TARIFF TROUBLES
A report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce indicates that the country’s automotive and parts manufacturing sector would be the second-most negatively impacted area as a result of United States’ tariffs. In Ontario, vulnerable areas would include Southwestern Ontario at third to sixth most affected due to automotive production in Windsor, Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo, Brantford and Guelph. Quebec’s most trade intensive cities would also be affected by tariffs placed on the automotive sector, says the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, with the study placing Quebec’s regions as being seventh, ninth and twelfth-most at risk.
TRAINING TRIALS
A recent survey conducted by Apprenticeship Central in the United Kingdom has found that concerns about time, cost and difficulty finding suitable candidates remain primary obstacles in hiring new apprentices within the trades. When looking at the automotive industry specifically, the study notes that a lack of time for training, at 31 percent of respondents, is increasing due to rising pressures around profit margins, KPIs and key to key time. In a close second, concerns about cost registered at 28 percent. Here, businesses noted concerns about the upfront and ongoing investments required to maintain apprentices throughout their stay. Meanwhile, uncertainty about the overall apprenticeship process scored at 13 percent.
