Views on labour market, training obligations and soft skills differ by employer size

Canada’s largest employers are more likely to say that the skills gap has become worst compared to their small business counterparts, according to CERIC’s latest analysis of its Career Development in the Workplace: National Business Survey. The new findings present a breakdown of survey results by employer size—fewer than 10 employees, 10 to 49 employees, 50 to 99 employees, 100 to 499 employees, and more than 500 employees.

CERIC commissioned Environics Research Group to survey 500 employers of small, medium, and large-scale enterprises to surface their views on challenges facing Canadian businesses including skills gaps, and approaches toward employee recruitment, training and career management. National results were released last year as well as regional and location breakdowns have been made available. This exploration of employer size highlights several differences and similarities among employers.

For instance, respondents from the smaller organizations—fewer than 10 workers and between 10 to 49 employees—are significantly less likely than those with over 500 employees  to believe that the skills gap has gotten worse in recent years (33% and 35% compared to 51%). Although executives from all business sizes mention that their firms are willing to provide training (39% “very willing” and 43% “somewhat willing”), just over two-thirds express concern about losing employees after investing in training. This apprehension is greatest among executives of businesses from organizations with 500 or more employees (75%) compared to those with fewer than 10 workers (58%).

Three in four Canadian executives (73%) say their organization provides professional development opportunities for employees such as conferences or workshops. Formal coaching programs or mentorships are less common among Canadian businesses, as they are offered by fewer than half (44%). For both, it is the largest organizations that are most likely to provide training opportunities for their staff, as nearly all (97%) of these offer professional development opportunities while just about three in four (74%) provide coaching or mentors. The rates for the smallest firms are significantly lower in both cases (60% and 32%).

A positive attitude, good communication skills, teamwork, a strong work ethic and interpersonal/customer service abilities are the top five soft skills valued by Canadian executives combined. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees value a positive attitude much more (38%) than large organizations with 500 or more employees (26%). The former also place more than twice as much value on reliability/dependability (10%) than the latter (4%).