Brantford Brant got its first glimpse of COVID-19’s impact on the local job market, as Statistics Canada released its monthly job numbers – and it isn’t pretty.

Early indications are that Brantford may not have been as hard hit as other parts of Ontario and Canada, especially communities more reliant on tourism and hospitality.

Brantford jobless rate for March was estimated at 5.9%, up from 4.7% in February, as employment in the city fell by about 1,700 people, according to Statistics Canada. The number of unemployed grew by an estimated 900 people.

“It’s terrible to see so many of our residents lose work because of COVID-19,” said Danette Dalton, executive director of the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie.

“However, we know our residents, businesses and organizations are strong and resilient. We’ve recovered from downturns in the job market before and our community has a history of working together to help people and rebuild.”

Thursday’s numbers are based on Statistics Canada’s survey of local households conducted during March 15 – 21, just before Ontario ordered non-essential businesses closed. The agency expects more dramatic impacts to show up in next month’s labour force survey.

In Brantford, there were hundreds of job losses in each of these sectors: retail; accommodation and food services; and information, culture and recreation, all of which traditionally employ more women. Manufacturing – the city’s largest employer – also saw job losses, even though many local companies are still operating. On the flip side, there’s been hiring in agriculture, health care, and transportation and warehousing.

Epic Jobs, an annual event that introduces almost 2,000 area students to the skilled trades, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Running at two locations – the Wayne Gretzky Sport Centre and the Sanderson Centre – Epic Jobs in its 4^th year, features high profile industry speakers and around 50 exhibitor booths ranging from major local companies such as Tigercat, Brantford Power and Stelco to various community organizations, training centres and colleges such as Conestoga College who recently invested in its school of trades. 

The event has been widely supported by the community in its mission of getting young people into the trades. Skilled trades shortages have been a growing issue in Grand Erie for some time. 

Planning partners, which include the public and Catholic school boards, are currently meeting with digital experts to explore a virtual version of Epic Jobs for 2020 to be presented online. 

Sponsors and exhibitors who registered for the 2020 event can each expect to hear from the planning committee soon with more details. 

Epic Jobs is currently forging ahead as a live event for 2021 in its pursuit of engaging our youth – the future workforce – with skilled trades. There are new initiatives planned around the trades for 2021 contributing to a strong framework for Epic Jobs. 

Any parties who have questions, comments or feedback are welcome to contact The Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie: epicjobs@workforceplanningboard.org / danette@workforceplanningboard.org

 *The COVID-19 crisis has made significant impacts in Grand Erie and around the world on business, livelihoods, and jobs. The Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie is working with our community partners to generate a picture of how the crisis has impacted jobs, industry and families in our region in order to inform local-level responses.

 

Today, the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie, in partnership with Workforce Planning West, has launched the COVID-19 Worker Impact Survey to help inform the development of employment-related initiatives to respond to this crisis. 

The COVID-19 crisis has already made significant impacts in Grand Erie and around the world on business, livelihoods, and jobs. Using the survey, the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie is aiming to generate a picture of how the crisis has impacted jobs and families in our region in order to inform local-level responses.

The survey, which will be active for 2 weeks, asks about the extent to which a worker’s employment status might have changed since March 2, 2020. The survey also asks workers about their occupation and the sector they work in, which will provide insight into which groups of workers have been most affected and in what ways.

The results of this survey will be published after the survey closes so that government, business and the community has a better understanding how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted the workforce and to better inform efforts and advocacy locally

The COVID-19 Worker Impact Survey can be accessed at: bit.ly/c19wi-survey

The survey is active until Thursday, April 9, 2020.

COVID-19 is affecting almost everything, including the work we do as a community organization.

The Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie is working to stay on top of how COVID-19 is impacting local businesses, organizations and residents, including workers laid off or working from home.

We would like to hear from businesses in Brantford, Six Nations, New Credit, and the counties of Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk about COVID-19’s impact on them and their workforce.

Have you laid off workers? Have you had to stop or cut back production? Have you closed your business? Are you looking for workers?

We would also like to hear from employees who have been impacted: laid off, put on paid leave, working from home or are in an industry where working from home is not an option.

Workforce Planning Board staff are working remotely but are providing updates and news through our website and our social media channels. Our connect2SKILLS job training program will also be sharing updates through its social media channels.

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