Do you know eastern Ontario employers finding it hard to recruit talent right now? The Eastern Ontario Workforce Development Project (EOWD) has re-launched, and as a result of their strategic plan, have purchased a 1 year subscription to LinkedIn Recruiter.

The story of manufacturing is more than a story about factory lines.

As our lives become more tied to our online experiences and transactions, so grows the need for our businesses to be secured against cyber attacks.

Manufacturing sectors in eastern Ontario are varied and vibrant.

When people think of robotics, they tend to think of pop culture (think C-3PO or the Terminator), probably because many people have never encountered a robot in real life.

Additive manufacturing is a huge current manufacturing trend.

Manufacturing in eastern Ontario is rich with many successful and vibrant sectors, including food processing, signage, plastics, personal care products, acrylics, chemicals and electronics.

Regions outside the GTA are struggling to find skilled labour to fill their workforce needs.

The Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Project (EOMWDP) strives to inform and encourage upcoming generations to consider manufacturing as a career choice.

As technology continues to support the manufacturing sector, and advances in AI and automation are integrated into the workplace, the need for highly skilled workers is on the rise.

You can no longer post job openings online and expect applicants to be knocking down your door in droves.

News cycles every month highlight the rising cost of housing in major cities and lament the loss of the middle class.

Manufacturing employs 65,000 people in the eastern Ontario region alone, helping to make it a prosperous sector for Ontario.

The balance between work and life has often caused conflicts in our personal and professional lives. As younger generations enter the workforce, the shift toward work-life balance continues to create some conflict but also to create harmony for the next generation of the workforce.

A lot has gone on in the manufacturing world this year.

There are so many amazing manufacturing companies in Ontario.

At the end of the year, we highlight up-and-coming trends in manufacturing.

The eastern Ontario region is home to an established manufacturing cluster and the industry continues to grow.

Ontario’s food and beverage processing sector is the largest in Canada, making up 37% of the industry’s revenue in the country.

Manufacturing is an excellent place to start a future career, but if you’re looking to join the manufacturing industry, you may be wondering how to get in.

When you begin to plan the type of work you want to do for the rest of your life, it’s important to make sure you find work in growing industries, where you have job security and great pay.

The end of the year is a time for countdowns and best-of lists, and we’re happy to jump on the trend and remind you of the year’s best tools to upskill in manufacturing training.

In manufacturing, technology is constantly improving processes and moving your business forward.

Searching for a great job is a time-consuming task, so you want to make sure you are limiting your search criteria to job sectors that have secure, great paying positions.

This is a guest blog post by Lisa Steudle of EMC (Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium).

Even if you don’t have a lot of time to invest in recruiting and retaining workers, these 5 techniques will pay off by generating excitement about the future of manufacturing for your upcoming workforce.

The growing influence of artificial intelligence in our lives will become more commonplace as time goes on.

Small cities are quickly becoming the place to be. With real estate prices rising to exorbitant rates in large cities and prohibiting a reasonable cost of living for many people, residents are being driven out of big cities and moving to smaller ones.

Dvine Laboratories is a developer of e-juice (the liquid used in e-cigarettes) based in Lindsay, Ontario. Dvine Laboratories’ headquarters takes up 30,000 square feet of office space and the company employs 34 people. Business is booming, but this successful, relatively new company says it will stay in Lindsay forever. 

We've profiled STEM books for kids before because they’re important for introducing your kids (and you) to the world of STEM and manufacturing trends.

Ron Haslam has been making signs for pretty much all his working life. After leaving school at 15 and starting to work in the sign industry at 16, he found he had a natural talent for it.

You may think of manufacturing as a not-very-environmentally friendly industry, but there are many ways manufacturing is going green.

We've written about 5 reasons why you'll want to work in eastern Ontario, and we've thought of 3 more you’ll want to know about. Above and beyond the 5 great reasons, eastern Ontario offers you a great quality of life, access to amazing education and many diverse opportunities to grow your career.

