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Omar Yaqub

Why US productivity can grow without killing jobs - McKinsey Quarterly - Economic Studi... - 0 views

www.mckinseyquarterly.com/...grow_without_killing_jobs_2748

productivity us work competitiveness

shared by Omar Yaqub on 17 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Does higher productivity destroy jobs? Sometimes, but only in the very short term
  • We are optimistic about productivity because it isn’t only about efficiency; it is no less about expanding output through innovations that improve the performance, quality, or value of goods and services. What’s more, even productivity solely from efficiency gains can, in the aggregate, lead to higher employment if the cost savings are put back to work elsewhere in the economy. Companies can pass on those savings to their customers in the form of lower prices, leaving households and businesses with more money to spend elsewhere. They can also reinvest savings from more efficient operations in new job-creating activities.
  • The largest productivity gains since 2000 came from sectors that have seen substantial employment reductions (Exhibit 2). Computers and related electronics, the rest of manufacturing, and information sectors contributed around half of overall productivity growth since the turn of the century and reduced employment by almost 4.5 million jobs. More than 85 percent of them were lost even before the recession’s onset. The sectors that added the most employment during this period tended to be those with lower productivity—notably the health sector.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • The sprawling US health care sector, for example, has only begun to implement the lean-management principles that have revolutionized manufacturing. Today, nurses still spend less than 40 percent of their time with patients and the rest on paperwork. Even sectors such as retailing, where US businesses have had a strong productivity record, could do more. One way would be to take lean practices from the stockroom to the storefront through simple changes such as adjusting employee shifts to suit changing levels of customer traffic.
  • Businesses can also boost productivity by thinking innovatively about goods and services they provide to their customers—and how they provide them. An office supply company, for example, could offer comprehensive, value-adding procurement services. Innovations such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, currently gaining steam in retailing, could improve supply chain productivity across a wide array of industries. Retail banks and payment companies can find new ways to serve the nearly one-quarter of Americans who are unbanked or underbanked.
  • The private sector can’t solve the productivity and growth challenge alone; targeted government policy changes are also critical. The federal government, with support from business, should act on economy-wide barriers that today limit growth. Policy makers should realign incentives in public and regulated sectors to expand services and should invest more resources in improving the US skill base and infrastructure.
  • Easing restrictions that keep older Americans out of the workforce and refining immigration rules could help reduce the growth drag that aging populations naturally impose. S
Omar Yaqub

