(Time to read this Blog section about 60 seconds)
- The talent crunch is real. Germany has a current shortage of 100,000 engineers. In the USA the National Association of Home Builders states that 200,000 construction jobs are unfilled nationwide. There are 500,000 unfilled IT and computer science jobs, 600,000 unfilled high-end manufacturing jobs, and at least 700,000 vacant nursing positions. Both Boeing and Airbus are struggling to find enough trained aerospace technicians to ease their gigantic backlog of unfilled aircraft orders.
Whether you’re a high-tech company or a summer resort, the battle to attract and retain top performers is very real. Two big resorts in Muskoka, Ontario’s famous cottage country, are currently short 600 seasonal staff…and their ‘season’ has already started. Henry’s iconic fish restaurant on an island near Parry Sound, Ontario will not open this year, after 44 years, because they can’t get staff to work on an island.
We are rapidly approaching a time when many businesses will close because they can’t find the people they need. What are you doing to be the employer of choice in your industry? The best people have to work for somebody…it’s just that you have to deserve them.
- Starbucks incredible growth. Starbucks is opening one new location in China each day.
- Traditional retail is officially in big trouble: Retail foot traffic is down 57% in the past 5 years in the USA. Thousands of stores and many malls are closing every month. The same thing is happening in Canada and other parts of the ‘Western World’.
- Where do all those millions go? According to Wyatt Investment Research, 78% of NFL players and 60% of NBA players file for bankruptcy within five years of retiring.
- Computers on wheels. There are 100 million lines of computer code in the average car produced today.
- Solar panel paint. Solar panels are expensive and unattractive. But researchers at a South Korean University have developed a thermoelectric paint that enables walls to convert heat into electricity. The sides of buildings and ships can be painted to transform them into massive solar panels that look just like any other traditionally painted surface.