The owners of DVS Manufacturing Inc. and Louet North America are a husband and wife team that sell their products all over the world. Dave and Pam Van Stralen’s business is located in the Leeds Grenville area of eastern Ontario. DVS is perhaps best-known for its SquareTM ergonomic knitting needles and crochet hooks. 

Jarvis Design and Display Ltd. has been going strong for 46 years. The company is known for creating signage and in-store wall graphics that appear all across Canada. From store signs outside local grocery stores to washroom graphics or direction signs inside an office building, Jarvis Design and Display has done it all.

Evonik Canada Inc. is a global leader in producing specialty chemicals. The Maitland Ontario site of Evonik, which makes hydrogen peroxide, continues to expand. The company currently employs 26 highly skilled local workers in a massive 60,000 square metre facility.

Husband and wife duo, Karen Clark and Alain Ménard, started their company to provide their families and all Canadians with healthier personal care products. 

Here’s an industry that may not come to mind when you think of the manufacturing sector: technical textile manufacturers. Technical textiles are used in all sorts of places beyond where you would normally think of textiles being used. Industries like construction, transportation, sports, and agriculture all use technical textiles.

The term “advanced manufacturing” gets thrown around a lot, but it isn’t an easily defined term. Manufacturing, for instance, is the production of products in large quantities. Raw materials are converted into finished products that can then be sold. Manufactured products could be anything from canned soda and frozen pizza to car parts and electronics.

You’re probably feeling excited. It’s Manufacturing Month and that means that there’s a lot of activity around our industry. Interest in the manufacturing sector is concentrated in this one month, and for thirty-one days you can feel like the star of the show. But we all know this month has to come to an end, and when it does things will go back to normal. Getting new potential investors interested in the industry is harder without all the initiatives that are reserved for Manufacturing Month.

There are many ways to increase the profile of eastern Ontario manufacturing. But when it comes to keeping the interest of young people, some employers feel at a loss for how to communicate their passion to the next generation of would-be makers and tinkerers. That’s why it’s useful to look for different methods to express the passion, creativity, and, yes, fun that’s part of the manufacturing world. Let’s explore a cultural phenomenon you might not associate with manufacturing trends: gaming!

Throughout the month of October our blog is devoted to promoting Manufacturing Month. We’re highlighting job possibilities in the manufacturing sector you may not have thought of before. For example, food processing is a big part of eastern Ontario’s manufacturing industry.

October is Manufacturing Month so we’re promoting the manufacturing industry in eastern Ontario all month long. We don’t want you to miss any opportunities for finding manufacturing job training and a great job, so we’re profiling Elevate Plus, a manufacturing training program.

October is Manufacturing Month and we're promoting everything about manufacturing in eastern Ontario all month long. One of the best ways we can do that is by helping you find your dream job in the manufacturing sector right here in eastern Ontario.

October is Manufacturing Month so we’re profiling some of the great manufacturing job opportunities available in eastern Ontario. We’ve summarized 7 jobs that range from skilled trades to engineering to managerial positions, offering you lots of options depending on what you’re interested in and where you see yourself in your career future.

The manufacturing sector is an incredibly diverse world. So many industries are a part of it. For example, have you ever heard of petrochemical manufacturing? We have petrochemical manufacturers here in eastern Ontario, in our own backyard, yet not many people are aware of what they do. But, probably everyone has come into contact with a product derived from petrochemicals.

Telecommunications is the process of sending data, images, sounds or messages through wire, radio waves, optical systems or electromagnetic radiation. Examples include the telephone, radio broadcasting, the Internet, television and wireless communications (e.g. WiFi, LTE).

  FOR RELEASE: October 1, 2019 Alysha Dominico Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Project (EOMWDP) (416) 779-7407 ad@tangiblewords.com

In the not-so-distant past, many people believed that in order to make a decent living they had to get a university degree. While a degree remains a requirement for certain professions, there are a growing number of high-paying occupations that instead require an apprenticeship. The demand for skilled tradespeople is high in eastern Ontario, where a booming manufacturing sector continues to grow.