Skilled Occupations - 0 views

www.canadavisa.com/tion-eligible-occupations.html

work immigrants

shared by Omar Yaqub on 27 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Several Canadian immigration categories require applicants to have work experience in a skilled occupation. Listed below are some examples of occupations from Canada's National Occupation Classification (NOC) system that represent skill levels A, B, or 0. The occupations are listed in alphabetical order.
  • NOC Occupation Occupation starting with Letter: A 0632 Accommodation Service Managers 5135 Actors and Comedians 1221 Administrative Officers 0114 Administrative Services Managers (other) 0421 Administrators - Post-Secondary Education and Vocational 2146 Aerospace Engineers 2222 Agricultural and Fish Products Inspectors 8252 Agricultural Service Contractors, Farm Supervisors and Specialized Livestock Workers 2123 Agricultural Representatives, Consultants and Specialists 2271 Air Pilots, Flight Engineers and Flying Instructors 2272 Air Traffic Control and Related Occupations 2244 Aircraft Instrument, Electrical and Avionics Mechanics, Technicians and Inspectors 7315 Aircraft Mechanics and Aircraft Inspectors 3234 Paramedical Occupations 5231 Announcers and Other Broadcasters 0823 Managers in Aquaculture 2151 Architects 2251 Architectural Technologists and Technicians 0212 Architecture and Science Managers 5113 Archivists 5244 Artisans and Craftpersons 1314 Assessors, Valuators and Appraisers 5251 Athletes 5225 Audio and Video Recording Technicians 3141 Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists 5121 Authors and Writers 7321 Automotive Service Technicians, Truck Mechanics and Mechanical Repairers
  • Occupation starting with Letter: B 6332 Bakers 0122 Banking, Credit and Other Investment Managers 2221 Biological Technologists and Technicians 2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 7384 Other Trades and Related Occupations, n.e.c. 7234 Boilermakers 1311 Accounting Technicians and Bookkeepers 7281 Bricklayers 5224 Broadcast Technicians 4163 Business Development Officers and Marketing Researchers and Consultants 0013 Senior Managers - Financial, Communications and Other Business Services 6331 Butchers, Meat Cutters and Fishmongers - Retail and Wholesale
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  • Occupation starting with Letter: C 7272 Cabinetmakers 7247 Cable Television Service and Maintenance Technicians 3217 Cardiology Technologists and Electrophysiological Diagnostic Technologists, n.e.c. 7271 Carpenters 9231 Central Control and Process Operators, Mineral and Metal Processing 6321 Chefs 2134 Chemical Engineers 2211 Chemical Technologists and Technicians 2112 Chemists 3122 Chiropractors 2231 Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians 2131 Civil Engineers 6315 Cleaning Supervisors 5252 Coaches 4021 College and Other Vocational Instructors 0433 Commissioned Officers of the Canadian Forces 0431 Commissioned Police Officers 4212 Social and Community Service Workers 0213 Computer and Information Systems Managers 2281 Computer Network Technicians 2147 Computer Engineers (Except Software Engineers and Designers) 2174 Computer Programmers and Interactive Media Developers 7282 Concrete Finishers 5132 Conductors, Composers and Arrangers 1226 Conference and Event Planners 2224 Conservation and Fishery Officers 5112 Conservators and Curators 2234 Construction Estimators 2264 Construction Inspectors 0711 Construction Managers 7311 Construction Millwrights and Industrial Mechanics 7204 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 7202 Contractors and Supervisors, Electrical Trades and Telecommunications 7302 Contractors and Supervisors, Heavy Equipment Operator Crews 7301 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 7201 Contractors and Supervisors, Metal Forming, Shaping and Erecting Trades and Related Occupations 7205 Contractors and Supervisors, Other Construction Trades, Installers, Repairers 7203 Contractors and Supervisors, Pipefitting Trades
  • 6322 Cooks 1227 Court Officers and Justices of the Peace 1251 Court Reporters, Medical Transcriptionists and Related Occupations 7371 Crane Operators 1315 Customs, Ship and Other Brokers
  • Occupation starting with Letter: D 5134 Dancers 2172 Database Analysts and Data Administrators 2273 Deck Officers, Water Transport 3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 3223 Dental Technologists, Technicians and Laboratory Assistants 3113 Dentists 3221 Denturists 3132 Dietitians and Nutritionists 2253 Drafting Technologists and Technicians 7372 Drillers and Blasters - Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 6316 Other Services Supervisors (Dry Cleaner Supervisor) Occupation starting with Letter: E 4214 Early Childhood Educators and Assistants 4162 Economists and Economic Policy Researchers and Analysts 5122 Editors 4166 Education Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers 4033 Educational Counsellors 7332 (Electrical) Appliance Servicers and Repairers 2241 Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technologists and Technicians 2133 Electrical and Electronics Engineers 7333 Electrical Mechanics 7244 Electrical Power Line and Cable Workers 7241 Electricians (Except Industrial and Power System) 3217 Electrophysiological Diagnostic Technologists and Cardiology Technologists 2242 Electronic Service Technicians (Household and Business Equipment) 7318 Elevator Constructors and Mechanics 4156 Employment Counsellors 2274 Engineer Officers, Water Transport 2262 Engineering Inspectors and Regulatory Officers 0211 Engineering Managers 1222 Executive Assistants 6312 Executive Housekeepers
  • Occupation starting with Letter: F 0714 Facility Operation and Maintenance Managers 4153 Family, Marriage and Other Related Counsellors 8252 Farm Supervisors and Specialized Livestock Workers 0811 Managers in Agriculture 5222 Film and Video Camera Operators 1112 Financial and Investment Analysts 1111 Financial Auditors and Accountants 0111 Financial Managers 1114 Financial Officers (other) 0432 Fire Chiefs and Senior Firefighting Officers 4312 Firefighters 8261 Fishing Masters and Officers 8262 Fishermen/women 7295 Floor Covering Installers 6311 Food Service Supervisors 2122 Forestry Professionals 2223 Forestry Technologists and Technicians 6346 Funeral Directors and Embalmers
  • Occupation starting with Letter: G 7253 Gas Fitters 2212 Geological and Mineral Technologists and Technicians 2144 Geological Engineers 2113 Geoscientists and Oceanographers 7292 Glaziers 0412 Government Managers - Economic Analysis, Policy Development 0413 Government Managers - Education Policy Development and Program Administration 0411 Government Managers - Health and Social Policy Development and Program Administration 6221 Technical Sales Specialists - Wholesale Trade 5223 Graphic Arts Technicians 5241 Graphic Designers and Illustrators Occupation starting with Letter: H 6341 Hairstylists and Barbers 3011 Nursing Co-ordinators and Supervisors 4165 Health Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers 7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 0112 Human Resources Managers Occupation starting with Letter: I 1228 Immigration, Employment Insurance, Border Services and Revenue Officers 2141 Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers 2252 Industrial Designers 7242 Industrial Electricians 2233 Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing Technologists and Technicians 2243 Industrial Instrument Technicians and Mechanics 2171 Information Systems Analysts and Consultants 2263 Inspectors in Public and Environmental Health and Occupational Health and Safety 4216 Instructors (other) 4215 Instructors of Persons with Disabilities 7293 Insulators 1312 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 6231 Insurance Agents and Brokers 1313 Insurance Underwriters 0121 Insurance, Real Estate and Financial Brokerage Managers 5242 Interior Designers and Interior Decorators 7236 Ironworkers Occupation starting with Letter: J 6344 Jewellers, Watch Repairers and Related Occupations 5123 Journalists 4111 Judges 1227 Justices of the Peace and Court Officers
