Canadian Businesses’ Use of Apprenticeships Rises 217% to Fill Labour Shortages: Survey

Canadian businesses are turning to apprenticeships to cope with labour shortages, a recently released report by a multi-national HR firm has found. Canadian employers increased their use of apprenticeships by 217 percent last year, compared to the 36 percent average increase reported by the four other countries surveyed by Peninsula Group. One-quarter (25.7 percent) of the 79,000 small- to medium-sized businesses surveyed in Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the U.K. cited recruitment as their biggest staffing challenge. The survey also found that 46.5 percent of employers are investing in upskilling and training their existing staff in a bid to fill the labour gap. “In 2022, we found that the top two concerns for employers were labour shortages and employee retention,” Peninsula Canada CEO Raj Singh said in a Jan. 4 press release. “And one of the best ways to overcome these challenges was to invest in their employees and that is what we saw happen last year....