classifiedsCandidate skills, education and training, ongoing workforce concerns along with recruitment strategies and challenges.

Those are just some of the issues covered in the Labour Market Group‘s Employer One survey conducted from June through December 2015.

Results show employers place a high premium on employees having a work ethic, dedication, dependability, self-motivation, communication skills, teamwork, technical skills and more.

When asked if positions are hard to fill, 42 percent said yes.

Reasons why included applicants not meeting the motivation, attitude or interpersonal skills required, there weren’t enough applicants or they didn’t meet the educational qualification requirements.

Employers also had a lukewarm opinion about the availability of qualified workers in Nipissing and Parry Sound.

Meantime, results show just over three-quarters of the respondents hired someone in the last 12 months while employers were equally divided, 50-50, on whether they planned on hiring anyone in the next year.

In terms of recruitment, the survey says much still relies on word of mouth and personal contacts while employers also rely on their own websites to publicize job vacancies.

Meantime, 28 percent are experiencing skilled trades shortages compared to 72 percent who are not.

Overall, the top industry response to the survey, at 15.4 percent, was retail.

That was followed by professional, scientific and technical services at just over 10 percent.

The survey also says there are proportionately fewer hires for permanent full-time work and much more for part-time, temporary or seasonal.

68 percent of the respondents to the survey were located in Nipissing with 32 percent in Parry Sound.

For more check out www.thelabourmarketgroup.ca