  • Occupation starting with Letter:L 2254 Land Survey Technologists and Technicians 2154 Land Surveyors 2225 Landscape and Horticultural Technicians and Specialists 2152 Landscape Architects 8255 Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance Contractors and Managers 4112 Lawyers and Quebec Notaries 1242 Legal Administrative Assistants 0011 Legislators 5111 Librarians 5211 Library and Public Archive Technicians 0511 Library, Archive, Museum and Art Gallery Managers 3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 6235 Financial Sales Representative 8241 Logging Machinery Operators Occupation starting with Letter: M 7316 Machine Fitters 7231 Machinists and Machining and Tooling Inspectors 0512 Managers - Publishing, Motion Pictures, Broadcasting and Performing Arts 0311 Managers in Health Care 0414 Managers in Public Administration (other) 0423 Managers in Social, Community and Correctional Services 0911 Manufacturing Managers 2255 Technical occupations in Geomatics and Meteorology 2161 Mathematicians, Statisticians and Actuaries 2232 Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians 2132 Mechanical Engineers 3212 Medical Laboratory Technicians and Pathologists Assistants 3211 Medical Laboratory Technologists 3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 1243 Medical Administrative Assistants 3216 Medical Sonographers 3219 Medical Technologists and Technicians (other - except Dental Health) 2142 Metallurgical and Materials Engineers 2213 Technical Occupations in Geomatics and Meteorology 2114 Meteorologists and Climatologists 3232 Practitioners of Natural Healing 2143 Mining Engineers 4154 Professional Occupations in Religion 5226 Motion Pictures, Broadcasting (other Technical and Co-ordinating Occupations) 7322 Motor Vehicle Body Repairers 7334 Motorcycle, All-terrain Vehicle and Other Related Mechanics 5212 Museums and Art Galleries (related Technical Occupations) 5133 Musicians and Singers
  • Occupation starting with Letter: N 4161 Natural and Applied Science Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers 2261 Non-destructive Testers and Inspectors 0822 Managers in Horticulture
  • Occupation starting with Letter: O 3143 Occupational Therapists 8232 Oil and Gas Well Drillers, Servicers, Testers and Related Workers 7331 Oil and Solid Fuel Heating Mechanics 3231 Opticians 3121 Optometrists Occupation starting with Letter:P 7294 Painters and Decorators (except Interior Decorators) 5136 Painters, Sculptors and Other Visual Artists 9433 Papermaking and Finishing Machine Operators 4211 Paralegal and Related Occupations 5245 Patternmakers - Textile, Leather and Fur Products 5232 Performers (other) 1223 Personnel and Recruitment Officers 2145 Petroleum Engineers 9232 Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Process Operators 3131 Pharmacists 5221 Photographers 2115 Physical Sciences (Other Professional Occupations) 3112 Physicians - General Practitioners and Family Physicians 3111 Physicians - Specialist 2111 Physicists and Astronomers 3142 Physiotherapists 7252 Pipefitters 7284 Plasterers, Drywall Installers and Finishers and Lathers 7251 Plumbers 6261 Police Officers (Except Commissioned) 0132 Postal and Courier Services Managers 4122 Post-Secondary Teaching and Research Assistants 7243 Power System Electricians 7352 Power Systems and Power Station Operators 0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture) 7381 Printing Press Operators 4155 Probation and Parole Officers and Related Occupations 5131 Producers, Directors, Choreographers and Related Occupations 2148 Professional Engineers, n.e.c. (other) 1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 5124 Professional Occupations in Public Relations and Communications 4121 Professors - University 5254 Program Leaders and Instructors in Recreation and Sport 4168 Program Officers Unique to Government 1224 Property Administrators 4151 Psychologists 9233 Pulping Control Operators 1225 Purchasing Agents and Officers 0113 Purchasing Managers
  • Occupation starting with Letter: R 7361 Railway and Yard Locomotive Engineers 7314 Railway Carmen/women 7362 Railway Conductors and Brakemen/women 2275 Railway Traffic Controllers and Marine Traffic Regulators 6232 Real Estate Agents and Salespersons 0513 Recreation and Sports Program and Service Directors 4167 Recreation, Sports and Fitness Program Supervisors Consultants 7313 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanics 3152 Registered Nurses 4217 Religious Occupations (other) 0712 Residential Home Builders and Renovators 3214 Respiratory Therapists, Clinical Perfusionists and Cardio-Pulmonary Technologists 0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 6233 Retail and Wholesale Buyers 0621 Retail Trade Managers 6211 Retail Trade Supervisors 7291 Roofers and Shinglers
  • Occupation starting with Letter: S 0611 Sales, Marketing and Advertising Managers 0313 School Principals and Administrators of Elementary and Secondary 1241 Secretaries (Except Legal and Medical) 1113 Securities Agents, Investment Dealers and Brokers 0012 Senior Government Managers and Officials 0013 Senior Managers - Financial, Communications and Other Business 0016 Senior Managers - Goods Production, Utilities, Transportation and Construction 0014 Senior Managers - Health, Education, Social and Community 0015 Senior Managers - Trade, Broadcasting and Other Services, n.e.c. 6216 Service Supervisors (other) 0651 Services Managers (other) 7261 Sheet Metal Workers 7343 Shoe Repairers and Shoemakers 7335 Small Engine and Equipment Mechanics (other) 4164 Social Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers 4169 Social Science, n.e.c. (Other Professional Occupations) 4152 Social Workers 2173 Software Engineers 1121 Specialists in Human Resources 5253 Sports Officials and Referees 7252 Sprinkler System Installers 7351 Stationary Engineers and Auxiliary Equipment Operators 7252 Steamfitters, Pipefitters and Sprinkler System Installers 7263 Structural Metal and Platework Fabricators and Fitters 9223 Supervisors, Electrical Products Manufacturing 9222 Supervisors, Electronics Manufacturing 9225 Supervisors, Fabric, Fur and Leather Products Manufacturing 1212 Supervisors, Finance and Insurance Clerks 9213 Supervisors, Food, Beverage and Tobacco Processing 9215 Supervisors, Forest Products Processing 9224 Supervisors, Furniture and Fixtures Manufacturing 1211 Supervisors, General Office and Administrative Support Clerks 8256 Supervisors, Landscape and Horticulture 1213 Supervisors, Library, Correspondence and Related Information Clerks
  • 8211 Supervisors, Logging and Forestry 7211 Supervisors, Machinists and Related Occupations 1214 Supervisors, Mail and Message Distribution Occupations 9211 Supervisors, Mineral and Metal Processing 8221 Supervisors, Mining and Quarrying 7222 Supervisors, Motor Transport and Other Ground Transit Operators 9221 Supervisors, Motor Vehicle Assembling 8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 9226 Supervisors, Other Mechanical and Metal Products Manufacturing 9227 Supervisors, Other Products Manufacturing and Assembly 9212 Supervisors, Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Processing and Utilities 9214 Supervisors, Plastic and Rubber Products Manufacturing 7218 Supervisors, Printing and Related Occupations 7221 Supervisors, Railway Transport Operations 1215 Supervisors, Recording, Distributing and Scheduling Occupations 9216 Supervisors, Textile Processing 5227 Support Occupations in Motion Pictures, Broadcasting and the Performing Arts 2283 Systems Testing Technicians
  • Occupation starting with Letter: T 7342 Tailors, Dressmakers, Furriers and Milliners 4142 Teachers - Elementary School and Kindergarten 4141 Teachers - Secondary School 6221 Technical Sales Specialists - Wholesale Trade 0131 Telecommunication Carriers Managers 7246 Telecommunications Installation and Repair Workers 7245 Telecommunications Line and Cable Workers 7317 Textile Machinery Mechanics and Repairers 5243 Theatre, Fashion, Exhibit and Other Creative Designers 3144 Therapy and Assessment (Other Professional Occupations) 3235 Therapy and Assessment (other Technical Occupations) 7283 Tilesetters 7232 Tool and Die Makers 7383 Trades and Related Occupations (other) 5125 Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters 0713 Transportation Managers
  • Occupation starting with Letter: U 8231 Underground Production and Development Miners 7341 Upholsterers 2153 Urban and Land Use Planners 2282 User Support Technicians 0912 Utilities Managers Occupation starting with Letter: V 3114 Veterinarians 3213 Veterinary and Animal Health Technologists and Technicians Occupation starting with Letter: W 7373 Water Well Drillers 2175 Web Designers and Developers 7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators
Omar Yaqub