Manufacturing Month is a showcase of the innovative, high-tech businesses in Ontario that manufacture a variety of products. Not only are manufacturers fascinating hubs of production, but they are also the backbone of the Ontario economy. The manufacturing industry in eastern Ontario alone employs 65,000 people.

The Tri-Association Manufacturing Conference is taking place on October 24, 2019 at the Cobourg Community Centre. The Northumberland Manufacturers’ Association have put together a day packed with information, demos and strategies to help local manufacturers prepare for the future.

We've talked before about Manufacturing Day before, but Manufacturing Month is coming in October. Here are some great ways you can embrace the spirit of the month and promote manufacturing trends and the jobs they create in eastern Ontario.

If you haven’t grown up in it, the manufacturing industry can seem like a different world. Every industry has its own jargon, its own language and short-forms, and manufacturing is no exception.

Fleming College has four campuses throughout Ontario, including Peterborough, Lindsay, Haliburton and Cobourg.

With the fall of cannabis prohibition in Canada in October 2018, recreational weed has hit the market in a huge way, and it’s become a way for Canadian manufacturing companies to get a big leg up on international competition.

On October 9th, 2019, Peterborough and the Kawarthas are hosting an open door tour of manufacturing companies. Over 40 participants are already expected, including guidance counsellors, pathways consultants and teachers from the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board (PVNCCDSB) and the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB).

You may not have realized this but, if you’ve been living anywhere in eastern Ontario, you’ve been living in a manufacturing hub. And this isn’t just the way it is now; eastern Ontario has been a manufacturing centre for quite some time. It’s amazing what can go on right under your nose if you’re not looking for it!

Queen’s University in Kingston (which is in eastern Ontario) is 175 years old with a tradition of academic excellence and a beautiful waterfront campus. Queen’s is a full-spectrum, research-intensive university.

In meetings with your manufacturing managers, you’ve likely discussed the training that apprentices in your workforce have received. When your team has identified gaps in apprenticeship training, you then have to correct the issues in-house.

Loyalist College is an English-language college located on more than 200 beautiful acres in Belleville, which is located in eastern Ontario. More learners are choosing Loyalist College because of its supportive and engaging culture. Students feel empowered by their post-secondary journey, which takes them to careers where they will succeed and excel.

If you haven’t worked in the manufacturing industry before, some terms may be confusing. Every industry uses its own jargon and unique way of communicating, and manufacturing does as well. 

In eastern Ontario, there are many organizations and associations that provide support services and hand out annual manufacturing industry awards. Putting your company into a position to win one of these awards is not just good for morale and publicity–it can help generate more sales.

It’s a fine day to get to know a local eastern Ontario manufacturer. Longevity Acrylics Inc. is a bathware manufacturing company, based in Summerstown Ontario, that manufactures 100% cast acrylic bathware designs.

Lanthier Bakery, located in Alexandria Ontario, was founded by Georges and Adrienne Lanthier in 1932. Back then, Lanthier was one of four bakeries in Alexandria that sold fresh bread and pastries door to door.

Canada’s economy is doing very well. There has been plenty of job creation in past years and the GTA is in particularly fine form. Ontario’s unemployment rate has been hovering just below 6%, and skilled immigrants are coming from all parts of the globe to take part in Ontario’s workforce.

When most people think about workplace training, they think about onboarding training for new employees, or the sort of annual “check the box” training that most people (including even sometimes the people who give the training) don’t take very seriously. 

Laminacorr has operated in manufacturing in eastern Ontario since 2013 in the Cornwall Business Park. The 21-year-old company owned by Guy Robichaud and family employs 60 workers and has grown to be the largest independent corrugated plastics product manufacturer in North America.

SigmaPoint Technologies is located in Cornwall in eastern Ontario, and was founded in 1999 by Dan Bergeron, who still runs the company today. The company culture respects every person and has successfully grown from 5 to over 300 committed employees in 20 years.

