We do have a shortage in some areas, but that shortage isn’t going to threaten our country or the province. The labour shortage is a variable of business in general.
| Date Published | November 19, 2013 |
| Company | Plains Fabrication |
| Article Author | Tom McCaffery |
| Article Type | November 2013 Issue |
| Category | Articles, Oil & Gas |
| Tags | Blasting & Painting, Flare Stacks, Hydro Testing, Indirect Fired Heaters, Instrument Tubing, Oilfield HUB Community Sponsor, Pressure Vessels, Skid Packages, Stainless Steel Welding, Structural Steel Fabrication |
| HUB SEARCH | PlainsFabrication |
We do have a shortage in some areas, but that shortage isn’t going to threaten our country or the province. The labour shortage is a variable of business in general.
In my opinion, Canada has done a little bit of damage to itself in the past few months. The problem stems from the government and the media taking the message and overcooking it. The message from Canadian industry was, that we (especially in Alberta) have a skilled labour shortage.
Is that message incorrect? The short answer is: not entirely. We do have a shortage in some areas, but that shortage isn’t going to threaten our country or the province. The labour shortage is a variable of business in general. In Canada (as in every country), we have several business issues / variables. They can be complicated – such as having an ever-increasing list of government regulations inconsistent from province to province. They can be uncontrollable – for instance, moving freight through a blizzard. Or they can be simple – something along the lines of deciding whether to attend a conference or a customer meeting.
Variables in business are ever changing, but across businesses there may be consistencies that we share. The Canadian industry finally got together on one of these issues: labour. It seems all the stars aligned and everyone realized this was a consistent variable that could become an increasing problem, one that could eventually venture into the “uncontrollable” realm of variables, and so we started talking about it. I think industry has finally managed to do a good job of relating information to the government and the media. The government and the media started listening, and somehow the labour problem translated into the industry, government, and media turning on the air raid siren that has blasted throughout the country over the past year. We have over-saturated the world with what amounts to this single variable we have to deal with. Even I have added my voice to the chorus, but now we need to collectively take a step back.
Going forward, we are light years ahead of the other countries not capable of handling internal issues with the same level of strength, determination, and openness as us.
All variables may change, but they will never go away. However, there will always be issues to deal with and problems to solve. To those who helped get the message out, I want to thank and congratulate you. It was a job well done. Now, we have to focus on the nation. Every country and every industry has a varying range of difficulties to deal with, and because we have announced one single common issue to the world, we are being inundated internationally with offers of help. As a result, the oil industry stands to lose Canadian business by the bucket-full.
The point I would like to make is: Canadian companies are open for business. We have massive amounts of open capacity. Don’t allow yourself to be fooled into thinking we cannot handle the work. We are a nation so good at collaboration, we have pulled together to keep a single variable from getting out of control. This is something to celebrate.
Going forward, we are light years ahead of the other countries not capable of handling internal issues with the same level of strength, determination, and openness as us.
To any country that may feel our industries are weak and our businesses understaffed, I have just one message: you couldn’t be more wrong. Our unified voice should make it abundantly clear how effective our nation is at handling issues. We are open to any competition and requirements our customers have. The strength of our collective voice is proof of that.
Tom McCaffery
General Manager
PLAINS FABRICATION
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