Productivity key to increased personal - and national - luxuries - thestar.com - 0 views

www.thestar.com/...personal-and-national-luxuries

productivity competitiveness

shared by Omar Yaqub on 28 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • What if, however, you were told most of your mortgage or all of your rent could be paid off instantly, or you could send your kids to a national daycare program? Still bored? Yet that’s exactly what could have happened if Canada didn’t have a productivity gap with the U.S., according to Roger Martin, dean of the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
  • Canada trails the U.S. in GDP per capita by $9,300. In 1981 that gap was only $2,600. If we got back to the 1981 gap, the average family would see their disposable, after-tax income go up by $8,800, according to the institute, which is the research arm for the task force chaired by Martin.
  • That would be like having almost all the mortgages and rental payments disappear. It would be like having enough money to pay for a national child-care program and still have enough left over for the biggest tax cut in history
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  • Lest you assume productivity gains are more a concern of free marketers and other pro business forces, that extra income would generate another $76 billion in tax revenue for various levels of government, according to the institute. That would be enough to pay for a national daycare program, fund the healthcare recommendations by the Romanow Commission, cover the cost of Canada’s commitments under the Kyoto Accord, and pay for a $55 billion tax cut.
  • what’s behind the gap?
  • Canada’s resource boom, a lack of innovation by Canada’s businesses, and a lack of investment in new, more efficient equipment are the three biggest causes
  • resources are hard to find. . . . By becoming more focused on resources, we’ve hurt our productivity numbers
  • tar sands are particularly bad for productivity numbers because of the sheer amount of time and effort of extracting the oil,
  • lack of innovation can also partly be blamed on the size of Canada’s resource sector,
  • Because it’s easy to make big amounts of money extracting and exporting resources; businesses haven’t had to innovate. Our abundance of natural resources is actually something of a curse,
  • In business sector spending on R&D, Canada ranks a disappointing 17th among OECD countries, and when it comes to innovation, the World Economic Forum rates us 19th, far behind the United States, Germany and Japan,” Macklem told a Calgary audience. Macklem also pointed out Canadian companies don’t spend much on new, efficient equipment. That means it takes a Canadian longer to make whatever’s being produced, whether it’s clothes, widgets or iron ore. That pushes down productivity.
  • “It will take a lot more than just freeing our private sector. … None of that works. In fact, it takes a deliberate state strategy,” argued Stanford, pointing to countries such as Finland.
  • “Economists, policy makers and corporations have been too focused on the denominator, and not enough on the numerator. … People always say ‘gee, it’s too bad that auto plant closed, even though it was really efficient and made things quickly.’ Well guess what? If the price of the car gets cut to $10,000 because it’s something nobody wants to buy, that affects productivity numbers too.”
Omar Yaqub

Reports || EEDC 2009 annual report - 0 views

www.edmonton.com/...EEDC_AR_Web2.pdf

eedc work trends

shared by Omar Yaqub on 01 Dec 10 - No Cached
  • Omar Yaqub on 01 Dec 10
     
    WorkforceEEDC's workforce development program continued forits fourth year in 2009. With industry, education andgovernment partners, EEDC addressed regional labourchallenges and helped to plan for anticipated increases in thedemand for skilled labour in 2010. The program supportedthe Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council, whichhelps immigrants gain experience working in Canada andprovides tools to help them find meaningful employment.Workforce development created opportunities for businessesand workers to connect through its enhanced web presenceat edmonton.com. The site informs employees aboutliving, working and educational opportunities in Edmonton.Employers were connected with programs designed toassist under-employed and unemployed segments of thelocal workforce. To address higher rates of unemployment,information was provided on how to access employmentopportunities in the Edmonton region. Productivity & Innovation Productivity improvements within the Edmonton regioncontinue to be a major focus for EEDC. Manufacturersand producers are experiencing increased internationalcompetition. With partners including the Government ofAlberta, we offer industry the opportunity to reviewbusiness processes, product improvements, evaluatenew markets, reinvent business models and explore newtechnological innovations.EEDC was actively involved in producing Reaching NewMarkets, a seminar that provided insights into new waysof growing business during challenging times. As part of aleadership development series, EEDC sponsored At the Speedof Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey at the Shaw ConferenceCentre in June. EEDC co-ordinated two best practicesmissions to Ontario in which corporate participants wereexposed to world-class manufacturers that have made greatstrides in productivity improvements.EEDC supported the heavy oil industry's National Buyer/SellerForum, which attracted 650 delegates from around the world,providing local companies the opportunity to sell into thein
Omar Yaqub

