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Chatham

Workforce Needs Survey Now Available

Time is running out to be a part of the Employer One survey.

"It's a workforce needs survey, so we get to hear from the employers," says Kristy Jacobs, project manager for the CK Workforce Planning Board. "What are the challenges? What's going on in your workforce? How can we help you? So it's an opportunity for employers to have a voice and let us know what's going on."

Jacobs says it's the fourth year for the survey, and the results help them identify skills shortages and other problems.

"Employers are stating they can't find people with soft skills, job seekers are saying 'I'm expecting my employer to train me in soft skills.' Employers are saying 'I don't have time to do that.' So it's showing us a really big disconnect in our workforce right now, which I think is pretty interesting, and something we can work on."

Soft skills include communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.

Jacobs says the survey doesn't take too long to complete.

"It really does depend on the size of your organization. Anywhere from 5 minutes to, if your an organization with as many employees as the municipality or the hospital, they're probably up to 2 hours. But, on average, employers are telling us it takes about 20 minutes."

Any employer that fills out the survey will have a chance to win a $50 gift card for Tim Horton's.

The deadline to complete the survey is January 31st. To fill out the survey online, CLICK HERE.

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