Shops in downtown Moncton. Image: Inda Intiar/Huddle
Business owners continue to face major labour shortages according to a survey by the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton.
Late last fall, 110 members were asked to identify their biggest challenge to growth which was difficulty finding employees with the right labour skills.
The second biggest challenge was COVID-19.
Despite the pandemic, CEO John Wishart said the region’s economy has been thriving and business people are becoming more creative with recruitment and hiring practices.
He noted their search for employees has expanded outside New Brunswick and Canada to fill labour needs.
A new question was added this year revealing 10 percent of respondents were planning to sell their business in the next five years but only 30 percent had a succession plan in place.
“It speaks to the need for succession planning awareness and services in the region. We know that many of our entrepreneurs in the region are set to retire within the next ten years and that means training the next generation, grooming mid-level employees to take over or planning for the sale of the business. It is a long-term process that our business community needs to consider sooner, rather than later.” said Wishart.
Three separate survey questions asked what the biggest priority should be for the three levels of government.
For municipal government:
- 56 per cent of respondents said “Homelessness & Security”
- 16 per cent said “Downtown Development”
- nine per cent said “Low property taxes”
For provincial government:
- 28 per cent of respondents said “Invest in health-care and education”
- 12 percent said “Grow our population/attract more immigrants” which was tied with “Supports for small business”
- 11 percent said “Homelessness & Security”
For federal government:
- 17 percent of respondents said “Climate Change” which was tied with “Lower the deficit and the debt”
- 16 percent said “Supports for small business”
The survey, conducted over a two-week period, elicited responses from 110 Chamber members and is not scientific with a margin of error but a snapshot of business community opinion.