Why US productivity can grow without killing jobs - McKinsey Quarterly - Economic Studi... - 0 views

www.mckinseyquarterly.com/...grow_without_killing_jobs_2748

productivity work competitiveness

shared by Omar Yaqub on 10 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Does higher productivity destroy jobs? Sometimes, but only in the very short term, considering US economic performance over the past 80 years. In fact, every ten-year rolling period but one since 1929 has seen increases in both US productivity and employment. Even on a rolling annual basis, 69 percent of periods have delivered both productivity and jobs growth (Exhibit 1). Over the long term, apparently, it’s a fallacy to suggest that there’s a trade-off between unemployment and productivity. These are among the key findings of the latest report from the McKinsey Global Institute, Growth and renewal in the United States: Retooling America’s economic engine. We are optimistic about productivity because it isn’t only about efficiency; it is no less about expanding output through innovations that improve the performance, quality, or value of goods and services. What’s more, even productivity solely from efficiency gains can, in the aggregate, lead to higher employment if the cost savings are put back to work elsewhere in the economy. Companies can pass on those savings to their customers in the form of lower prices, leaving households and businesses with more money to spend elsewhere. They can also reinvest savings from more efficient operations in new job-creating activities.
Omar Yaqub

http://premier.alberta.ca/PlansInitiatives/economic/RPCES_ShapingABFuture_Report_web2.pdf - 0 views

premier.alberta.ca/...hapingABFuture_Report_web2.pdf

alberta trends work immigrants government

shared by Omar Yaqub on 09 May 11 - No Cached
    • Omar Yaqub
      Omar Yaqub on 09 May 11
       
      work with the federal government to change the immigration system - to help address critical shortages of workers at all skill levelsIt is in the interests of all Canadians that the Alberta economy remains strong. To realize the full potential of the oil sands and broaden the economic base, the province will need people from outside the country as well as migrants from other parts of Canada. The provincial government and industry must collaborate in demonstrating to the federal government the critical need to at least double the caps on the provincial immigrant nominee program. Advocate for immediate changes that allow temporary foreign workers with solid records to apply for permanent resident status while they are still in the country. Continue to work with the federal government to institute longer-term changes to better align the national immigration program with strategies for economic growth, making it more responsive to changing economic conditions and industry's workforce needs.Determine what is getting in the way of swift assessment of foreign trades and professional credentials related to these scarce skills, and remove barriers to full recognition of qualifications that meet Alberta standards. Pre-certify credentials from selected offshore institutions, and create a mechanism that allows all immigrants to determine their credential status before moving here. Expand initiatives such as the Immigrant Access Fund to help immigrants achieve credential recognition.
  • Omar Yaqub on 09 May 11
     
    Give a new alberta water authority the mandate to innovate in water stewardship, and realize the full benefit of our precious water assets Alberta needs all its citizens to develop the mindset and skills to thrive in today's world and drive economic growth - to be resilient, lifelong learners, healthy and productive, eager to achieve and perform, globally connected and informed seeking talent around the globe Like other countries with aging populations, Alberta in 2040 will be competing to attract the brightest and the best talent to the province's workforce to fill critical gaps. As early as 2030, demographers predict that domestic workforce growth in Alberta and Canada will have stalled, although higher birth rates in our Aboriginal population could indicate potential for some domestic population growth. Encouraging seniors who wish to stay in the workforce longer to do so could mitigate (but not solve) the problem. Employers could abolish their mandatory retirement age and other policies that discriminate on the basis of age.Employers in this province are already concerned about shortages of people to fill jobs at all skill levels, well aware that energy booms create huge demands for workers in service sectors as well as in construction and labour-intensive oil sands production. The very specialized skills and knowledge essential to success in broadening the economic base are in short supply in the province now because there have not historically been good opportunities in these areas. One key requirement is more people experienced in founding and growing technologybased businesses. While productivity improvements and the application of innovative business models may slow growth in the labour supply gap or change the mix of skills required over the  next three decades, we still expect to see an increasing  need to attract immigrants to the province to fill key gaps  at all skill levels.The number of immigrants to Alberta fr
Omar Yaqub

