Building The Workforce Needed For Sustainable Manufacturing Growth

Other author
Bardia Tabatabaei

Manufacturers across Ontario are facing a common challenge: growth is outpacing the available supply of skilled workers. Expansion, retirements, succession pressures, and increased competition for experienced tradespeople are making it harder to build and maintain the workforce needed to support production and long-term growth. 

For many manufacturers, labour shortages are no longer simply a recruitment issue. They are a business planning issue. A vacant skilled position can lead to overtime costs, contractor premiums, production delays, and increased pressure on existing employees. When critical knowledge leaves with a departing employee, the impact may extend well beyond the cost of recruitment.