Bluewater Power truck. (BlackburnNews.com file photo by Melanie Irwin)Bluewater Power truck. (BlackburnNews.com file photo by Melanie Irwin)
Sarnia

Worker shortage not an issue at Bluewater Power

Bluewater Power's CEO says the utility is in a good position for the future.

A number of electricity providers across the country have said they need to appeal to younger workers if they're going to be able to keep the lights on.

Janice McMichael-Dennis said the average age of the workforce locally is 45-years-old, and there's a good contingent of those under 30-years-old as well.

"We have not been experiencing recently the worker shortage that many in the industry are talking about," said McMichael-Dennis. "I would say a few years back, or even as current as last year, we certainly were seeing some shortages of the more experienced workers. We're very fortunate that we seem to be an employer of choice, so we are seeing much more opportunity out there when it comes to workers being available to join our ranks."

Recently, Electricity Human Resources Canada suggested more than 20,000 new workers will be needed before 2022.

A report on the industry's labour says there are 107,000 people employed in the industry in Canada, with women accounting for just one in four employees and visible minorities just over 10 per cent.

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