Reports || EEDC 2008 annual report - 0 views

www.edmonton.com/...Annual_Report_2008.pdf

shared by Omar Yaqub on 01 Dec 10 - No Cached
  • Omar Yaqub on 01 Dec 10
     
    Workforce DevelopmentThe shortage of skilled workers was unquestionably the mostimportant challenge faced by Edmonton industry in 2008. Inits third year, EEDC's Edmonton Workforce Connection (EWC)program continued in conjunction with industry and governmentto address regional labour challenges. EWC worked with industrystakeholders, immigrant-serving agencies, the City of Edmonton,educational institutions and Alberta Employment and Immigrationto launch the Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council.This organization was created to help address the underemploymentof skilled immigrants in the region.EWC also provided new opportunities for businesses and workersto connect. These included developing the Employers of Choicewebsite to highlight local employers, creating a link to WOWJobs that enabled companies to advertise job opportunities, andconnecting Edmonton employers to university career centresacross Canada.EWC has a new name - EEDC's Workforce Development Program- and new challenges. The focus of the program will be optimizingthe labour force to address a growing skills shortage that isdriven by an aging population, competition, innovation and newtechnologies. Alberta employers are reassessing their needs andthe future of their businesses in light of the economic slowdown.EEDC will continue to need blue and white-collar workers who areemployed to their maximum capacity to rebuild the economy. Productivity & InnovationIn 2008, EEDC made a strategic decision to be a leader inpromoting greater productivity through innovation in the Edmontonregion.In collaboration with the province and cities across Alberta, EEDChosted Innovative Manufacturing Works tours in Edmontonin October 2008. Thirty industry representatives visited threeEdmonton-area manufacturers, which are focused on continuallyrefining their processes to achieve peak efficiency. Events such asthese improve public awareness of the capability of local industryand encourage other firms to adopt be
Omar Yaqub

10 Percent Unemployment Forever? - By Tyler Cowen and Jayme Lemke | Foreign Policy - 0 views

www.foreignpolicy.com/...0_percent_unemployment_forever

work trends

shared by Omar Yaqub on 17 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • it's the sector in which the government has most directly intervened -- health care -- that has maintained the most robust job growth over the past two years, adding 20,000 new jobs in November alone.
  • it is harder to avoid the notion that a lot of those old jobs simply weren't adding much to the economy
  • The story runs as follows. Before the financial crash, there were lots of not-so-useful workers holding not-so-useful jobs. Employers didn't so much bother to figure out who they were. Demand was high and revenue was booming, so rooting out the less productive workers would have involved a lot of time and trouble -- plus it would have involved some morale costs with the more productive workers, who don't like being measured and spied on. So firms simply let the problem lie.
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  • Then came the 2008 recession, and it was no longer possible to keep so many people on payroll. A lot of businesses were then forced to face the music: Bosses had to make tough calls about who could be let go and who was worth saving.
  • Note that unemployment is low for workers with a college degree, only 5 percent compared with 16 percent for less educated workers with no high school degree. This is consistent with the reality that less-productive individuals, who tend to have less education, have been laid off.)
  • rise of a large class of "zero marginal product workers," to coin a term. Their productivity may not be literally zero, but it is lower than the cost of training, employing, and insuring them.
  • Omar Yaqub on 17 Jan 11
     
    Indeed, it's the sector in which the government has most directly intervened -- health care --
Omar Yaqub

Building America's Third Great Job Machine - Richard Florida - Business - The Atlantic - 0 views

www.theatlantic.com/...238316

Work competitiveness

shared by Omar Yaqub on 07 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • The first American job machine was organized around farms and agricultural employment. More than four in 10 Americans worked on farms in 1800. Another 20 percent or so worked in manufacturing.
  • The second great American job machine took hold during the mid-19th century, propelled by the surge in manufacturing.  By late in the century, some 60 percent of the workforce had been absorbed in industrial jobs while agricultural work dropped to roughly ten percent of employment. Industrial and blue-collar manufacturing jobs would power America's economic and employment growth for the better part of the next century, until roughly1950. But for most of those years, it was low-wage, long-day, dirty and dangerous work -- it wasn't until the Great Depression, the New Deal, and post WW II prosperity that blue-collar jobs became good, family supporting jobs.
  • Against the backdrop of a massive decline in once high-paying blue collar manufacturing jobs which is eerily similar to the decline of agricultural jobs a century or so ago, this third transformation is creating not one overall, but two distinct categories of jobs and employment.
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  • first category includes millions of the best jobs America has ever seen: high-pay, high-skill jobs in knowledge-based professional and creative fields. Almost a third of American workers now have these kinds of jobs, which pay more than double most manufacturing jobs and which have been rather impervious to unemployment.
  • When unemployment among production workers climbed to more than 15 percent and surged above 20 percent for construction workers, unemployment among professional, technical and creative workers never got much above five percent.
  • the second category, which comprises such routine service work as personal care assistants and home health care aids, retail sales clerks, and food preparers -- is not so good. In fact, the pay for these jobs is roughly half that of manufacturing jobs. The result is as simple as it is tragic: a startling bifurcation of the job market and an increasingly unequal and divided society. Once we see this, it becomes clear that neither of the two most commonly cited prescriptions -- the counter-cyclical approach to job creation by boosting investment and demand, or the path of educating more people for higher-paying knowledge-based jobs -- can work.
  • A successful jobs strategy must focus centrally on upgrading the content and improving the wages of this entire job category. That is what happened a century ago, when public policy shifted to protect workers' rights and line jobs in manufacturing, once considered dirty and dangerous and impossible to upgrade, became high-paid work.
  • service work and service workers are not just a necessary cost of doing business, part of the overhead, but a potential profit center. Service workers can produce real value and there's no reason that they can't have real careers.
  • make the upgrading of service jobs a key prong of America's next great job machine.
  • Most service firms are smaller, mom-and-pop operations. To bring them into the 21stcentury, the administration should develop strategies to help these smaller firms learn the advantages of seeing workers as sources of innovation and productivity gains.
  • This could be a modest, low cost public-private partnership, involving universities, community colleges, and industry groups, modeled perhaps along the lines of the old Agricultural and Manufacturing Extension programs. The administration should also consider using incentives to encourage companies to upgrade service jobs, which would have the added benefit of improving the overall productivity of the highly fragmented service sector -- the last great frontier of inefficiency in advanced economies -- lifting the productivity of the economy overall, while boosting wages and lifting consumer demand.
  • This wouldn't come for free. All of us would have to pay a little more to the people who clean our homes, take care of our kids and aging parents, cut our hair, and sell us our clothes. This is exactly what we did a half century ago to spur recovery, when we agreed to pay more to the workers who made our cars and appliances and were building our homes. The costs are so modest and widely spread that they are unlikely to derail any recovery. And the payoffs in terms of productivity gains and increased demand are surely worth it.
Omar Yaqub

