Mary Hunter, P.E.I.’s director of workforce development, says the province is dealing with a skills shortage as well as a mismatch of the skills that are available in the province’s labour market. - Stu NeatbyP.E.I. has employers who can’t find workers. The province also has workers who want a job but are not qualified for the jobs that are vacant.
On top of this, the province is facing a demographic cliff of aging workers who are hitting retirement age."We're experiencing a labour market tightness that we've never experienced in our province before," Hunter told members of the committee. Hunter mentioned examples such as a pilot program that pays some of the tuition costs for workers seeking training to become a licensed practical nurse or a resident care worker.
“We can’t look at how can we grow our population without looking at where are people going to live? ... Do we have adequate health care?”Whitnell added the province is planning to contract a consultant to help develop a new population growth plan for the period beyond 2023.