INTERNATIONAL TRADE WORKFORCE STRATEGY Equipping Canadian workers and businesses with essential international-trade knowledge, skills and abilities 2013
Equipping Canadian workers and businesses with essential international-trade skills and knowledge Canada doesn t trade internationally. Our country s international-trade workforce does one business at a time, one relationship at a time, one transaction at a time. Nothing is traded until a company sells a product or service to a person or enterprise abroad. Until then, anything a government department or agency does every agreement the businesses and the people in our international-trade workforce who produce, transport, market and sell goods and services to consumers all around the world. Posing several key questions That salute stirs up several questions. What knowledge, skills and abilities must international-trade practitioners in Canadian businesses have to succeed in global markets? Are existing international-trade practitioners equipped with them? Are to compete in the increasingly complex world of integrative trade? If not, what steps should Canadian business owners, education professionals and policymakers take to ensure enough international-trade practitioners possess the right knowledge, skills and abilities, and can access resources to upgrade their knowledge, skills and abilities throughout their careers? Revealing four breakthrough findings In December 2011, the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT) set out to answer these and other pivotal questions by spearheading a study of the state of the international-trade workforce in Canada. The study, funded by Human Resources interviewing more than 100 leading business owners from across the country to understand the current state of Canada s actions for business, education and government. Taken together, these actions will close two types of workforce gaps a gap in the number of current international-trade practitioners and the number required, and a gap in the capabilities that current and emerging workers now have and the capabilities they need to be high performers in international trade. In closing these two workforce gaps, the proposed actions will enable Canadian businesses to take full advantage of the potential of international trade. Taking needed actions together Three key stakeholders will be responsible for taking these needed actions and implementing the International Trade business. No single action and no single stakeholder alone can close the gaps. A combination of actions and actors often working collaboratively is required to close the international-trade workforce s gaps and propel international-trade growth. Indeed, while FITT initiated the study, it must not and cannot act alone. As the initiator of the International Trade Workforce performers. After all, it s the international-trade workforce that is fuelling prosperity throughout Canada one business, one relationship, one transaction at a time. 2 INTERNATIONAL TRADE WORKFORCE STRATEGY FITT 2013
EMERGING OCCUPATIONS Ten occupational areas have emerged recently as Canadian businesses respond to the evolution of our country s international-trade experience. These 10 are in addition to the 95 occupations core to international trade identified in the study. Many businesses that trade internationally have created new occupations internally by carving out specializations from traditional occupations. The way workforce data is collected, analyzed and reported must be changed to account for the emergence and growth of these new occupational areas and to inform the policies, programs and initiatives taken to strengthen Canada s international-trade workforce. Actions Change the National Occupation Codes (NOC) to create a supporting infrastructure of workforce data for international-trade occupations. occupations that are core to international trade. to international trade. workforce and employment dynamics of occupations core to international trade. In particular, international-trade workforce. Build on the foundation established by the FITT study to search for emerging international When we take action Accurate, timely data on the international-trade workforce in Canada will be available continually to enable business owners, educational professionals and policymakers to evaluate progress against all actions recommended in the study designed to strengthen the trade workforce, and to analyze ongoing workforce dynamics to address continued occupational gaps. TEN EMERGING OCCUPATIONAL AREAS REFLECT CANADA S CURRENT AND FUTURE INTERNATIONAL- TRADE EXPERIENCE 1. ECOMMERCE 2. ENVIRONMENTAL RISK 3. GLOBAL ACCOUNTS AND RELATIONSHIPS MANAGEMENT 4. GLOBAL IT SYSTEMS 5. INTERNATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT 6. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 7. TRADE FACILITATION 8. REGULATORY COMPLIANCE 9. TRADE FINANCE 10. VALUE-CHAIN MANAGEMENT If we don t take action Businesses, educational professionals and policymakers will fail to prepare workers for the specialized occupations that are emerging in international trade. 3
Equipping Canadian workers and businesses with essential international-trade skills and knowledge IMPACT OF INTEGRATIVE TRADE Integrative trade is radically reshaping how businesses conduct international trade. Businesses, governments and the educational community must raise awareness among Canadians of the increasing importance of international trade to their ongoing prosperity, the way integrative trade is changing global commerce and the urgent need for Canadian businesses and international-trade practitioners to ready themselves to capitalize fully on the potential rewards of integrative trade. TEN COMPETENCIES OF INTEGRATIVE TRADE REVEAL THE CHANGING NATURE OF GLOBAL BUSINESS 1. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 2. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND PLANNING 3. INTERCULTURAL ASPECTS OF INTEGRATIVE TRADE 4. POLITICAL AND POLICY ENVIRONMENT 5. INTERNATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT 6. INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT 7. INTERNATIONAL-TRADE AND SUPPLY- CHAIN FINANCE 8. GLOBAL-VALUE AND SUPPLY-CHAIN MANAGEMENT 9. INTERNATIONAL-TRADE LAW 10. INTERNATIONAL-TRADE COMPLIANCE Integrative trade is a system in which imports, exports, information, services and services related to goods are traded across country borders through value chains powered by investments and business relationships. Canadian businesses will need to demonstrate these competencies if they areas of knowledge that are essential to many trade-relevant activities. Actions Build awareness of the urgent need for increasing international-trade capabilities. needed actions. Create greater proficiency among current and emerging workers in integrativetrade competencies the new knowledge, skills and abilities required to succeed in international trade today. become familiar with these integrative-trade competencies; take advantage of online tools such as FITT s Integrative Trade Competency Diagnostic tool to assess the integrative-trade competencies of their workforces and to shape advanced training programs and learning opportunities for international-trade practitioners; and enable workers to access relevant training and professional development opportunities. When we take action Canadian international-trade practitioners will be equipped with the competencies they need to succeed in the new world of integrative trade. In turn, Canadian businesses will be more If we don t take action international traders. 4 INTERNATIONAL TRADE WORKFORCE STRATEGY FITT 2013
