A new interactive online tool gives users instant access to demographic information about the local workforce.
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The Demographic Profiles of Grand Erie tool makes it easier to find detailed data on the working-age population (15 years and older) in Brantford, Brant and Haldimand-Norfolk.
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The tool was launched by the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie with support from the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. It can be found on the board’s website at workforceplanningboard.org .
“This tool will support workers in finding job opportunities now and in the future, close to home,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
The information, based on Statistics Canada’s latest census, can be searched by age and gender to answer questions related to employment by occupation and industry, and by educational attainment, and more.
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For example:
- What percentage of Brantford-Brant’s labor force has a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree?
Answer: 50 percent - How many men in Grand Erie have an apprenticeship or trades certificate?
Answer: 12,000
How many women?
Answer: 3,600 - What percentage of Haldimand-Norfolk residents over the age of 65 are working?
Answer: 13 per cent - What percentage of Grand Erie’s youth work in sales and service occupations, such as cashiers and food counter attendants?
Answer: 43 percent
“This may seem like obscure trivia questions but to businesses, government services and community organizations the data can be useful for planning,” said Danette Dalton, the planning board’s executive director.
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“If, for example, the data says a large percentage of truck drivers are over the age of 55 and soon to retire – and it does – it shows a need to create job training programs and marketing to get younger residents behind the wheel.”
Dalton said businesses looking to move to Grand Erie or expand their operations want to know there’s a pool of workers in the occupations they need, whether that’s accountants, engineers, welders, computer programmers or machine operators.
Meanwhile, community organizations and government can use demographic data to identify the need for new programs or services to support residents in a targeted way, said Dalton.
This Employment Ontario project is funded, in part, by the federal and provincial governments.
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