THIS BETTER WORK !TOM ZIZYS, METCALF FOUNDATION FELLOW

DONNALEE BELL, CANADIAN CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

Pragmatic Solutions for Creating Good Jobs

WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT?

• According the World Gallup Poll what people want today more than anything is a GOOD JOB!

• 30 years ago people told Gallup they wanted love, money, food, shelter, safety, peace and freedom

• Full time

• Fairly compensated

• Safe

• Respectful

• Meaningful

“It may be more accurate to distinguish “good and bad” work environments/workplaces”

Graham Lowe

WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT?

SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT

• We have jobs without people and people without jobs

• We can’t seem to be able to say if there a skill shortage.

• The most educated cohort in our country is being asked to work for free.

• According to SunLife (Nov. 2012), 90% of youth 18-24 feel excessive stress because of economic instability and underemployment

SESSION OUTLINE

• Explain how we got to this point

• Explore the impact of shifting from the loyalty line to the bottom line has had on careers

• What can and is being done

HOURGLASS LABOUR MARKET

COMPARISON OF DISTRIBUTION OF JOBS BYSKILL CATEGORIES, ONTARIO, 1991-2006

COMPARISON OF DISTRIBUTION OF JOBS BYSKILL CATEGORIES, TORONTO AND THE REST OF ONTARIO, 2006

CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT SHARES BY PAY LEVEL, EUROPE AND UNITED STATES, 1993-2006

CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT SHARES BY SKILL CATEGORIES, TD BANK, CANADA, 1999-2012

CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT SHARES BY SKILL CATEGORIES, TD BANK, CANADIAN PROVINCES, 1999-2012

PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT SHARE OF ALL JOBS,BY SKILL CONTENT, UNITED STATES, 1981-2011

CHANGING HIRING AND PROMOTION PRACTICES

CAREER PATHWAYS IN A 1950S COMPANY

From “Working Better: Creating a High-Performing Labour Market in Ontario” Metcalf Foundation

THE 1950S CORPORATE STRUCTURE

The labour market “perfect storm”LATE 60s/EARLY 70s:

STAGFLATION

FRAGMENTED CAREER PATH IN A 1990S FIRM

THE INTEGRATED FIRM NOW BECOMES THE NETWORKED FIRM

THE FINANCIALIZATION OF OUR ECONOMY

THE SHIFT TO FINANCIALIZATION

• Concept of shareholder value: CEO primary responsibility is to maximize return to shareholders

• Stock market difficulties in 1970s opened way to hostile takeovers

• Broad conglomerates were thought to be worth more if run more efficiently or if broken up

• Not that weren’t profitable, but could be more profitable

THE TYRANNY OF THE “RATIOS”

ELEMENTS OF THIS MODEL AFFECT OTHER BUSINESSES

• Not every business is looking to shed its workforce

• But how a business is evaluated may depend on these ratios

• The ability of a business to access capital (stocks, loans) may be affected by these ratios

• Others borrow parts of this model (contracting out)

• Each business is acting in its own interest, but collectively is undermining employment and ultimately the economy

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE SUPPLY SIDE (OUR CLIENTS)?

• Canada has the highest percentages of the population aged 25 – 64 with tertiary education among OECD countries

YOUTH HAVE DONE THEIR PART

BUT…

Canadian college graduate earnings (25-64 year olds) compared to other countries (2010 or latest available year)

France

OECD average

United Kingdom

Sweden

Germany

Australia

United States

Canada

Japan

12.6%

13.3%

11.6%

5.0%

10.9%

8.1%

10.2%

13.3%

10.1%

9.9%

13.0%

13.3%

14.7%

14.8%

16.4%

19.3%

23.1%

34.7%

At or below half of the median More than 2 times the median

BUT THEN …Canadian university graduate earnings (25-64 year olds) compared to other countries (2009 or latest available year)

United Kingdom

Japan

OECD average

Australia

France

Sweden

Germany

United States

Canada

28.0%

34.7%

26.7%

18.4%

25.1%

14.1%

27.2%

30.3%

29.4%

7.7%

8.9%

9.3%

9.7%

10.1%

10.9%

12.1%

12.8%

17.6%

At or below half of the median More than 2 times the median

THE B.A.RISTA GENERATION

In Canada

• Under-employment number 2nd highest in OECD since 2005

• 1 in 4 – the ratio of young people with university degrees who worked in “low-skilled” jobs in 2012

• 40% of food and beverage servers and 45% of retail salespersons (age d 25-54) in Ontario hold a university or college degree

• The earnings gap between high school grads and those with a university bachelor’s degree is narrowing.

Sources: World Economic Forum; Statistics Canada study – “Unemployment Dynamics Among Canada’s Youth”

ENTRY-LEVEL JOBS ARE NO LONGER STEPPING STONES• More casual, part-time and temp work• Wages dropped for entry-level jobs• Drop in minimum wage in real terms• Less unionization• Less opportunity for advancement and many are

getting stuck

= More income inequality

WHAT’S THE WAY FORWARD?

Prescription: Focus on Employers

• Grooming individuals for a job• Supporting access to next rung of the career

ladder• Employers need to invest more in training

THE QUESTION:

Is there a business case for employers investing in their workforce?

MANY BARRIERS TO TRAINING

Simply making the business case for training is not enough:

• Cost (simple matter of cash-flow)

• Risk aversion (immediate expense, distant gain)

• Information (ROI on training, peer benchmarks)

• Resources (which training, who should deliver)

• Poaching (fear that trained workers will leave)

• Inertia (easier to leave this as they are)

• Competence (broader HR skills)

Demand-side approaches andskills development

THREE LEVELS OF RESPONSE

1. Addressing the specific challenges/ barriers faced by the individual employer

2. Using intermediaries to broaden the reach/create economies of scale

3. Promoting those values and norms that recognize the value of employees

A STRATEGY WITH THREE DIMENSIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS:EMPLOYER PRACTICES

RECOMMENDATIONS: INTERMEDIARIES

RECOMMENDATIONS:NORMS AND VALUES

QUESTIONS?

FINAL WORDS

“We live in a time of ultra capitalism, that often seems inescapable. Well so did the

divine right of kings.”Ursula Le Guin