There are four major areas that converge to support the potential worker in navigating a successful labour market matching process. The first area is labour market information – what standards exist, what training is available, and what are the future prospects? The Government normally provides this information.
Secondly, the area of skill requirements and how they are applied is critical information for the potential worker. Can they apply what they have learned to the workplace? How? The worker should know for which occupational areas they are best suited.
The third key area important to the potential worker is the expectations of the employer. Workers should know the laws protecting them, the culture of the workplace they are considering, and the employer’s expectations of showing up every day, on time, and ready to work. Information on wages and working conditions should be readily available.
The final area of key information for the job seeker, is the process itself of finding and keeping a job. Where does one find out about opportunities for employment and find help with resumes and interview skills? Where do potential workers find employers? These inter-related labour market information areas are the basis used to present and discuss the process of supply and demand of workers for the Construction Sector in Manitoba.
Some of the stakeholders in this process have been meeting over the last two years, and helped develop the new HEO Standards in the hopes of promoting skill development and quality training in this sector. The flow of information amongst these partners is illustrated in the Conceptual Framework of Labour Market Facilitation (see page 11) which illustrates the overall structure for partnerships and how they might share in the flow of labour market information or carry out their respective roles in helping to satisfy labour market demands.
The ongoing question for Government is about who should be involved in these partnerships and what is their role? The idea of an industry model to oversee the labour market process is not a new one but perhaps there are ways older models could be adjusted and adapted to better serve the purpose of all parties in today’s economy as illustrated in the framework.