Two stories in the Mercury yesterday show how jobs in Guelph directly link to world trade winds. Hitachi has been working on expansion plans for over a year, and have now announced the plant expansion in Guelph. The recovery in world mining has had this fantastic Guelph based manufacturing facility hopping. The vehicles made here in Guelph are recognized around the world. Successful development of the Ring of Fire in Ontario and northern mining projects including Baffin Island also directly affect jobs in Guelph. An interesting mention was made of automated welding. Enrolment in welding at Conestoga is still not at capacity, in spite of a nation-wide shortage of welders.
Derek Burleton from TD Bank mentioned in another article talks about the cooling off of the job market in Canada. He will be in Guelph for the Chamber's Lunch and Learn this Wednesday to discuss the headwinds from the EU impacting us here. Interesting that Canadian Press continues to headline Guelph as having the lowest unemployment rate in Ontario. With an unemployment pool of about 4,000 workers, it only takes a few announcements like Hitachi creating 575 jobs to put real stress on Guelph employers looking for employees. Conestoga, Second Chance, and Lutherwood are working hard to match workers with skills needed. The Chamber of Commerce Workplace Development Committee is working on co-op opportunities to create first jobs and to let students see where the jobs really are being created.
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