THE NEED FOR FOCUSED ATTENTION FOR SMALL BUSINESSES TRAINING NEEDS (2007) Business owners and operators from every sector, every size of business and every region of the province are clear in their message; the skills shortage and the ability to find, train and retain skilled workers is having a negative impact on their ability to contribute to economic growth and prosperity.
The skills shortage facing the economy is particularly marked for small- and medium-sized businesses (SME’s). SME’s face the combined challenge of having difficulty hiring skilled employees but are particularly challenged in their ability to train existing workers.
SME’s in BC need innovative public policies and flexible training programs to support their human resources development. One of the key barriers to SME’s providing training and skill development opportunities for their employees is the direct and indirect costs of these types of investments. Several business organizations and many individual chamber members throughout the province have indicated that new models for financing employee training will need to be an essential part of the solution.
These issues have particularly serious implications for our rural and smaller communities, since many of the businesses that represent the backbone of local economies are small businesses that lack the capacity to deal with the shortage of skilled workers. Indeed the issue of recruitment and retention of skilled labour was the only priority issue that was identified at all 18 community consultations held by the Small Business Roundtable.
The Chamber has been pleased to note that the provincial government has introduced a number of programs and initiatives to address the skills shortage. The Chamber has also welcomed the priority given to skills training in both the 2006 and 2007 provincial budgets. Primary among these initiatives was the introduction of the Training Tax Credit Program in Budget 2006.
The Chamber was the leading voice calling for just such a program as a critical element in providing businesses with the tools they need to address the skills shortages they were facing. The Chamber’s recommendations were clear; the tax credit needed to be focused on small business, available regardless of sector or occupation, be employer-focused and preclude any training already funded by the federal or provincial government.
The Chamber believes the structure of the Training Tax Credit as announced by the Minister of Finance will have a positive effect on the province’s ability to increase the number of apprenticeships, both through additional participation but equally importantly through an increased level of completion.
Despite the importance of this issue, The Chamber has been disappointed with the lack of focus from government at all levels to the very real challenges the small business sector faces in training its workforce. Given that most SME’s do not use apprentices, there is a clear sense that the government’s focus on apprenticeships is at the expense of the need to enhance SME’s formal and informal training needs.
Small business employers need to develop greater capacity to deliver effective training for their employees. Government needs to play a greater role in helping to provide small businesses with progressive and effective tools to stimulate their investment in training.
If this does not happen the consequences will be severe for small businesses and, therefore, for the wider provincial economy. The inability of small businesses, the drivers of community prosperity, to provide training for their workers is the single biggest impediment in our ability to enhance the competitiveness and productivity of the province.
THE CHAMBER RECOMMENDS
That the provincial government:
- immediately review the Training Tax Credit with a view to expanding the credit to training besides apprenticeships or introducing a new Small Business Training Tax Credit; and
- ensure that training initiatives and programs focus on the particular challenges faced by small businesses through the inclusion of small business specific measures.