As the Baby Boomer generation leaves the workforce, many new jobs are becoming available across the country, especially in manufacturing. There are many opportunities in Canada, including in the eastern Ontario region, for new Canadians. 

SkillsAdvance Ontario (SAO) can help you find available jobs in manufacturing and will set you up with the skills development you need. The SAO program exists to give you the best shot possible at landing a secure, well-paying, exciting job in eastern Ontario’s manufacturing sector.

Rather than trying to do everything within your manufacturing company, there are many resources available to you right in eastern Ontario. In addition to your local workforce development offices and economic development officers, you have the Eastern Ontario Training Board to help you with hiring and employee retention.

Dear reader, I have a question for you. What is life?

As house prices and the general cost of living continue to climb in major cities, you might be considering alternatives. You need to first find a location that has a perfect job for you. Then you can start to look into what life is like in other cities in Ontario. The province’s best kept secret for work-life balance is living in eastern Ontario.

The manufacturing industry is entrenched in eastern Ontario, but is rapidly changing and improving in response to many external factors. To continue to thrive, manufacturing needs to stay on top of key trends.

You're busy running a business: hiring, training, and keeping up with technology, manufacturing trends, and sector changes. You likely don't have much time to go out and find manufacturing resources, so we've compiled the top 3 magazines for you.

New Canadians are an important talent source for manufacturers, but they're dealing with a lot: moving to a new place, acclimatizing to a new culture and its customs, unfamiliar weather, and maybe learning a second or third language as well. Here are 3 ways your manufacturing company can welcome new Canadians.

As a new Canadian, you may be excited about the opportunities in Canada’s eastern Ontario region, like the many manufacturing jobs opening up over the next few years as Baby Boomers leave the workforce.

Baby Boomers are retiring and manufacturing jobs are becoming available. The Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Plan (EOMWDP) data indicates that in the last quarter of 2017, there

What if you could simulate what your future career would look like before you made plans for education and training? You might find that the career you are planning for isn’t what you thought it was. Or you might find that it’s even more interesting and exciting than you anticipated.

After graduating from college or university, your first thought is likely to move back home while you figure out where you’re going to work. It’s cheaper to live at home with your family in the short term, and you’re familiar

Knowing where to post your job opportunities online can be a daunting task, with many options available, all requiring different formats. To simplify the hiring process and optimize your chances of finding the best

If you’ve been online searching for jobs, you’ve likely come across the usual suspects: Indeed, Monster, or even jobs posted on specific company websites. The job board that you might not have heard of yet, but that is worth signing up for, is Magnet.

As Baby Boomers increasingly leave the workforce over the next decade for retirement, the next generation of workers will need to take their place. In past blog posts, we’ve discussed many methods of attracting Millennial workers to manufacturing. But that’s only half the puzzle.

You are aware that most often an employee onboarding process can be overwhelming both to the organization and the new employee. Onboarding is often filled with bureaucracy and tedium at best and, at worst, is an experience so unpleasant that it contributes to high employee turnover.

 You know your students and children best. Maybe you have one who you believe could flourish in STEM. You’ve watched their skills development journey, and found them to be a curious person (always taking things apart and putting those things back together again) or technologically adept. Perhaps they work well in teams or are always looking for a more efficient way of getting jobs done.

Promoting the history of manufacturing is a great way to help people see where manufacturing comes from and help them imagine themselves as a member of the workforce. As one way to reach people with this information, consider sharing blog posts, e-books, or social media posts about some of the great people in manufacturing history.

Women account for 48% of the Canadian workforce, but only 28% of the manufacturing workforce. This job rate share hasn't changed for 30 years, according to Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME).

One of the Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Plan (EOMWDP) mandates is to educate the eastern Ontario community about the vast opportunities in manufacturing. When we make manufacturing accessible to youth, we help them see themselves in this exciting world of technology and innovation. 

Upskilling your manufacturing employees is essential in an increasingly technological world. Manufacturers in the Quinte region have communicated their need for talent that can work with and repair computers. 

