Municipal Workforce Development

In 2022, the AMO Board of Directors approved a four-year allocation of up to $1 million for a Municipal Workforce Development initiative to help AMO and Ontario’s municipalities better understand the sector’s workforce needs. Employee recruitment and retention is a major concern for municipal governments; a large cohort of municipal employees are eligible to retire over the next decade, and Ontario’s municipalities are faced with an impending leadership, knowledge, and skills gap. This initiative will engage Ontario’s municipal employers, municipal staff associations, and post-secondary sector partners in a workforce planning initiative that will retain and develop our current workforce and prepare the next generation of community builders for careers in the municipal sector.

Project Overview

• The Workforce Development Project will develop resources and initiatives to help municipal employers with employee recruitment and retention and demonstrate that Ontario’s municipal sector is a good place to work, build a career, and contribute to Ontario’s communities.
• The Project is guided by a Project Charter and an Advisory Group comprised of senior municipal administrators, partner municipal associations, and post-secondary sector associations who have deep knowledge and experience of the challenges facing municipal employers and the opportunities related to employee recruitment and retention.

Key Facts

• As of December 31, 2020, over 150,000 or 58% of active, full-time OMERS members (normal retirement age of 65) are eligible to retire immediately or over next 10 year.
• In their 2022 Ontario Municipal CAO Survey, StrategyCorp identified human resources as the top issue keeping Chief Administrative Officers up at the night.