The COVID-19 pandemic has caused economic and social disruption throughout the world. This report looks at the effects of the pandemic on the local labour market, while providing communities with a strategic framework to proactively plan ahead despite high uncertainty. It also identifies challenges, opportunities, specific actions and initiatives that different local stakeholders can implement in the near future to mitigate impacts or bridge skills gaps that emerge in each of the future scenarios. 

The Post Pandemic Economic Scenarios: Local Labour Action Plan examines four probable futures of how supply and demand of the labour market in the four county area may shift in the next 12-24 months. 

Some notable findings in the report include: 

• Resolving the unemployment crisis requires workforce training programs to re-skill and up-skill the workforce as needed through the changing demand of the economy. 
• Industries need to improve their supply-chain risk management, especially lower-tier suppliers. 
• The speed of digitalization continues to affect how we work, live and shop. Offering affordable and quality broadband to rural areas in order to close existing digital divides between urban and rural areas is essential, especially for small businesses that lag behind in adopting digital technologies.