Adapt and thrive

We’ve heard from businesses across the Cowichan region: the housing crisis is affecting employers’ ability to attract and retain employees. Economic Development Cowichan is working on a Workforce Housing Strategy to find solutions to housing Cowichan's workers, and...

ETHOS Career Management Group has launched the Inclusive Employers Hiring HUB (The HUB), a free resource for Vancouver Island employers to help with hiring, employee retention, and to support staff with disabilities. The HUB provides training and resources to get you...

This blog is part of our Employer Resource Guide series. In today’s competitive market, it’s easy to focus solely on talent attraction and forget another equally-important part of your HR strategy: retention. “Between job hopping and the gig economy, it’s increasingly...

As businesses continue to struggle with the labour shortage, providing a Living Wage could be one action employers can take to attract and retain employees. But what is a “Living Wage”? It’s the calculated hourly amount a family needs to cover basic living expenses to...

Are you struggling to hire, retain and engage your staff? On February 9 and 10, the Chilliwack Economic Resource Network is holding a 2-day virtual conference exploring solutions to the workforce issues we are currently facing around the province. The conference will...

As wage expectations continue to rise, businesses may struggle to recruit employees, especially in our competitive labour market. As of the second quarter of 2021, the average offered hourly wage in the Vancouver Island and Coast region was $23.95, up from $19.70 in the second quarter of 2019.

Attracting and retaining underrepresented workers is one potential strategy for addressing labour and skill shortages. In fact, studies show that increasing overall workplace diversity improves financial performance and result in better business outcomes.

By all indications, labour shortages are here to stay for the foreseeable future. With that reality in mind, retention is going to be a key factor to sustaining necessary workforce stability.

Economic Development Cowichan has launched the Cowichan Employer Resource Guide, a repository of tools and strategies to assist local businesses in addressing challenges stemming from labour shortages. In August 2021, RBC Economist Carrie Freestone reported a record...