No end in sight to local labour shortage

Business owners are being challenged to get creative as they face a serious labour shortage.

A panel discussion Wednesday in Southampton on the topic drew about 75 participants and looked at the reasons why there are jobs going unfilled and how to draw more people to the area to fill them.

Pier Donnini owns the Queens Bar and Grill in Port Elgin and said attitudes toward how employees are viewed needs to change.

"We've got to think differently about labour, about what labour expects and what we have to deliver, we have to make investments in labour rather than treat it as an expense, we have to treat as an investment," said Donnini. "There's a lot of factors in the solution, there isn't a silver bullet."

The number one issue employers face when trying to attract retain workers was overwhelmingly transportation, which was echoed by Steven Harris, who owns Ristorante Rosina in Port Elgin.

"We don't have [transportation] within Saugeen Shores, or Grey or Bruce County, mass transportation or discounted options, such as Uber," said Harris.

Affordable housing also dominated discussion, as Harris pointed out he chooses to rent several investment properties to employees at below market value in order for them to have a place to live close to work.

Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau said affordable housing options are in the works, and he hopes the community will have a positive approach to affordable housing when the municipality's official plan is updated later this year.

"When it comes to building that multiplex, or when it comes to building those row houses or those more attainable types of housing or even small housing and all these ideas," said Charbonneau. "When those proposals come, the answer from the community needs to be 'Yes please.'"

Charbonneau also pointed out Bruce County council is examining the possibility of a ride sharing partnership, though he cautions those discussions are in their infancy.