Collaboration between government, industry, and educational institutions is a must for communities and workers to benefit from Ontario's growing zero-emissions vehicle sector, says Smart Prosperity Institute
Zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) and battery manufacturing are great economic opportunities for Ontario and its workers. But to ensure workers and their communities are ready to capture the benefits of the economic opportunity means governments, industry, and educational institutions must work together to address the challenges putting this future at risk.
OTTAWA, Dec. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Over the past two years alone, Ontario has attracted $16.5 billion in investments from global automakers, the Canadian federal government, and ZEV batteries and battery materials suppliers to grow the province's emerging ZEV and battery manufacturing supply chain. This is a big opportunity for the province, and for workers to have good, high-quality careers in communities throughout Ontario.
But does Ontario have the workforce with the skills needed to support the growth of this opportunity? And what steps are needed to support workers to fill these jobs?
A team of researchers at Smart Prosperity Institute, with support from Future Skills Centre, dove into these questions, and their findings have been released in a suite of three reports. The reports look at:
- What jobs are needed for this transition, and will automation replace jobs?
- What skills will workers need, and will they need to fully retrain to stay in the sector?
- What challenges are workers facing, and what must governments, industry, and educational institutions do to address them?
"Ontario's automotive sector needs more skilled workers, and it needs to help workers already in the sector gain the new skills needed to work on ZEVs. Communities also need to ensure workers have affordable places to live, or they risk not being able to attract all the skilled workers needed to fill open roles," says John McNally, Program Director for Skills at the Smart Prosperity Institute.
Our reports' key findings and recommendations include:
- The zero-emissions vehicle sector is facing a labour shortage which is impacting the sector's ability to grow. Diversifying the workforce can help address this labour shortage, but policymakers need to make it easier for international students, women, skilled newcomers, and other groups facing barriers to getting work in the sector.
- Existing workers will likely need new skills developed through "upskilling" and additional learning (rather than fully retraining). Collaboration from government, industry, and educational institutions will be critical to ensure that workers are prepared and have the opportunity to learn these necessary new skills through short, skill-specific training.
- Greater automation and digital technologies in the automotive and battery manufacturing sector will not necessarily replace jobs, but will change the jobs required and the necessary skills to do these jobs.
- Individuals working in Ontario's zero-emissions vehicle space need access to reliable and affordable housing, childcare services, and public transit. Policymakers need to address these needs if individuals, their communities, and Ontario are to benefit from this clean growth opportunity.
If the province, communities, and workers are to benefit from this growing economic opportunity, governments, industry, and educational institutions will need to work together to tackle the big challenges. Ensuring workers and communities are supported and prepared for the transition into zero-emissions vehicles and battery manufacturing means capturing all the benefits that the opportunity has to offer.
The three reports are available online at https://institute.smartprosperity.ca/ZEV-Jobs-Skills-Needs & https://institut.intelliprosperite.ca/ZEV-Emplois-Comp%C3%A9tences-Besoins
For more information or to schedule an interview please contact:
Rebecca Babcock, Smart Prosperity Institute
[email protected]
About Smart Prosperity Institute
Smart Prosperity Institute is a national research network and policy think tank based at the University of Ottawa. We deliver world-class research and work with public and private partners to advance practical policies and market solutions for a stronger, cleaner economy.
Institute.smartprosperity.ca
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