Executive Summary

In March 2013, the annual Local Labour Market Plan provided a current look at the local labour market over the 2011-2012 time period. During that review, a sharp decline in employment numbers was discovered. A possible connection between the tornado in Goderich and this decline was reported, although the tornado was not seen as the sole reason for the decline.

Many community initiatives involving business, education and services are being delivered across the four counties to address three key priorities:

1. Strengthen workforce skills locally;
2. Identify key workforce skills, gaps and growth, locally; and
3. Foster employer engagement in workforce development locally.

The October 2013 Local Labour Market Plan Update reports on the progress in these priority areas and includes a summary of information about Employment Ontario client demographics for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region. These figures include clients using Employment Services, Literacy and Basic Skills, Apprenticeship and Second Career programs. A community employment-planning meeting of local service providers confirmed that labour market information availability and accessing services in a seamless system are of primary importance to the clients being served.