Many job seekers worry about the future of technology, and how the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) will affect the number of available jobs. While pictures like this robot can make it seem that we are creating machines to replace humans, the majority of real-world applications are more similar to the picture below of a person assisted by software on a laptop.

Process control engineering is the 8th most popular manufacturing job in eastern Ontario, according to data collected by the Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Project (or EOMWDP for short).

One of our goals with this blog is to help manufacturing employers in eastern Ontario connect with the next generation of workers, a generation that some employers may feel completely out of touch with. That’s why we’re always on the lookout for big cultural hits that can be used to help young people see that manufacturing is an exciting industry full of opportunity. This time we’ve come across a particular item you might be interested in: a graphic novel all about manufacturing.

Manufacturing is a dynamic and cutting-edge industry, so you’re going to want to update your resumé to match. No matter what your current skill set is, these are easy ways to spruce up your resumé so it gets to the top of the pile.

To truly maximize the return on your investment, and ensure you’re attracting the best and brightest, here’s what you should consider and prepare for as a participant of job fairs.

The region of Kingston-Pembroke is located in eastern Ontario, and includes the towns of Belleville, Kingston, Petawawa, and Pembroke. These cities all have access to beautiful waterfront, whether on Lake Ontario or along the Ottawa River. In addition, the region has a strong manufacturing sector that continues to employ many local residents.

The second episode of the Netflix docuseries Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is all about salt. The show’s host, Samin Nosrat, visits Japan to document the uses of salt and salty tastes in Japanese cooking to make exceptional food. She explores the process of making traditional soy sauce, gathering sea salt from strands of seaweed, (moshio) and making miso soup from scratch.

Eastern Ontario is an amazing place to live and raise a family. The region is full of culture, vibrance, and economic prosperity. To help you decide if the eastern Ontario region is a place you’d like to relocate to, we’ve compiled a list of the benefits of the towns in the Kawartha area and what they have to offer job seekers.

In 2018, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat aired on Netflix. If you haven’t seen the show yet, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is a four-episode documentary miniseries hosted by Samin Nosrat, a chef and writer of a regular food column for The New York Times. The show takes a loving view of the process of making food, broken down into its simplest tenets: salt, fat, acid, and heat. 

You know that your business is interesting. You love how your product is made, the care and craftsmanship throughout the entire manufacturing process. You have employees who love knowing they’ve made great food that feeds the whole province. But you don’t just like making food that feeds people: you demand quality. There’s a long tradition of passionate food makers from eastern Ontario; passion for your product is a subject you could talk about for hours to whoever will listen.

If you're close to finishing your education, you're likely wondering what career you'd like to have once you're done. In the next 5 years, Baby Boomers will be leaving the workforce and the manufacturing sector is looking for skilled workers to take their place.

Inbound marketing is a technique for drawing people to products and services through easily searchable and enticingly relevant online content. Inbound marketing aims to create valuable experiences for your target audience, that have a positive impact on people and your business.

According to data collected by the EOMWDP, a machinist and tooling inspector is the 9th most popular job in eastern Ontario. These jobs are ideal for people who have strong attention to detail, can read and interpret engineering drawings, and can explain complicated ideas in a simple, clear way. 

The Ottawa region of eastern Ontario includes Brockville, Cornwall, and Ottawa-Gatineau, and boasts more than 25,000 employers and 500,000 jobs.

In Ontario, the automotive manufacturing sector was hit particularly hard in the last recession. Although automation of the industry was blamed for many of the job losses, that very same technology is now changing the landscape of Ontario manufacturing. Automation and innovation are the keys to preparing your business for the next recession.

According to the data compiled by the EOMWDP (Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Plan) project, welders are the 7th most popular job in eastern Ontario’s manufacturing sector. In an industry that employs 65,000 people, welders are in high demand.

