Eastern Workforce Innovation Board presents highlights of labour report | Gananoque Reporter

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The area served by EWIB is made up of 19 Ontario communities – Athens, Augusta, Brockville, Central Frontenac, Edwardsburg Cardinal, Elizabethtown Kitley, Front of Yonge, Frontenac Islands, Gananoque, Kingston, Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands, Loyalist, Merrickville Wolford, North Frontenac, North Grenville, Prescott, Rideau Lakes, South Frontenac, and Westport.

“The (EWIB) is one of 26 boards that comprise Workforce Ontario – Leaders in Workforce Planning. EWIB provides details on community workforce planning and development as well as everything you need to get connected – find the resources in your community relevant to training, employment, labour force information and discover community partnerships,” according to their website workforcedev.ca. They feature an on-demand Labour Market Information service called the LMI Help Desk which provides answers to local labour market questions such as which skills are in demand locally, what is the median wage for different jobs, how certain jobs fit into the local demographic, etc. They also have a job board with a searchable job list and regional job map with more than 2,000 job postings conveniently listed in one place. Their information is accessed from over 30 online job boards.

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Attendees included approximately 30 plus representative members of the local council, representatives from different agencies and organizations, and interested employers from the Gananoque and Leeds and Thousand Islands area. A number of employment services and economic development representatives, and local municipal officials from across the Counties of Leeds Grenville and Frontenac County came out for the presentation.

Wright presented a slideshow on Local Labour Market Plan Highlights which discussed key trends and changes, Employment Ontario program data, community consultation participants, quick tips for employers and job seekers, Local Labour Market data updates, and an update of the action plan. She looked at both the up and downsides of each point and reminded everyone that as we come out of the pandemic we have to be watchful of possible recession or other economic issues that may arise. There is a strong job market, and a lot of people are applying. The top three industries with employment growth in the Leeds-Grenville area are sales and service; health; and education, law and social, community and government services. Working with agencies such as KEYS and other similar groups, job fairs, and guidance counsellors in the local schools can help people to find the jobs they need and employers can get assistance finding new people for their businesses. While there are still many challenges, there appears to be hope for the future.

The complete report will be available online in both official languages by February 15 at www.workforcedev.ca.