With baby boomers retiring and an ever-increasing skills gap, the Canadian labour market is expected to face an unprecedented talent shortage of a million workers by 2020. One of the industries being hit hardest is the energy and resources sector. Deloitte, with the support of the Energy Council of Canada, conducted a talent pulse survey of Canadian executives working in oil and gas, utilities and mining organizations to better understand the extent of the talent crisis and what these organizations are doing to combat this issue.

The survey examines specific resource shortages, today’s critical talent issues, and how they are perceived to impact performance. It also offers insights and advice to help companies tackle the problem more effectively.

Key findings of Deloitte’s survey of energy and resource executives
The research finds that energy and resources organizations are aware of the talent problem, but not all have strategies in place to effectively address the issue. They are beginning to recognize that the traditional approaches — which typically focus on acquisition and retention — won’t be sufficient to address the full scope of the problem. Big salaries and bonuses might buy organizations a little time, but over the long term they should use the principles of Develop–Deploy–Connect to increase workforce productivity and loyalty.

Survey highlights include:

• Over 80 percent of respondents are facing limited productivity and efficiency due to the talent shortage
• Only 18 percent of survey respondents indicated they have strategies in place to deal with the impending shortage
• Over 80 percent of organizations are expecting a shortage of salaried or white-collar workers
• 73 percent of Canadian energy companies are getting ready to address their talent issues

Develop–Deploy–Connect
Deloitte’s own research points to specific strategies to address the talent issue using Develop-Deploy-Connect, a new model for talent management. 

Download the complete report, Managing Talent Flow.

 Return to our series on Talent Management

The survey was conducted with the support of the Energy Council of Canada.