By Jayson Myers
The Prairies have some of the most diverse manufacturing workplaces in Canada – except when it comes to hiring women.
In proportion to the size of their workforce, manufacturers in the Prairies employ twice as many Indigenous people as the average business in Canada, 31 per cent more immigrants, and 23 per cent more visible minorities. They employ 94 per cent more indigenous workers, 12 per cent more immigrants, and 24 per cent more visible minorities than the average manufacturing company in Canada.
However, conditions aren’t as positive for women. Women account for less than 25 per cent of the Prairie manufacturing workforce. That’s about half Canada’s overall employment rate for women and 13 per cent below the manufacturing average across the country. For the Prairies as a whole, women occupy a lower percentage of senior management, mid-management, and lower management jobs than in either the average Canadian business or the average manufacturing company in the country.
The situation doesn’t look that rosy for Prairie companies trying to attract under-represented groups into the manufacturing workforce either. They generally underperform their counterparts elsewhere in Canada. Manufacturing accounts for about nine per cent of all Canadian employees, for about
11 per cent of all jobs for immigrants, nine per cent of all visible minority workers, but again only five per cent of all women employees across the country. Prairie manufacturers, on the other hand, employ only seven per cent of the total workforce, nine per cent of immigrants, seven per cent of visible minorities, and three per cent of women working in the region.
Each of the Prairie provinces has a slightly different diversity profile, but the overall complexion is about the same. Generally speaking, when it comes to women, the province doesn’t matter – manufacturers simply under-hire.
Manitoba Relies on Immigrants
The story for Manitoba manufacturers is mainly about newcomers to Canada. Immigrants account for a full 42 per cent of all manufacturing jobs in the province, compared to 24 per cent for the average Manitoba business. That’s also a much higher share than the 27 per cent average Canadian immigrant employment rate or the 32 per cent rate for manufacturers across the country. While manufacturing accounts for almost 10 per cent of Manitoba’s workforce, almost 17 per cent of all newcomers employed in Manitoba have a job in manufacturing.
Reflecting the importance of immigrants, visible minorities also represent 42 per cent of Manitoba’s manufacturing workforce whereas the average for all businesses in the province is 36 per cent. The Canadian economy and Canada’s manufacturing sector both average around 29 per cent. Manufacturing employs over 11 per cent of all visible minority workers in Manitoba.
Women have a tougher time getting a job in Manitoba manufacturing. Only 26 per cent of manufacturing jobs in the province are held by women, which is lower than the 28 per cent average for manufacturers across the country. It is also significantly lower than the 48 per cent averages for women’s employment in all sectors of the Manitoba and Canadian economies. Only five per cent of female workers in Manitoba are employed in manufacturing.
Women are under-represented in manufacturing management jobs in Manitoba as well. Just over 22 per cent of senior management positions and 35 per cent of mid-management positions in the provincial sector are held by females. The averages for those positions across all Canadian manufacturers are 27 per cent and 37 per cent respectively.
Saskatchewan Not as Diverse
Manufacturers in Saskatchewan are notably less diverse than their other Prairie counterparts. Women occupy only 21 per cent of manufacturing jobs in the province, which is ironic because the 49 per cent overall rate of female employment in the province is higher than the national figure. Female representation is somewhat better in manufacturing management positions where 27 per cent of senior management roles and 35 per cent of mid-management positions are filled by women. While manufacturing accounts for just over five per cent of Saskatchewan’s workforce, the sector has attracted just a little over two per cent of working women in the province.
Immigrants account for 19 per cent of Saskatchewan’s manufacturing workforce, slightly higher than the 15 per cent average for the provincial economy, but 12 points lower than the Canadian manufacturing rate. Visible minorities are also under-represented. They hold 23 per cent of manufacturing jobs in Saskatchewan, which is lower than both the 26 per cent provincial average as well as Canada’s overall manufacturing rate of
29 per cent. The sector has attracted seven per cent of the province’s immigrant workers, which is better than average for the sector, but less than five per cent of visible minority employees.
Alberta is the Biggest Employer
Job prospects for some under-represented groups are brighter in Alberta where manufacturing accounts for six per cent of total provincial employment but close to 60 per cent of the entire workforce for Prairie manufacturers. The province also accounts for around 58 per cent of all women, immigrant, and visible minority employees in Prairie manufacturing.
Immigrants represent 36 per cent and visible minorities 35 per cent of all employees in Alberta manufacturing. However, manufacturing still attracts a lower proportion of immigrants (eight percent) and visible minorities (seven percent) than other economic sectors in the province.
The situation for women also remains a challenge. Alberta manufacturers have hired only three per cent of female workers in the province. While women represent 48 per cent of Alberta’s total workforce, they account for only 25 per cent in the province’s manufacturing sector – well below the national average. They are better represented in manufacturing management positions though. Just under 30 per cent of senior management positions and 36 per cent of mid-management positions in Alberta manufacturing are occupied by women.
Indigenous Employment
Indigenous employment numbers are only available for the Prairie provinces as a whole and for the manufacturing and construction sectors combined. They indicate that 287,200 Indigenous workers were employed across the Prairies last year. They accounted for just over 38 per cent of all Indigenous employment in Canada, but for only about eight per cent of the overall workforce across the Prairie provinces. Prairie manufacturers employed 44,000 Indigenous workers in 2023. That’s also about eight per cent of their workforce and represents almost 35 per cent of all Indigenous workers hired by manufacturers across Canada.
However, in several respects, Prairie manufacturers are under-hiring when it comes to Indigenous workers. Only 15 per cent of Indigenous workers go into manufacturing and construction jobs.
What’s more, Indigenous people represent a much larger proportion of the Prairie provinces’ population than these employment statistics suggest. They account for five per cent of Canada’s total population but for almost 11 per cent of all people living across the Prairies. Over 18 per cent of the population in Manitoba, 17 per cent in Saskatchewan, and seven per cent in Alberta is Indigenous. The Indigenous population is the fastest growing demographic group on the Prairies, and it is also the youngest. The average age of Indigenous people is 30.4 years in Manitoba, 29.6 in Saskatchewan, and 31.3 in Alberta – that’s respectively 8.9, 9.7, and 7.3 years younger than the average age in each province. The Indigenous workforce in the region will expand rapidly over the next decade. It will be a challenge for Prairie manufacturers to keep up – and a significant lost opportunity if they can’t.
Diversity Matters
Of course, the number of under-represented groups in the workforce tells only a part of the story about population dynamics and the productivity potential of Prairie manufacturing. Employment equity considerations also need to be taken into account. As should the competencies of workers, the conditions in which they work, the tools and technologies at their disposal, and the leadership and management strengths of their employers.
But diversity statistics do tell a lot about hiring practices, labour and capacity constraints, and the vitality of industry sectors across the country. Especially at a time of labour shortages, manufacturers need to be proactive in attracting under-represented groups into their workforce. No one should think that it will be easy. A whole lot of recruitment and training will have to be done.
In many respects, Prairie manufacturers are leading the pack. In other important ways they lag far behind their counterparts in the rest of Canada. That’s particularly the case when it comes to attracting and hiring women. But it’s also the case in competing for workers. As skills requirements become more pressing in the face of accelerating technological change, no manufacturer on the Prairies should feel complacent about the road that lies ahead.
Jayson Myers is CEO of Next Generation Manufacturing Canada – the country’s Global Innovation Cluster for advanced manufacturing. An award-winning business economist and leading authority on technological change, Myers has counselled Canadian prime ministers and premiers, as well as senior corporate executives and policymakers around the world.