DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
As the job market continues to evolve amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report suggests that employers are looking for candidates with skills that weren't as relevant prior to 2020, including experience in virtual customer service and safety adherence.
According to Randstad Canada's annual career forecast for 2022, COVID-19 isn't the only factor impacting employer priorities when hiring new workers.
The HR services company says economic pressures, evolving customer preferences, competitive markets and regulatory requirements have also forced companies to become more efficient and re-evaluate their business models.
"Again this year, we anticipate that the job seekers will be spoilt for choice if they have the skills so sought after by employers," said Patrick Poulin, group president of Randstad Canada, in a press release.
Randstad says skills including budgeting, accounting and quality control have become "of paramount importance" to employers trying to run a successful business during the pandemic.
According to the report, the "most sought-after professionals" for 2022 are customer service representatives, salespeople and scheduling specialists, in addition to budgeting and accounting positions.
Randstad Canada's full list of the fastest-growing roles for 2022 includes:
While retail workers and cashiers were in high demand in 2021, according to the report, customer service representatives are "now more important than ever" for businesses.
With consumers focusing more on online shopping, Randstad said companies have taken notice that even just one bad experience with a brand will send shoppers elsewhere.
"This is why roles such as customer service representatives and administrative assistants have come to the forefront," according to the report.
Randstad noted that scheduling specialists is a new role added to this year's list due to the increased need for businesses to address safety protocols amid COVID-19.
To ensure that a work environment is safe, the report says more employers are using "intelligent scheduling software" to adhere to public health measures and still be able to cater to consumers.
"Initially, organizations were focused on making sure their workforce had the technology and security they needed to remain operational, now the focus is on the long-term need to push sales, provide best in class customer service, provide a safe environment for their employees and customers and effectively manage their budgets," Poulin said in the release.
"From an employee perspective, this provides Canadians with the opportunity to level up, refine and repurpose skills that they may have used in previous roles," he added.
And the latest data shows employees may already be taking advantage of this.
According to the latest Indeed Job Search Survey, the share of Canadians actively looking for work rose in December, with greater job search activity reported among those both employed and not.
Of those Canadians surveyed, 34 per cent said they were actively looking for work, which Indeed economist Brandon Bernard called a "statistically significant increase" from the 28 per cent reported in November.
In addition, the survey from Indeed found that both employed and unemployed job seekers were more confident in their skills to find work quickly in December, compared to November.
"The question for the months ahead is whether job search activity and confidence can remain robust through the near-term economic hit from the surge of new COVID-19 cases that began towards the end of the year," Bernard said.
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.