LACK OF KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES FOR TRADE-RELATED OCCUPATIONS Insufficient numbers of young Canadians emerging from schools or early in their careers have the cluster of knowledge, skills and abilities required for performance in trade-related occupations. As a result, Canadian businesses that trade internationally or wish to trade internationally will draw from a continually shrinking pool of workers who possess trade-related competencies, which will stifle the growth of these businesses and prevent them from fully realizing their revenue and profit potential. relationships and global value chains that these businesses have created to spur and expand their trade internationally. Rather than anticipating and planning for the integration of additional skilled workers, businesses most often satisfy their demand for new talent by competing with other businesses for skilled personnel and by cobbling together informal methods to transfer knowledge from skilled workers to new ones. As a consequence, businesses that trade internation- - Actions Prepare high school graduates by offering vocational training in international trade. Business and education must propel high school graduates toward post-secondary courses, diploma programs and eventually increase the number of high school apprenticeship and internship programs; and achieve this integration is for industry associations to reach out to groups of regional and local high school guidance counsellors and impress upon them the need to supplement existing programs with information about traderelevant occupations. Expand employer-provided training to increase in-house capabilities at all levels, and close gaps in international-trade skills. Businesses must expand the training they provide workers to ensure these workers are equipped with required knowledge, skills identify gaps in knowledge, skills and abilities within their organizations and thereby determine where training is required; commit to developing the required capabilities; and determine the most appropriate method to deliver training either by accessing existing training programs or and abilities. 5
Equipping Canadian workers and businesses with essential international-trade skills and knowledge Enhance certificate and credentialing programs. expanding the opportunities for students to work and study abroad in ways that enhance their exposure to international business. Utilize talent mobility opportunities to build capabilities. Businesses must make it easier for workers to gain international-trade experience by moving freely within their compan- Forum s work on talent-mobility best practices. These practices enable companies to create and enhance internal talent-mobility programs and increase the number of opportunities for workers to experience international business. Build business-to-business (B2B) talent exchanges. national-trade talent temporarily. Workers will use these business-to-business exchanges to access different working environments to acquire fresh knowledge, hone additional skills and gain insights from new experiences. assess the market interest in the B2B talent exchange concept; align with potential partners; and create a beta website that can facilitate exchanges. When we take action processes and programs through which workers can acquire necessary competencies and businesses can create skilled workforces to realize these practitioners that Canadian businesses can draw from will expand continually. If we don t take action The shortage of workers with trade-related knowledge, skills and abilities becomes entrenched. As a result, businesses will continue to carry out a rearguard 6 INTERNATIONAL TRADE WORKFORCE STRATEGY FITT 2013
SHORTAGE OF QUALIFIED WORKERS Canada s workforce has a shortage of qualified workers in two occupational categories vital to international trade: management and business, finance and administration. Supply shortages exist in all trade-relevant occupations within management and business, finance and administration. This shortfall of qualified workers is a result of two factors: labour market demand for workers in these occupational categories is rising as international-trade activity increases steadily, and many workers now in these job groups are fast approaching retirement age. Actions Identify trade-relevant employment opportunities for those re-entering the workforce. and workers who wish to change their careers. A group of transitioning workers rich in potential are people of the Canadian Forces. Many military personnel have sharply honed logistics skills and experience working overseas both of which are relevant and vital to recruit retirees with trade-relevant capabilities; create partnerships with associations that serve the interests of aging and retired workers, and communicate with research centres that focus on aging and retirement for insights into how to bring retired people back into the workforce; and recruit returning workers who have trade-relevant knowledge, skills and abilities that are returning to the workforce. People who are returning from parental leave or who are returning to the workforce because their children have reached school age is a pool of talent on which to draw. Business and Canadian Forces outplacement authorities need to collaborate to: facilitate the placement of former Canadian Forces personnel with international trade-relevant skills and experiences (e.g., logistics, security, multicultural contexts) into trade-relevant positions. Revise immigration policy to favour economic immigrants with trade-relevant capabilities and experiences. determine the requirements for revising immigration policy to improve the opportunities for economic immigrants with previous international-trade experience. Remove the barriers that hinder retired persons from re-entering the international-trade workforce. determine the size and characteristics of the population at risk to determine the business case to change Old Age 7
Equipping Canadian workers and businesses with essential international-trade skills and knowledge When we take action If we don t take action The shortfall of workers in trade-relevant occupations will prevent Canadian businesses that trade internationally from expanding existing relationships and taking advantage of new opportunities. As this shortage becomes a persistent, deep-rooted reality, it will render businesses increasingly ill equipped to seize the as enterprises. START TAKING ACTION What can you do right away to take action to equip Canadian workers and businesses with essential international-trade knowledge, skills and abilities? Get in touch with your professional or industry association and your provincial or regional government agency. These organizations will have the training and learning resources you need or will be able to point you in the right direction to access them. Go to www.fitt.ca. The website of the Forum for International Trade Training workforce in Canada. 8 INTERNATIONAL TRADE WORKFORCE STRATEGY FITT 2013