Small businesses jeopardized by skills shortage says report
October 6, 2005

VICTORIA, BC – Small business owners and operators in British Columbia say a shortage of skilled labour is jeopardizing their ability to grow their businesses. The findings were contained in a report released today by the BC Skills Force Initiative, a joint partnership between the BC Chamber of Commerce and the Community Futures Development Association.

The study was prepared by Ron Trepanier of Whalebone Productions Ltd. and Paul Weist of Weist Consulting.

The BC Skills Force study surveyed 1,557 small businesses in southern British Columbia in July and August 2005. The report goes on to say that many small business owners feel there is a disconnect with the education system. Many believe that it does not provide the basic skills employers need. This is compounded by the fact that employers feel they don’t have input to improve school curriculum and training programs.

“Next to the mountain pine beetle infestation, skills shortages are the single most important challenge facing the business community in our province,” says Ken White, chairperson of the CFDA.

“This report substantiates our worst fears regarding the scale of the skills shortage,” says John Winter, President and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce. “However, this report now gives us the information we need to engage the business community in developing and implementing the strategies that will lead us to resolve the skills shortage facing our Province.”

A key recommendation made in the Skills Force report is a call for senior government to create regional small business advisory groups across the province. This will enable small business owners to coordinate strategies with educational institutions, small business service providers and government to address on-going and future skills issues.

The BC Skills Force Initiative conducted a telephone survey and also a series of focus groups across Southern British Columbia. The only regions excluded from the survey were Greater Vancouver and Greater Victoria. A second skills survey of Northern British Columbia is anticipated to take place in early 2006.

Small businesses (50 employees or less) represent 98% of all businesses operating in the province. The most recent census (2003) recorded 359,600 small businesses in British Columbia employing 971,900 people and generating nearly 30% of the province’s gross domestic product (GDP).

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