Unemployed young people a great economic threat
Published: 2012-04-09 4:40:00 PM - Author: none'...What if the biggest challenge facing Canadian businesses and governments in the coming years isn’t an aging society but the economic and fiscal drag of hundreds of thousands of young people who can’t find meaningful work?
Like many young adults, Giorgio and his friends plunged into graduate school at the recession’s start to duck unemployment, up-skilling to boost their chances of cracking a market littered with experienced boomers...'
120,000 new workers needed in Ontario: CSC
Published: 2012-04-09 4:35:00 PM - Author: none'The Construction Sector Council (CSC) is predicting construction in Ontario will need to recruit an additional 120,000 workers, from 2012 to 2020, thanks to mining in the Ring of Fire Region, investments in nuclear power plants and institutional projects driving demand.
The Ottawa think tank recently released “Construction Looking Forward, 2012 to 2020 Key Highlights for Ontario,†which makes predictions for 32 different trades and analyzes different regions in Ontario. It uses data from its labour market information (LMI)...'
COR is a great opportunity for Ontario contractors, Aecon executive says
Published: 2012-04-09 4:30:00 PM - Author: none'he nationally recognized Certificate of Recognition (COR), an occupational health and safety audit program, is a great opportunity for Ontario, said Mike Archambault, vice-president of Safety and Loss Control with Aecon.
Aecon is COR certified in all of the provinces that have the program. COR began in Alberta more than 20 years ago and became voluntary in Ontario on April 1 of this year, leaving Quebec as the only province without the program...'
Mental health is garnering more attention in the workplace
Published: 2012-04-09 4:28:00 PM - Author: none'Construction employers may soon need to pay more attention to possible workplace hazard.
The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has stated that mental health problems are the leading cause of short and long-term disability in Canada.
The annual cost to Canadian workplaces has been pegged at almost $20 billion...'
Students compete in Microsoft Office category at Toronto Board’s Tech Skills Competition
Published: 2012-04-09 4:25:00 PM - Author: none'If you want to work in tech or business, it’s pretty much essential that you know how to use Microsoft Office - even at a basic level. That’s why the Toronto District School Board’s Technological Skills Competition dedicates an entire category to IT Office Software Applications. The annual competition held earlier this month is part of Skills Canada - Ontario’s mandate to promote careers in trades and technology. Students were tested on their Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access skills...'
How Cooperative Businesses Will Grow Jobs
Published: 2012-04-09 4:22:00 PM - Author: none'Cooperative businesses, in which employees collectively own the company's resources and vote democratically on how to use them, are set to become a dominant business model in the 21st century, say international business experts...'
Virtual shopping gets real at Toronto subway station
Published: 2012-04-09 4:18:00 PM - Author: none'A new front in virtual retailing has emerged on a wall at a busy subway station in downtown Toronto.
An online health and beauty retailer on Monday launched a pop-up store at a key commuter hub that features images of Pampers diapers and Tide detergent, rather than the products themselves...'
Trade rebounded last year; recorded first surplus since 2008: StatsCan
Published: 2012-04-09 4:13:00 PM - Author: none'Statistics Canada says Canada's international merchandise trade bounced back in 2011 for a second consecutive year of gains after the 2009 recession.
The agency says total trade in 2011 - exports and imports combined - came within 2.0 per cent of the record levels posted in 2008...'
Rise in small business confidence shows stable economy, says CFIB index
Published: 2012-04-09 4:06:00 PM - Author: none'Small business confidence, as measured by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, grew for the seventh month in a row in March.
The CFIB says the continuing optimism means small businesses have now returned to what can be considered normal for a sustainably growing economy...'
Annual Canadian Construction Association tour gets a makeover
Published: 2012-04-09 4:03:00 PM - Author: none'The annual Canadian Construction Association (CCA) Tour undertaken by the association’s chair needs a slight revamp to better serve the industry’s changing landscape, suggests the association’s recent past-chair.
“We need to be more current and play more of a listening role to see if we can pick up emerging trends that are coming from our members at the grassroots (level),†said Dee Miller, who chaired the association last year...'