'It's not just a question of training, it's a question of addressing discrimination in the labour market,' says academic
Provincial, federal and territorial labour market ministers talked upskilling and training in Winnipeg last week at the Forum of Labour Market Ministers (FLMM) – the first one in over six years.
The ministers agreed on the importance of “working together to ensure that Canadians have the skills and training they need to enter the workforce and remain adaptable and competitive within today’s labour market,” according to a press release.
The release went on to acknowledge a commitment to upskilling and reskilling through union and private sector collaborations and continued federal support of regional programs through Labour Market Transfer Agreements (LMTAs).
Politicians at the forum also discussed increasing participation of under-represented groups in the labour market.
The FLMM, formed in 1984, will be meeting again in June 2024, and annually thereafter.
“Together, my FLMM partners and I are working to build a skilled, diverse workforce that grows our economy and helps more Canadians secure good jobs. I look forward to our continued work on behalf of workers, employers and communities here in Manitoba and across Canada,” said FLMM co-chair Jamie Moses, Minister of Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Natural Resources.
Offering opportunities to diverse workers
But one Canadian academic says more needs to be done when it comes to under-represented groups.
While upskilling and training programs can be helpful, said Suzanne Mills, associate professor of labour studies at McMaster University, they don’t address what for many employees in Canada is not just a matter of skills.
“I think it would be great to offer opportunities to people who were systemically not able to access particular types of skills and opportunities, however, you have to be careful with that because most statistics on LGBT people, particularly trans people, have higher than average educational outcomes but worse employment stats,” Mills told HRD.
“So that means they actually do have relatively high education and training, relative to the rest of the population, but they still have poor employment outcomes. So it's not just a question of training, it's a question of addressing discrimination in the labour market, which is much harder to address.”
Statistics Canada data from 2018 showed that LGBTQ+ Canadians made significantly less annually ($39,000) on average than non-LGBTQ+ employees ($54,000), despite the fact that heterosexual individuals held statistically fewer bachelor’s degrees than LGBTQ+ people.
Will upskilling tackle attrition of under-represented groups?
A priority identified at the ministers’ forum was the need for attention to “immediate and acute pressures” in specific labour markets such as health care, early childhood education and construction. They also said continuing to support programs for “equity-deserving individuals” is a priority.
Again, Mills stressed that skills training isn’t necessarily going to solve the problem of a labour shortage, since retention is as much a problem for underrepresented groups as being hired or trained.
“Often what happens is that the training programs focus on the person: ‘We just need to make women aware of the trades; we just need to make people of colour aware of the trades, or we need to make LGBT people [aware],’” said Mills. “But if they're having so much attrition every time they go into an apprenticeship, then it doesn't matter how many people you bring in if they're all quitting after the first year because it's so hostile.”
Mills completed research recently that looked at the labour market experiences of queer and trans workers in “deindustrializing” Sudbury and Windsor, Ontario.
One of the findings of the study is inconsistency in protection from discrimination at work as well as social acceptance of LGBTQ+ employees at their workplaces.
“One of the big struggles that LGBT people face is that they have worse mental health and they have more adverse mental health outcomes, predominantly as a result of discrimination that they face in many aspects of their lives — it's not all discrimination they face at work,” she said.
“So people who did the best were people who are at workplaces where you could potentially take mental health leave. If you weren't in a job like that, then what might happen is you might lose your job if you have a mental health crisis.”
How employers can stop turnover of diverse workers
Mills’ research, which surveyed 662 LGBTQ+ workers in Sudbury and Windsor, found that they tended to “self-select” out of jobs where they encountered discrimination or cis- and heteronormative attitudes.
They chose to remain in supportive jobs rather than seek new employment in a potentially homophobic or transphobic labour market.
It can often come down to a single manager, Mills said, citing an example from her research of a trans woman working in retail whose manager was extremely supportive.
“That supportive employer was essentially keeping her alive, because it gave her a place to go and it was so supportive. So I think supportive employers are so important,” she said. “Sometimes you have a bit more control of the situation after people are in the workplace, because you can't control everything about hiring. You can't control who comes and makes themselves available to work. You can't control the skills people have.”