The Ontario manufacturing industry is what drives the province’s economy, but as Baby Boomers retire, the sector is struggling to fill new positions. Years of misinformation and outdated views about the manufacturing industry have driven away the next generation of the labour force. Seeking out and identifying workforce trends has therefore become an important skill for manufacturing companies, EDOs, and workforce development professionals who are trying to boost employment. Statistics Canada is a tried and true source of labour market information, offering accurate data to help workforce professionals identify trends. But StatsCan results take time to collect and analyze, and data is not always relevant to smaller communities and regions.

Much of traditional corporate learning is costly, because it takes employees away from their jobs, and it has to be repeated endlessly. On top of that, a lot of information learned during training doesn’t stick with employees and that’s because our brains lose most of the information we learn within 48 hours of learning it. In a sense, this is a helpful function of the brain: it helps sort out information. We learn a lot of new information in a day, but we don’t need all of it.

A job search can be exhausting, doubly so if you’re looking to switch industries. It’s so demoralizing: sending out resumes to an online void and somehow getting zero responses, not even a “thanks for your interest.” It’s something no one enjoys.

In a report by the UN, researchers placed the number of worldwide unemployed youths (15-24) at around 75 million. In Canada, workers in this age range are more likely than older workers to be unemployed, and even though youth workers are generally faster at gaining new jobs than other age groups, they are also more likely to be employed for shorter periods.

 You’ve probably heard students complain that they’ll never use advanced mathematics in the real world. It probably happens every year. You’d probably like to prove to them all the time that the theoretical concepts in the classroom have a definite link to a later career. Experiential learning is the way to do that.

If you’re looking for a new career, you can get manufacturing training and find a job in eastern Ontario. Manufacturing careers are high-tech, clean, and stable, so don’t discount the manufacturing industry as a potential career path. Manufacturing continues to grow across eastern Ontario, employing some 65,000 people. But about 86 percent of manufacturers across Canada are reporting having difficulties hiring, and in eastern Ontario that difficulty could be linked to a skills shortage.

Manufacturing is unfortunately (and falsely) believed to be an unglamorous occupation, when in actuality there are clean and lean productions going on in eastern Ontario on the cutting edge of technological advancement. People with digital skills will be highly sought after in the coming years. As a member of the first truly digital generation, you are perfectly poised to be an innovator in Ontario manufacturing.

When you're getting ready for a career, you often think in terms of training for the specific job you'll be doing. This is called hard skills development or training; an example of manufacturing skills training could be learning how to weld or computer coding. Job training focuses on the hard skills you need to do the job successfully. And you need to learn those skills in any job you do. But skills training encompasses a broader way of approaching a job. Skills training includes the soft skills.

Nationally, about 86 percent of manufacturers are reporting having difficulties hiring despite the manufacturing industry’s growing strength. Eastern Ontario employs some 65,000 people, and in this region, hiring difficulties appear linked to a skills shortage in the workforce. This skills shortage is not the fault of job seekers but a result of the changing nature of jobs.

The manufacturing industry in eastern Ontario alone employs 65,000 people, and it is growing and improving every year with the help of the latest technology. To secure a place in one of these cutting-edge, large corporations, consider investing in yourself through manufacturing training.

Manufacturing in Ontario is currently strong, with companies embracing technological change and harnessing efficiencies. But there were economic challenges in the past. 

As you are searching for your next workplace, one that provides a secure income as well as challenging and enjoyable daily work, think about the skills development that you might need to increase the chances of getting hired. In today’s fast-paced world, technology is changing the workplace rapidly. But if you invest in new skills to understand that technology, you will continue to be competitive in today’s job market.

The Ontario East Economic Development Commission (or Ontario East for short) promotes eastern Ontario as an excellent place to do business. Ontario East supports business growth and attracts new businesses to the region. One of the target sectors that is experiencing growth is advanced manufacturing and materials technology, and there is an established cluster of manufacturing plants in the eastern Ontario region.

