The Sarnia-Lambton Workforce Development Board (SLWDB) recently held a wide-ranging discussion about economic recovery efforts and the post-pandemic workforce.
The virtual session featured 37 taskforce members, including local industry representatives and business owners.
Executive Director Laura Greaves said they heard that different industries have been impacted in unique ways.
"The first committee member to speak was from agriculture, and he talked about how things have changed dramatically in agriculture and trying to access the labour force to work on farms is a huge issue," said Greaves. "Our next speaker talked about manufacturing and the local petrochemical industry, and they said not a whole lot has changed on the ground for employers in that industry."
Greaves said we're still in the "react" time period and are still figuring out how to manage the current COVID crisis.
She said they talked a lot about the need for updated health and safety policies and practices, the importance of updating job descriptions, increased mental health supports, cross-training for workers, and filling gaps in digital skills and literacy.
