Hamilton, Canada—
The Workforce Planning Hamilton (WPH), established in 1997, is one of the 26 training boards in Ontario, Canada. Building on accurate and timely labour market data, WPH contributes to the identification of skills shortages and future training requirements in the local labour market.
WPH has developed workforce development solutions in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders to address ongoing labour market challenges.
Workforce Planning Hamilton (WPH) WPH is a not-for-profit organisation which is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. It is a community planning organisation that helps improve local responses to labour market challenges. Its objective is to elaborate workforce development solutions in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders based on timely and accurate labour market information. These solutions contribute to making Hamilton more prosperous and inclusive.
To address labour market challenges in an effective way, WPH brings together a wide range of local stakeholders. Its Board of Directors comprises representatives from business, education and training, as well as community members from various population sub-groups (i.e. women, aboriginals and persons with disabilities). WPH undertakes the following activities:
Highlights profile trends, opportunities, and priorities of the local labour market
Identifies skills shortages and future training requirements
Shares research with the community to promote labour force planning and training
Undertakes projects and partnerships that address labour force issues
Every year, WPH produces a Local Labour Market Plan. The Plan identifies challenges and priorities of the Hamilton labour market, highlights people’s participation in different projects, and the main outcomes from community consultations. In 2023, the main projects developed in the region focused on reducing youth unemployment, developing a strategic plan to better support youth with mental health issues and creating and promoting a toolkit to support students looking into apprenticeship opportunities.
In collaboration with the City of Hamilton’s Economic Development office, WPH has developed and administered a survey to local employers in early 2023. The objective was to gather the employers’ perspective in relation to current challenges and success factors in their daily activity, identify and address labour market shortages, support access to training and identify sector-specific priorities and concerns.
The WPH example highlights two fundamental aspects of effective policymaking at the sub-national level. The first is the use of labour market information to identify priorities and develop more effective and targeted policies and programmes. The second is the importance of strong collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders including employers, education and training providers and community members.
OECD (2022), "Future-proofing adult learning systems in cities and regions: A policy manual for local governments", OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2022/03, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/11fa26cc-en.
