Four County Labour Market Planning Board Launches EmployerOne Survey

by Bob Montgomery

The Four County Labour Market Planning Board has just recently launched an EmployerOne Survey for employers in Grey, Bruce Huron and Perth counties.

Planning Board Executve Director Dana Soucie says the purpose of the survey is to collect information from employers about their current workforce, what kind of challenges they're facing, and what opportunities they're finding. Soucie says the data they collect will help them analyze the difference between their workforce and workforces in other areas so they can determine where they need to improve and what programs they need to bring in. She adds, the type of information they're looking for isn't available anywhere else at this point.

Soucie says the workforce is rapidly changing and rural Ontario employers have some unique challenges in attracting and retaining the workforce they require for their businesses to be sustainable. She says the Four County area differs from Ontario as a whole, or even other regions that are in the area, so their solutions have to be tailored to the local workforce, and the only way for them to identify the needs in the four counties is to do a survey of their local workforce.

Soucie notes there is a very significant difference between the needs of urban and rural markets and the four county area is one of the most rural areas in all of Ontario. That translates into some special needs for things like housing and transportation, so something as simple as getting to work can be a real challenge for someone who doesn't have a vehicle or access to public transportation.

The survey can be found by going to this page on the the Four County Labour Market Planning Board website. She adds the survey is open to self-employed people as well as employers.