Throughout the early months of 2018, Niagara Workforce Planning Board (NWPB) conducted the Employer One Survey, and as of April 11, 2018, the results are now publicly available.
The Employer One Survey is an annual labour market survey for employers throughout the region, intended to gather their perspectives on the state of the local labour market. Topics covered include industry type, labour availability, skills alignment, and overall opinion on the local labour force.
2018’s survey had been streamlined down to a 6-minute questionnaire. This was done in order to make the process faster and easier for participants than in previous years. As a result, NWPB was able to collect responses from over 240 employers throughout the Niagara region this year – almost three times the number of participants in 2017.
Slightly over 75% of participating employers reported hiring in the last year, with almost 45% of that number rating the available labour in Niagara as either “good” or “excellent”. Among the respondents, the skills most valued in employees were notably the “soft” skills, such as a solid work ethic, customer service abilities, and teamwork. An infographic on the survey’s results is available at NWPB’s website, and can be downloaded here.
