f e b r u a r y / m a r c h 2 0 1 6
www.resourceworld.com
63
better attraction and retention strategy, said Carol Howes, Vice-
President of Communication and PetroLMI division of Enform.
"There are concerns that workers will look elsewhere, at other
industries," she said. "It happened in the last recession and then,
in 2010, more workers were needed. Now there are efforts to
retrain or expand the current workers' job skills so they can hold
onto them.
"The industry's technologies are changing and we need to
look at the skills needed in the future. We need to attract the best
and brightest so we have a more skilled workforce."
Calling it a "difficult situation", Howes said the industry is
changing and must look to developing technologies that will see
fewer workers with different skill sets on the job.
If anything positive comes from the downturn it may be a shift
in public policy. Klassen said concerns around increases in cor-
porate taxes, carbon policy and the Alberta royalty rate review
highlight the need for government and industry to approach
policy changes as a "shared partnership". In an industry that
employs more than 500,000 people across Canada, the thought of
business going elsewhere is a concern.
"We need to make it more competitive, which in turn creates
jobs, opens new markets and provides higher revenues for govern-
ment," she said. "Policy has a really big role to play in this."
n
