Employers look for new ways to recruit as aging workers contribute to ongoing labour shortage

Lee Valley Tools put up a recruitment sign outside its headquarters in Ottawa a few months ago with a line reflecting a corporate shift: "No Experience Needed."

The company, which has retail stores across Canada, as well as an Ottawa-based manufacturing arm that builds its tools, desperately needed staff. 

Known for attracting older workers on the retail side, Lee Valley had seen a wave of retirements during COVID-19. But with demand up for its products as people embraced hobbies like gardening and woodworking during the pandemic, CEO Jason Tasse initially resorted to hiring members of a local lacrosse team he coaches to fill orders. 

As restrictions lifted, the company decided on a long-term strategy. They would pay more, offer better benefits, increase flexibility around shifts and invest in training those whose skills were not yet developed in the areas required. 

"We abandoned most traditional hiring practices and protocols," said Tasse. In the past, they would tell prospective employees what kind of schedule to expect, along with requiring specific skills and references. Now, Tasse said, "all of that was out the window."

Similar conversations are happening at organizations across Canada, according to Bank of Montreal senior economist Robert Kavcic, with companies in many sectors reworking their hiring practices as they face high post-lockdown demand for services and a tight labour market. 

Kavcic said labour participation "is pretty much back to where it was pre-COVID, if not higher, across every age category. So, it's not a case of people not wanting to work." 

Kavcic acknowledges there are a number of different reasons behind the labour crunch, but the single biggest factor, he said, is that Canada's boomer generation has started to retire en masse. Pandemic working conditions and a strong stock market may have incentivized some people to leave earlier than planned, he said, "but whether it was now or over the next few years, this was something that was coming anyway."

Indeed, more than 300,000 Canadians have already retired so far in 2022, according to Statistics Canada — up from 233,000 last year. What's more, the number of people nearing retirement age is higher than ever before, with around one in five Canadians of working age between 55 and 64 years old. With the average age of retirement sitting at 64, that means many more Canadians are set to leave their jobs.

Even employers who haven't seen big numbers of retirements happen yet are beginning to plan ahead. 

With increases in condominium and other building projects, the City of Toronto needs engineers, city planners and other workers now. 

Last month, the municipality ran a recruitment drive, pushing out videos on TikTok and Instagram, calling for applicants for roles at Toronto Water in areas such as wastewater treatment.

Gord Mitchell, who runs the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant in the Beaches neighbourhood, said retirement numbers have remained minimal at his location so far. 

"But, you know, you see the oncoming tsunami," he said.