Waterloo.
Williams laid out some ground work, neutralizing the idea that the North’s technological edge is fixed. For example China graduates one million engineers a year, while India is catching up with 1.5 million students in engineering colleges. Canada and the US together graduate about 110,000 engineers per year. Where previously Northern countries manufactured their goods cheaply in countries like China, increasingly the dynamism is located in Southern countries where a growing middle class is producing goods for their own consumption. The population of the North is getting older and is even shrinking, losing its vitality along the way.
There are other concerns that Williams rhymed off. Canadian GDP growth would be almost zero without the contribution of oilsands activity, a controversial Canadian success story with a horrendous environmental track record which expends almost more energy than it creates (see book review on Energy of Slaves). Northern countries must also deal with their declining population, while most have a growing debt burden. Williams reminded the audience that the growth that did take place in the North went disproportionately to the top 1%.
In the years 1980-2000, despite the plant closings, job growth still registered at 4-5% per year. These jobs were concentrated in the lower end retail/service sector and in the higher end technically skilled software/engineering sectors. But in the past decade job growth has been below 1%. Where has the job growth gone, even with record low interest rates?
The robotics field is rapidly adapting to autonomous production. Foxcomm has announced it will be replacing one million jobs with one million robots. Williams cites a California solar panel manufacturer which is returning to North America, with a production plant that will employ one tenth the workers it previously needed, even in a growing business.
Supporting 3000 Job Searchers
Many of the 3000 job searchers who use our Job Search Resource Centre understand these trends. They understand that resource extraction is trumping Canadian manufacturing while technology diminishes job growth. The present labour market leaves workers struggling with long periods of unemployment.
We work to address the frustrations of the labour market by situating our employment services as the main base for supporting a broad range of people through their job search. This open ended work is complemented with funding from the 45+ project, Targeted Initiative for Older Workers, and Job Development placements. We are a place for workers to access Second Career, Ontario Self Employment Benefit, and Hiring Incentives. These are not exclusive entry points, but act as preparatory, explore-your-options, and pick-the-best-route approaches. Our youth work is growing with placements through the Youth Employment Fund, Youth Skills Link, summer internships and engagement in Community Tools projects.
Increasingly, we understand self-employment as part of a Livelihoods Approach, where people earn income through self-employment as part of their household income that combines self-employment and part-time work, while accessing training options and different income sources like pension or social assistance. We have a number of options for supporting people including Waterloo Region ASSETS Project (WRAP) that offers a 10 week business planning course, BarterWorks as a trading place, and The Local Exchange online tool and desk to facilitate the buying and selling of local goods and services. The Strategic Community Entrepreneurship Project will offer additional self-employment resources for at-risk youth who are looking at self-employment.
We are finding that hubs for older workers and those searching for self-employment can be an effective way of exploring skill building while developing livelihood through exploring multiple sources of income. Increasingly, we are linking our youth projects with this same model of exploration.
We hope that this model of combining and recombining resources, peer supports, research and decision-making can encourage creative encounters and solutions. Workers caught in the grind of an unfriendly labour market need access to community resources where they can navigate and choose useful options. As more workers are left behind by economic forces, more resources need to be directed towards creating supportive alternatives.
