The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Sept. 22, edition that Ontario has so few available
workers with high-technology
skills that it would be a "big
problem" if Amazon
chose the province to host a
second headquarters, a panel of
business executives has warned.
The Globe's Justin Giovannetti writes that mayors from across Canada have announced
their intention to compete for
the Seattle-based company's second
headquarters, dubbed HQ2.
Amazon has
said the project would create
50,000 jobs and bring more
than $5-billion (U.S.) in investment.
A project of that size would
soak up much of the skilled talent
in Ontario's labour market,
said General Motors of Canada president Stephen Carlisle.
Companies are already struggling
to hire workers with science
or technology skills, he
and other executives warned at
a panel about increasing business
productivity in Ontario.
What if Amazon dropped in
here? That would be a big problem.
A happy problem on the
one hand, because it's huge
employment that's aligned with
a very bright future. But, on the
other hand, it would tend to
crowd out, so I don't know that
we've got the capacity or the
capability to keep up, Mr. Carlisle
said.
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