Canadian Immigration and Visas | National Occupation Classification List - 0 views

www.workpermit.com/...employee_list.htm

immigration work

shared by Omar Yaqub on 27 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Code Occupation 0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management (cap reached for June 2011 year)1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners2121 Biologists and Related Scientists2151 Architects3111 Specialist Physicians3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians3113 Dentists3131 Pharmacists3142 Physiotherapists3152 Registered Nurses (cap reached for June 2011 year)3215 Medical Radiation Technologists3222 Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists3233 Licensed Practical Nurses4151 Psychologists4152 Social Workers6241 Chefs6242 Cooks7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades7241 Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System)7242 Industrial Electricians7251 Plumbers7265 Welders & Related Machine Operators7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics7371 Crane Operators7372 Drillers & Blasters - Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service
  • Canadian Eligible Skilled Occupations
  • Omar Yaqub on 27 Feb 12
     
    Canadian Eligible Skilled Occupations Code Occupation 0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture) 1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management (cap reached for June 2011 year) 1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 2151 Architects 3111 Specialist Physicians 3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 3113 Dentists 3131 Pharmacists 3142 Physiotherapists 3152 Registered Nurses (cap reached for June 2011 year) 3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 3222 Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists 3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 4151 Psychologists 4152 Social Workers 6241 Chefs 6242 Cooks 7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 7241 Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System) 7242 Industrial Electricians 7251 Plumbers 7265 Welders & Related Machine Operators 7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 7371 Crane Operators 7372 Drillers & Blasters - Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction 8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service Canada Guide for Employers Skilled Workers Assessment Points calculator Guide for Individuals Overview Skilled Worker Immigration Shortage Occupations Family & Dependants International adoptions US vs. Canada Resume (CV) Format IT professionals Provincial Nominee Program Canada business immigration Working Holiday Program Canada Study Permits Relocating to Canada Immigration to Australia Canada United Kingdom United States more countries » Immigration assessments Tier 1 (General) Assessment UK employee work permit Australia skilled immigration Canadian skilled workers US green card lottery US H-1B for individuals US L-1 appraisal form US Green card assessment German green card General assessment Eligibility certificate Full assessments list
Omar Yaqub

America's jobless recovery: The return of structural unemployment concerns | The Economist - 0 views

www.economist.com/...americas_jobless_recovery_2

work trends

shared by Omar Yaqub on 15 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • the rise in structural unemployment by cause in the latter paper. The authors find that skills mismatch is causing very little of the increase. Rather, unemployment insurance is responsible for most of it, with productivity improvements making up the rest.
  • Omar Yaqub on 15 Feb 11
     
    the rise in structural unemployment by cause in the latter paper. The authors find that skills mismatch is causing very little of the increase. Rather, unemployment insurance is responsible for most of it, with productivity improvements making up the rest.
Omar Yaqub

Institute releases Report on Canada 2011, Canada's innovation imperative - Institute fo... - 0 views

www.competeprosper.ca/..._canadas_innovation_imperative

competitiveness productivity

shared by Omar Yaqub on 01 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • Productivity in Canada’s cities lags city regions globally
  • The Institute reports that Canada’s GDP per capita – a measure of the value created by workers and firms in Canada from the human, physical, and natural resources in the country – trailed the US by $9,500 or 17 percent in 2010
  • Canada’s lower productivity as the key challenge in closing this prosperity gap. “Canadians are among the leaders in developed economies in work effort, hours worked per person, but we are laggards in creating economic value per hour worked
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • recommends that governments improve their innovation policies by shifting their efforts from new-to-the-world inventions to relevant-to-the-market innovations
Omar Yaqub

Status of Quota / CAP as on Oct 19th - 0 views

www.canadavisa.com/...p-as-on-oct-19th-t55973.0.html

work immigration

shared by Omar Yaqub on 01 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • Omar Yaqub on 01 Mar 12
     
    Check out the Status of the 1000 Cap per NOC. This is as of Oct 19th. Applications received toward the overall cap: 2,226 of 20,000 0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 83 of 1,000 0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture)  18 of 1,000 1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 739 of 1,000 1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 28 of 1,000 2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 95 of 1,000 2151 Architects 125 of 1,000 3111 Specialist Physicians 93 of 1,000 3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 117 of 1,000 3113 Dentists 125 of 1,000 3131 Pharmacists  192 of 1,000 3142 Physiotherapists  34 of 1,000 3152 Registered Nurses  296 of 1,000 3215 Medical Radiation Technologists  5 of 1,000 3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 4 of 1,000 3233 Licensed Practical Nurses  13 of 1,000 4151 Psychologists 23 of 1,000 4152 Social Workers  57 of 1,000 6241 Chefs  11 of 1,000 6242 Cooks 32 of 1,000 7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 13 of 1,000 7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades  39 of 1,000 7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 22 of 1,000 7242 Industrial Electricians 28 of 1,000 7251 Plumbers 2 of 1,000 7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 6 of 1,000 7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics  11 of 1,000 7371 Crane Operators 0 of 1,000 7372 Drillers and Blasters - Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 2 of 1,000 8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 13 of 1,000
Omar Yaqub

