VANCOUVER, B.C. — The impending skills shortage in the trucking industry and other trades is being brought to the forefront in B.C., thanks to that province’s Chamber of Commerce.

The B.C. Chamber of Commerce has released a report, urging the provincial government to address the issue before it’s too late.

Closing the Skills Gap is the name of the report, and it blames a declining birthrate and an ageing population for the problem. The report also indicates that by fixing the crisis now, B.C. will enjoy better economic performance and quality of life.

Chamber of Commerce chair, Doug Smith, encourages government, business and labor to create key partnerships to increase skills training. He is also appealing to government to encourage apprenticeship training at the post-secondary school level. Other key issues, according to Smith, include improving literacy in the workplace and finding more flexible ways to train workers for the trades.

Several years ago, B.C. considered a truck driver apprenticeship program, but the idea never came to fruition. Some observers speculate the idea was scrapped because with the high numbers of truckers in the province, the plan would have been too expensive to maintain.