Toronto Pearson International Airport has released the results of the first-ever multi-employer workforce survey conducted at a Canadian airport. The survey revealed that workers view the airport as a stable work environment, which offers opportunities for career growth and development.
The report, titled Understanding the Pearson Workforce, was developed in cooperation with the Peel-Halton Workforce Development Group and Northstar Research Partners. It was conducted in collaboration with the Toronto Airport Workers Council and resulted in the collection of 3,582 survey responses from employees across Pearson.
The data from the survey indicates areas for future work and collaboration among the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), employers, unions and other stakeholders. While results support a general finding that the airport provides good, stable employment opportunities for thousands of employees, there are elements of employment precarity within the airport work environment, particularly for those who work part-time and for minimum wage. Moreover, employees’ desire for enhanced transit connections to and from the airport emerged as a clear theme.
With the aim of giving more employees access to transit, the GTAA has recently partnered with Metrolinx on an innovative pilot fare program that aims to help Pearson employees choose GO Transit as an alternative to driving for their daily commute to and from the airport.
“The results of Canada’s first ever airport workforce survey are heartening in that they reinforce what most people who work at Pearson already know – the airport is dynamic, the workforce is diverse, and rewarding, long-term careers are built here,” says Howard Eng, president and CEO, GTAA. “The survey results also point to avenues that require further exploration, including determining, in cooperation with employers and unions, ways in which employees can be provided with more growth opportunities, as well as giving workers more choice when it comes to transit options to and from the airport.”