this better work ! tom zizys, metcalf foundation fellow donnalee bell, canadian career development...

THIS BETTER WORK !TOM ZIZYS, METCALF FOUNDATION FELLOW

DONNALEE BELL, CANADIAN CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

Pragmatic Solutions for Creating Good Jobs

WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT?

• According the World Gallup Poll what people want today more than anything is a GOOD JOB!

• 30 years ago people told Gallup they wanted love, money, food, shelter, safety, peace and freedom

• Full time

• Fairly compensated

• Safe

• Respectful

• Meaningful

“It may be more accurate to distinguish “good and bad” work environments/workplaces”

Graham Lowe

WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT?

SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT

• We have jobs without people and people without jobs

• We can’t seem to be able to say if there a skill shortage.

• The most educated cohort in our country is being asked to work for free.

• According to SunLife (Nov. 2012), 90% of youth 18-24 feel excessive stress because of economic instability and underemployment

SESSION OUTLINE

• Explain how we got to this point

• Explore the impact of shifting from the loyalty line to the bottom line has had on careers

• What can and is being done

HOURGLASS LABOUR MARKET

COMPARISON OF DISTRIBUTION OF JOBS BYSKILL CATEGORIES, ONTARIO, 1991-2006

COMPARISON OF DISTRIBUTION OF JOBS BYSKILL CATEGORIES, TORONTO AND THE REST OF ONTARIO, 2006

CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT SHARES BY PAY LEVEL, EUROPE AND UNITED STATES, 1993-2006

CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT SHARES BY SKILL CATEGORIES, TD BANK, CANADA, 1999-2012

CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT SHARES BY SKILL CATEGORIES, TD BANK, CANADIAN PROVINCES, 1999-2012

PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT SHARE OF ALL JOBS,BY SKILL CONTENT, UNITED STATES, 1981-2011

CHANGING HIRING AND PROMOTION PRACTICES

CAREER PATHWAYS IN A 1950S COMPANY

From “Working Better: Creating a High-Performing Labour Market in Ontario” Metcalf Foundation

THE 1950S CORPORATE STRUCTURE

The labour market “perfect storm”LATE 60s/EARLY 70s:

STAGFLATION

FRAGMENTED CAREER PATH IN A 1990S FIRM

THE INTEGRATED FIRM NOW BECOMES THE NETWORKED FIRM

THE FINANCIALIZATION OF OUR ECONOMY

THE SHIFT TO FINANCIALIZATION

• Concept of shareholder value: CEO primary responsibility is to maximize return to shareholders

• Stock market difficulties in 1970s opened way to hostile takeovers

• Broad conglomerates were thought to be worth more if run more efficiently or if broken up

• Not that weren’t profitable, but could be more profitable

THE TYRANNY OF THE “RATIOS”

ELEMENTS OF THIS MODEL AFFECT OTHER BUSINESSES

• Not every business is looking to shed its workforce

• But how a business is evaluated may depend on these ratios

• The ability of a business to access capital (stocks, loans) may be affected by these ratios

• Others borrow parts of this model (contracting out)

• Each business is acting in its own interest, but collectively is undermining employment and ultimately the economy

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE SUPPLY SIDE (OUR CLIENTS)?

• Canada has the highest percentages of the population aged 25 – 64 with tertiary education among OECD countries

YOUTH HAVE DONE THEIR PART

BUT…

Canadian college graduate earnings (25-64 year olds) compared to other countries (2010 or latest available year)

France

OECD average

United Kingdom

Sweden

Germany

Australia

United States

Canada

Japan

12.6%

13.3%

11.6%

5.0%

10.9%

8.1%

10.2%

13.3%

10.1%

9.9%

13.0%

13.3%

14.7%

14.8%

16.4%

19.3%

23.1%

34.7%

At or below half of the median More than 2 times the median

BUT THEN …Canadian university graduate earnings (25-64 year olds) compared to other countries (2009 or latest available year)

United Kingdom

Japan

OECD average

Australia

France

Sweden

Germany

United States

Canada

28.0%

34.7%

26.7%

18.4%

25.1%

14.1%

27.2%

30.3%

29.4%

7.7%

8.9%

9.3%

9.7%

10.1%

10.9%

12.1%

12.8%

17.6%

At or below half of the median More than 2 times the median

THE B.A.RISTA GENERATION

In Canada

• Under-employment number 2nd highest in OECD since 2005

• 1 in 4 – the ratio of young people with university degrees who worked in “low-skilled” jobs in 2012

• 40% of food and beverage servers and 45% of retail salespersons (age d 25-54) in Ontario hold a university or college degree

• The earnings gap between high school grads and those with a university bachelor’s degree is narrowing.

Sources: World Economic Forum; Statistics Canada study – “Unemployment Dynamics Among Canada’s Youth”

ENTRY-LEVEL JOBS ARE NO LONGER STEPPING STONES• More casual, part-time and temp work• Wages dropped for entry-level jobs• Drop in minimum wage in real terms• Less unionization• Less opportunity for advancement and many are

getting stuck

= More income inequality

WHAT’S THE WAY FORWARD?

Prescription: Focus on Employers

• Grooming individuals for a job• Supporting access to next rung of the career

ladder• Employers need to invest more in training

THE QUESTION:

Is there a business case for employers investing in their workforce?

MANY BARRIERS TO TRAINING

Simply making the business case for training is not enough:

• Cost (simple matter of cash-flow)

• Risk aversion (immediate expense, distant gain)

• Information (ROI on training, peer benchmarks)

• Resources (which training, who should deliver)

• Poaching (fear that trained workers will leave)

• Inertia (easier to leave this as they are)

• Competence (broader HR skills)

Demand-side approaches andskills development

THREE LEVELS OF RESPONSE

1. Addressing the specific challenges/ barriers faced by the individual employer

2. Using intermediaries to broaden the reach/create economies of scale

3. Promoting those values and norms that recognize the value of employees

A STRATEGY WITH THREE DIMENSIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS:EMPLOYER PRACTICES

RECOMMENDATIONS: INTERMEDIARIES

RECOMMENDATIONS:NORMS AND VALUES

QUESTIONS?

FINAL WORDS

“We live in a time of ultra capitalism, that often seems inescapable. Well so did the

divine right of kings.”Ursula Le Guin