The survey by the Institute du Québec provides perspective on how the pandemic impacted Quebec’s economy. Quebec features a minimal unemployment percentage and a massive amount of open positions to begin the year. The provincial and federal administrations have suggested a set of policies to assist immigrants in overcoming the unemployment problem.
The pandemic has impacted the workforce in Quebec. As per a survey by the Institute du Québec, health – care systems have worsened previously established labor market shortages and created new difficulties.
In order to comprehend the present state of the job market, the research titled Bilan 2021 de l’emploi au Québec: Changes sectorielles et déficit de compétences en view addresses serious questions that have risen during the pandemic.
“We’ve started 2022 with one of the lower unemployment ratios in years and a historic number of job opportunities,” said Mia Homsy, CEO of the Institut du Québec, in a press release.
“With a shrinking range of possible laborers and a significant drop in the labor market level of participation among those 55 and older, the labor shortfall will unquestionably be the most serious barrier to recovery unless businesses, unions, schools, and governments embrace a significant shift in their framework to human resources management.”
According to the summary report, Quebec’s overaged citizenry will leave a lasting impact on the supply of workers as laborers reach retirement age in the midst of high job vacancies and low unemployment. Some members of the workforce are not yet fully back to work. For example, those aged 55 and up. This may be hard to convince early retirees to revert back.
Furthermore, the lodging, food service, and retail sectors may encounter significant hiring issues, pressuring employers to evaluate their current models even after the pandemic has passed.
With more chances to work from home or in a hybrid approach becoming accessible, jobs that do not provide this alternative may become less appealing to job applicants. Employers who are having difficulty looking recruiting may need to lower their entry requirements, especially those associated with educational certifications. If this is the scenario, academic demands for a particular work may not be as severe as they were leading up to the pandemic. To establish competitiveness, businesses may be sufficient to compensate for this by boosting their attention on career growth as well as coaching.
At last, more occupations will actively seek applicants with firmer reading comprehension, writing, and complex problem-solving abilities, despite the fact that Quebec and the rest of Canada are already trying to cope with online learning. The demand for qualified employees will keep rising, particularly in the following fields;
- Health care,
- Social assistance,
- Education,
- Information technology,
- Construction.
Quebec’s immigration legislation to solve labor shortages
Quebec is addressing labor shortages by,
- expanding immigration rates.
- attempting to make it simpler for companies with authentic labor shortages to start hiring overseas workers.
According to Quebec’s Immigration Levels Plan, which was announced on October 28, 2021, the state will welcome 52,500 new legal citizens in 2022. The vast majority of these newbies will enter through Quebec’s economic immigration programs. For example, the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP) and the Québec Experience Program (PEQ).
In addition, the levels plan invites for an additional 18,000 admissions to meet the enrollment thresholds that were not fulfilled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This indicates that more than 70,000 newcomers to Quebec could be accepted in 2022.
A variety of steps for temporary foreign workers have also been implemented in Quebec. Specific Quebec workforces can now encourage the number of staff of up to 20% temporary workers, a rise from 10% in January. This criterion includes companies in tough industries such as retail, lodging, and food services, among others.
Furthermore, starting on May 24 of this year, professions outlined under National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level C will be included in the Traitement Simplifié (facilitated processing). Under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, this improved method gave Quebec firms more freedom (TFWP). Quebec declared on December 6, 2021, that some NOC D professions will be excluded from the TFWP’s advertising and recruitment requirements. Only industries designated as NOC skill levels 0, A, and B were formerly qualified for simplified procedure.
Landed immigrants who have been in Canada for less than five years have seen the most job growth. In 2021, the total employment for these migrants was about 76 percent, compared with an average of 64 percent in 2019.