MONTREAL -- A consultation with Quebec manufacturing companies on the subject of labour scarcity indicates that half of the positions to be filled pay $20 to $29 an hour.
The consultation was conducted by the Manufacturiers et exportateurs du Québec (MEQ) organization who connected with 401 companies in May and June.
The consultations also revealed that the most difficult positions to fill are those of day labourers, assemblers, operators, welders, mechanics, machinists, labourers, technicians and engineers.
The eight solutions the MEQ proposed to alleviate the labour shortage problem included increasing the immigration thresholds, which received the most support. Some 45 per cent believe it would help a lot and 30 per cent believe it would help moderately.
When asked about increasing the wages of open positions, 23 per cent of business representatives thought it would help a lot, while 48 per cent thought it would help moderately.
Other proposed solutions included automation and robotization, attracting young people, a wage tax credit and investments in training.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 28, 2021.
