The need to make skills work: The cost of Ontario’s skills gap
Skills gaps cost the Ontario economy up to $24.3 billion in foregone GDP—a result of too many Ontarians not obtaining enough education to find employment in today’s economy. Skills gaps are projected to worsen if action is not taken to address them, and fears about a future of “jobs without people” and “people without jobs” are widespread. However, little has been done to examine the true economic costs of Ontario’s skills gaps and what can be done to prevent a skills crisis. To address a lack of information, the Conference Board undertook a major study of skills gaps in Ontario, including a survey of over 1,500 Ontario employers.