As you graduate, you might not be thinking of a manufacturing career as a place where you’ll thrive. You have a lot of choices confronting you: where to continue your education, should you continue your education, whether to live in residence or an off-campus apartment. You’re busy wondering what electives you should take and if there’s a way to schedule your classes so you don’t have to wake up too early, or maybe so you don’t spend your whole Wednesday at school.

Did you know there is such a thing as a Manufacturing Day? Well, there is! Created in 2012 by the Founding Partner Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, Manufacturing Day has a mission to help educate the populace on popular misconceptions about manufacturing to change the perception of the industry. Manufacturing Day is an opportunity for Ontario manufacturing companies to open their doors and show residents, youth, and job seekers what manufacturing is all about. The official date for Manufacturing Day is October 5th, but Manufacturing Day can really be any date that works for you.

As a job seeker looking for a new career, (possibly because your last career was disrupted by changes in technology) you’re looking for stability for the long term. You know it’s a big change to commit to an entirely new career path. No one wants to make that commitment only to find out in a few years’ time that all the jobs are gone.

While job hunting, you might consider looking for work that will keep you interested and challenged in the long run. According to the Forbes article 5 Ways to Achieve Career Fulfillment, being challenged at work, and using your full potential are key to loving your job.

As you decide what you want to go to post-secondary to study, it’s helpful to consider what jobs are actively hiring. That way you can plan your path to a tangible job goal at the end of your studies. Nowadays, many jobs require specific skills training. It’s better to plan a career path before you graduate, so you can ensure you have the skills you need for a job after graduation.

You’ve likely heard that it’s cheaper to keep an existing customer than to sign another one. Well, it’s also cheaper to retrain a current employee than to hire and train a new one.

In the Workforce Development Board’s (WDC) recent report titled “Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers”, the 2012 employment rate of Canadians aged 25-64 with disabilities was just 49%, which was 30% lower than those without a disability.

Technology has made so many aspects of life easier, from Google navigation on your phone to smart home thermostats, it’s hard to imagine life before these conveniences. Industries that have embraced technology in the same way that we have in our personal lives make for more efficient, advanced facilities. Eastern Ontario manufacturing plants are investing in technology, making businesses better not just in terms of profitability, but also in terms of employee satisfaction.

Manufacturing industries in Ontario are currently looking for engineering professionals. If you excelled in your high school math and science courses, and you really like the idea of designing or solving complex problems using technical skills, you would love a career in engineering.

Some of the most in-demand job opportunities within manufacturing are in the skilled trades.

The 4th industrial revolution is here, and though it might sound daunting, it simply refers to the digitization of industry. Just as technology has positively impacted your daily life, it’s also entered the workplace and is helping to advance the operations of companies and their employees.

We're in the 4th industrial revolution, and digital technology is allowing businesses to scale. Pierre Cléroux, of the BDC, released a report titled “The 4th industrial revolution is here. Are you ready?” highlighting the benefits of technology adoption. Business owners across the country were interviewed to determine how the digital landscape is improving the bottom line. Scott Hudson was featured in the report and explained the key drawback of sticking with traditional manufacturing and production methods.

There are many Ontario manufacturing success stories. It’s easy to find one that will inspire you to consider a manufacturing career. From IT gear for the Olympic Games and high-tech equipment for NASA to vegan desserts and clothing labels, everyone can find a product they will be proud to manufacture. Once you find your manufacturing passion and become part of the company family, you may never want to leave.

Are you looking for a job in manufacturing but are worried when you hear about factories closing and about the rising prevalence of jobs being transformed by automation? While it is true that automation is transforming the manufacturing industry, automation is creating as many jobs as it is outdating.

We’ve just got wind of this incredible new eastern Ontario job bank. It’s called P&G “Career Match” and this job bank matches employers with workers who will thrive in their company. It’s also designed to help in cases of labour shortage, where job seekers can afford to be a bit pickier about the jobs they want.

