@Cycloptichorn,
cyclo :
here is a list of several hundred U.S. manufacturing companies .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Manufacturing_companies_of_the_United_States
i remember what my old boss would say when someone suggested that our (life-insurance) company should "widen" its product line .
he'd say : "we should concentrate on what customers expect us to do and do it as well as we can - while making a profit at it . let's not get sidetracked into products that may have little relevance to the customer - and little profit for the company . and above all : provide good customer service - it takes ten times the effort to attract one NEW customer then keeping a current customer happy - and sell more to the same customer . satisfied customers well tell others - and that's good , but unsatisfied customers can easily destroy much good will that has been build up over a long time . "
i would say , that goes for the economy of a country too : do what you do well while making a profit .
if you can't make a profit producing and selling towels , you better find out what you can produce and sell at a profit .
when i look at the canadian employment situation , i see a rather strange fact : while our unemployment rate is getting close to 8% there are "tens of thousands of jobs" for qualified people - yet we cannot find the people to fill these jobs .
these are jobs for "qualified" people , NOT mcjobs .
it really baffles me that employers , governments and educational institutions can not find a common approach to deal with that .
it's rather strange and unfortunate that this has been going on for decades - and continues to go on .
hbg
while this report is somewhat outdated - it's three years old - the basics are as valid today :
http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/business/story.html?id=a6bf06c4-2fb5-46c3-ab90-06b8cd9808a3
from the article :
Quote: Shortages of skilled tradespeople in Alberta's oilpatch are driving the Canadian problem right now, but the shortages are not limited to the trades, or to Alberta, said Michael Doyle, a regional director with Manpower Canada.
In Canada, the survey found the positions employers are having the most difficulty filling are for sales representatives, followed in order by customer service representatives, engineers, drivers, mechanics, labourers, chefs or cooks, electricians, skilled trades and nurses.
Among the actions required here to address these shortages in the coming years are closer links between employers and educators, increased investment in training, including for existing employees, and more flexible use of talent, the report said.
Doyle added that with its relatively high living standards Canada is in good position to compete with other countries for skilled immigrants.
Here and globally, the shortage is due to a combination of factors, including demographic shifts due to aging and low birth rates, inadequate education programs and the effects of globalization, including outsourcing and offshoring.