Alberta Competitiveness Initiative - Home Page - 0 views

www.finance.alberta.ca/...competitiveness

competitiveness alberta economics

shared by Omar Yaqub on 29 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • Omar Yaqub on 29 Nov 10
     
    he council will look at ways to improve Alberta's overall economic position and build on work already underway by government and industry. It will also look at the various factors that impact the province's economic growth such as regulation and fiscal policy, the availability of skilled workers, transportation and infrastructure, and productivity and innovation.
Omar Yaqub

Today's innovation, tomorrow's prosperity - Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity - 0 views

www.competeprosper.ca/...nnovation_tomorrows_prosperity

work canada demographics innovation

shared by Omar Yaqub on 29 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • As the economy slowly recovers from the recession, we need to do what is necessary to achieve a solid recovery in the short term and to begin repairing our provincial fiscal situation. But our long-term challenge remains – raising our productivity, which is synonymous with improving our innovation capabilities and performance. Robust innovation results can be achieved through more key business investments and by the right government policies and strategies for innovation. The Report concludes that businesses need to step up their investments in technology – from R&D to patents to adapting existing technology to their businesses. Equally important is the ongoing need to develop stronger management capabilities in our businesses. The Task Force also recommends that governments improve their innovation polices by shifting their efforts from new-to-the-world inventions to relevant-to-the market innovations. These are the key conclusions of the Ninth Annual Report, Today’s innovation, tomorrow’s prosperity, released today by the Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress.
  • Omar Yaqub on 29 Nov 10
     
     (PDF) 
Omar Yaqub

Industrial policy: Moving the movie business | The Economist - 0 views

www.economist.com/...industrial_policy

shared by Omar Yaqub on 02 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Yet it's worth thinking about why it's absurd to argue that every state should try to subsidise up a local film industry but not crazy to support local universities. Certainly, there are huge efficiencies being sacrificed by duplicating administrative capacity all around the country. And academics benefit from close proximity to those working on similar problems; the efficacy of research is reduced when it's spread more thinly around the country. If America had fewer, bigger states, it would probably have fewer, bigger universities, and that might well be a very good thing.
  • The joke, I'm sure I don't need to explain, is that not every state can succeed by poaching productions from other states, since what's made in one state can't be made in another. But that's not quite right. A subsidy allows a business to cut prices and artificially raise demand. Given generous enough subsidies, many more movies would be made, and each state could, potentially, have a thriving film industry. This is how higher education works, more or less. New Mexico has state universities just like California and Iowa and Alaska. These schools are understandably viewed as foundations of the local economies in which they're located, as well as important cultural institutions. And we obviously view the subsidisation of the production of college graduates as a worthwhile contribution to long-run growth, again, understandably.
  • [Former New Mexico Governor Bill] Richardson says that the film and TV subsidy has brought "nearly $4 billion into our economy over eight years" and has created 10,000 jobs. By "our," he means New Mexico. He says every state should emulate this success.
Omar Yaqub

More than just email: Google Apps goes live at the University of Alberta at MasterMaq's... - 0 views

blog.mastermaq.ca/...e-at-the-university-of-alberta

productivity technology

shared by Omar Yaqub on 21 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • The shift will enable the university to reduce infrastructure costs, which should lead to some broader cost savings (he noted that no positions would be lost) and some productivity gains, as the mundane task of managing email can now be removed.
Omar Yaqub

Is Canada's Innovation Performance Really So Bad? - Joshua Gans - The Conversation - Ha... - 0 views

blogs.hbr.org/...nadas_innovation_performa.html

canada competitiveness

shared by Omar Yaqub on 07 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • Canada lags behind in R&D spending and also possibly in patents secured by businesses. But in my research on this topic, I had long regarded Canada as a solid performer, especially compared with Australia. My research was based on an econometric methodology (initially design by Michael Porter and Scott Stern, but refined by myself and Richard Hayes) designed to forecast a country's innovative capacity — that is, not what innovation is taking place but instead what innovation is likely to occur in the future.
  • Rather than focus on a specific result, such as patent performance, this research derives an index from broader fundamentals. When the experience of many nations is pooled, it becomes clear that certain factors play a robust and persistent role in innovation. These include inputs into R&D (including capital and labor) and, more surprisingly, the public share of education in gross domestic product expenditure (rather than overall education), the level of intellectual property protection (stronger is better), R&D funded by industry (as opposed to government) but performed within universities, and the degree of specialization.
  • Indeed, compared to other OECD countries, Canada's innovation index puts it at the very top of second tier innovators and at number seven in the world. (The top ten comprises the U.S., Finland, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Germany, Iceland, and Norway.) While this does not suggest that Canada should be complacent, it does suggest that the gap emphasized in Canada's Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity report is not as worrying as it might appear. Canada has innovation challenges but they are not at the level faced by Australia.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • If I had to speculate — I have not yet examined the underlying numbers for Canada — I would posit that the gap is related to trade and to Canada's proximity to the U.S.. Canadian businesses, especially innovative ones, focus on the U.S. market; further, it is likely that the best innovations get snapped up by U.S. firms. To be sure, this is a perfectly legitimate commercialization strategy — selling out to established firms — but it is the sort of thing that shows up poorly in aggregate statistics. If that is the case, the issue may not be Canada's encouraging more innovation but ensuring that Canadian policies are consistent with facilitating export in ideas as much as export in physical products.
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