Not long ago, economists fretted a lot about the underemployed -- those MBA grads working as busboys just to get by. Technically, they were employed, but their education and experience were going to waste.
In Alberta lately, the problem has been flipped on its head.
In any economy, there are people with levels of education that would qualify them for only basic, entry-level jobs, such as dishwashers or gas-station attendants. They are what economists refer to as low-skill workers. And the term is not snobbery: They may have no interest in being a lawyer or scientist. They may be perfectly happy washing dishes all day and jamming with their friends and hanging out all night. What cardiologist can do that?
But because of the current labour shortage in Alberta, many low-skill workers are being pulled up the food chain. Former dishwashers are getting office jobs. Waiters are in middle management. Retail clerks are offered careers in marketing.
They are the overemployed - people working at jobs for which, under normal circumstances, they have too little education or experience.
The phenomenon is the result of the labour market "trickle up." Alberta's booming resource economy has created all kinds of great paying jobs in energy, construction, business and financial services. These positions have sucked up workers from other sectors such as transportation, communications and wholesaling. In turn, the voids in these sectors have sucked up workers from the food, beverage, hospitality and retail sectors - typically the lowest paid and lowest skilled in the economy. It's a trickle up the job ladder, and it helps explain why Alberta's most severe shortages seem to be the lowest-skilled positions.
But there's a dark side to this story. Primary is safety.
Construction workers are among the rarest and most highly sought in Alberta, and there is enormous pressure on construction companies to get projects done on time and on budget. Skills such as welding, plumbing and framing are scarce; experience is even scarcer. Will building quality be compromised by workers with little training in swinging hammers or soldering joints?
What about basic health-care workers? Trained professionals such as doctors and nurses maintain strict educational requisites. But what about experience? Will hospital teams have the years of experience necessary to handle extremely stressful and demanding emergency situations?
There are economic costs to employers and the economy when those with inadequate skills are hired for a high-skilled job. Supervisors spend more time checking and correcting work. Labour productivity falls even further behind.
Can't drive a 20-foot flatbed truck? Okay, I'll show you. Never seen a relational database before? Here's how it works.
A true story: A new employee at a major transportation company was asked to put together a pricing sheet for a client, and was instructed to "discount the prices by 20 per cent." Inexperienced and undertrained, he deducted the prices by $20 instead. Of course, some on-the-job training is to be expected. But when a new employee doesn't understand the difference between a 20-per-cent discount and a $20 discount, you're in trouble.
A study released this month by the Canadian Policy Research Networks takes a good look at job quality as a means to recruit and retain the workers needed for Canada's future prosperity. The study concludes that today's economic prosperity has not resulted in an overall improvement in job quality. With so many overemployed workers, this shouldn't be a surprise. What could be more stressful than being in a position for which you have limited qualifications?
Until Alberta's labour market regains some balance, the trickle up will continue. The only solution is better education. From universities to community colleges and polytechnics, we need to emphasize skills development. And most important, we need to encourage young people to pursue the training they need.
The opinions expressed are Todd Hirsch's own.