Many expressed the hope that the dialogue session was the beginning of a process of further collaboration, cooperation, and dialogue.
As outlined in section 2, participants were invited to identify their priorities and concerns at various points of the dialogue. Following is a summary of the concerns expressed by participants in their introductory comments, as well as the priorities they identified during the morning prioritization exercise. As mentioned in the previous section, a key component of dialogue is choice work that asks participants to make choices based on what they value most highly.
During the opening session, participants were invited to introduce themselves, and to briefly address their hopes for the session and some of their key concerns. Many acknowledged the importance of the skills shortage issue. Some stakeholders focused on shortages in particular sectors (e.g., health care, construction, aerospace, software/IT and agriculture), and the challenges they face about recruiting and retaining skilled employees. Some indicated that they hoped to gain a better understanding of the issue and of the province's skills needs from the dialogue. Others sought new ideas and best practices. Finally, many expressed the hope that the dialogue session was the beginning of a process of further collaboration, cooperation, and dialogue that could lead to better local or regional initiatives or solutions. They stressed the importance of partnerships, of coordinating efforts and raising awareness of this issue.