The Executive Director of the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce says a potential reason for a lack of workers could be because a number of people have decided to start their own businesses.

Speaking on the NL Morning News, Acacia Pangilinan was asked if the Chamber has an idea where all of the workers have gone as businesses in almost every sector say they are experiencing extreme labour challenges.

“We definitely heard that people have gone the route of self employment and looking at starting their own businesses,” she said. “We’ve also heard that people took the opportunity to may be up skill or re-skill or learn a new trade and so we’re seeing people switch industries.”

“I certainly don’t want to speculate but I think when people were given the opportunity to reflect, they were able to reflect, they were able to think about what they wanted for their lives and so I think we’re seeing just kind of a shift in people.”

Chamber President Dan Carroll told NL News in June that while COVID-19 made things worse, the labour shortage facing some sectors is not a new issue. It is the main issue that the Chamber is hoping to see addressed now that the 2021 federal election is in the past.

“We definitely need this problem addressed and the federal government does have a role in helping us address this problem,” Pangilinan added. “Hopefully, we’ll start to see more and more people come back into the workforce as pandemic restrictions ease.”

Affordability, housing, and social issues are also priorities that the Kamloops Chamber wants to see addressed.

“We had an excellent relationship with MP [Cathy] McLeod and we wish her all the best, and I think this is a good opportunity for us to bring forward some of those national policy directions that we’re working on with [new MP] Frank [Caputo],” Pangilinan said.