Hundreds of local jobs remain unfilled, county told

Trent Lakes mayor says employers are frustrated with new employees who quit after only a few days

There are more than 300 job vacancies in Peterborough city and county in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Rhonda Keenan, president and CEO of Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development.

While the current number of active job postings is an improvement from the 840 back in August, Keenan told county council on Wednesday that the remaining jobs vacancies need to be filled.

In response to Keenan’s presentation, Trent Lakes Mayor Janet Clarkson said she’s been hearing from business owners in her township that there is a lack of accountability that employees have upon being hired.

“There’s lots of people out there who are hiring people, only to discover that after two or three days, they either don’t show up or they show up

sporadically, or they’ve had too much wacky tobaccy,” Clarkson said.

Employers spend a lot of time searching for employees, she said, only to have the employee for a few days.

“I’m wondering if there’s some way through the employment, that a code of conduct can be suggested to people just to let them know that working, it’s not something that you do as a privilege. Employers put a lot at stake and a lot of effort into it,” Clarkson said.

“I know Sir Stanford Fleming train a lot of kids in a lot of different ways, but I’m not sure how much they’re trained in terms of being good employees when they do get the jobs.”

In response to Clarkson’s comments, Keenan said concerns about the quality of the workforce is something the agency also hears from many companies.

“So, I’m excited to say that the Kawartha-Muskoka region is doing a pilot for employment services. They have changed in the province on how they are delivering and transforming employment services,” Keenan said.

The Peterborough region is one of the pilot areas, Keenan said. “And Fleming College is the deliverer of this new employment plan that will be rolled out in January, and I think that is something that will hopefully be addressed.”

There are also a number of SkillsAdvance Ontario programs that train people before they enter the workforce, Keenan said.

“It is on our radar and we are aware of that concern. It’s valid,” Keenan said.