Congratulations, your high school days are almost over. You’re probably either excited or feeling anxious about the road ahead or, even more likely, you’re feeling a little bit of both. As someone who grew up during the recession, and who has been a firsthand witness of technology’s rapid acceleration, you know that you can’t necessarily rely on the life path that your parents or teachers grew up with. 

According to “A Different Ontario”, the income and employment report by the Mowat Centre, the 2008-2015 recession had a deep impact on Ontario. But its effects were felt differently by Ontarians from different backgrounds and in different regions of the province.

It’s the “big question”: What are you going to do after high school? Everyone wants to know. You probably get asked a lot at family functions. It’s a lot of pressure to come up with a good answer. On top of that, you know the job market is changing – fast. You worry that by the time you complete your degree, it will already be obsolete.

Want a job that pays well for doing something that you’re passionate about? Take a second look at the manufacturing job market. A recent Bloomberg article notes that millennial men tend to be missing from the job market.

As you get closer to graduation, it can feel like you are at a crossroads with so many options for what you should do next. You’re probably feeling overwhelmed by the input from your parents, teachers, siblings, and friends. They all want what’s best for you, but it can be so confusing.

You already know that your business’s most important asset is its workforce. You’ve put great effort into hiring, creating competitive pay packages, and ensuring a safe manufacturing plant. But how can you go one step further in order to really max out your recruitment and retention potential? It starts with highlighting your company’s strengths, and taking the pulse of how your employees feel.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the well-meaning advice you’re getting from parents, teachers, siblings, friends, guidance counsellors, and just about any other adult imparting career advice upon you, we’d like to help. We’ve been developing this blog series to offer suggestions that can help you make informed decisions about the path you want your life to take after graduating high school. This blog post’s topic is one very big question: should I travel?

The 2008 recession had profound effects on Ontario and in some cases we are still feeling those effects. The household median income growth in Ontario from 2005 to 2015 was the slowest in all of Canada, according to Mowat Centre’s A Different Ontario report on the 2016 census.

There are currently half a million young men missing from the job market, and Bloomberg's report on millennial men leaving a hole in the U.S. job market is suggesting it’s because they are tired of long days and minimum wage positions they aren’t enthusiastic about. 

The upcoming labour shortage in Canada is projected to last at least a decade, and that’s because thousands of baby boomers will be retiring in the next five years, leaving more jobs unfilled than filled. A lot of companies in the coming years will struggle to fill jobs.

The period following graduation is a strenuous time for anyone, but it can be even trickier if you don’t know what you want to do when you graduate. You probably feel yourself pulled in all sorts of directions.

Eastern Ontario is a great place to work and live. You’ll find great jobs, affordable housing, natural scenery, and friendly communities. It’s a great place to play outside (on land or water), join a sports team, catch a live show, or find a new hobby.

Getting information about jobs that are available now is great, but what if you could also access archived Ontario job-ad information from the previous twelve months? You’d have access to all that information - from advertised salaries to required skill sets - making you way more informed before you even start your job search. 

We’ve come a long way from the days when the three Rs of “reading, writing and ‘arithmetic” covered all the bases. To find satisfying employment, you will need a much wider range of transferable skills for the future of work.

The Elevate Plus Training Program provides free six-week training for jobs in the eastern Ontario manufacturing sector, specifically within Bay of Quinte. The project was created by employers and educators to deliver exactly the skills required to be successful in a career within the industry.

With training new hires foremost in your mind for the next five years as more and more baby boomers retire, you - along with many manufacturing executives - will be looking for ways to optimize manufacturing onboarding training. Why focus on onboarding?

As you begin to think about your future, you’re probably wondering how you can have an impact on this world, in a job that is stable, and even fun. 

The job search process is intense, and it can feel like a full-time job itself. Updating your resumé, keeping on top of online job postings, and getting to interviews can be overwhelming. It’s hard to know where to start, and how to be the best candidate for your dream job.

If you’re looking to attract youth to jobs in manufacturing, it helps to speak their language. 

When employees feel that they have achieved a work-life balance, their stress levels stay low, which allows them to be more engaged and productive employees.