Municipal Workforce Development

Project Overview

Employee recruitment and retention is a major concern for municipal governments. Ontario's municipalities rely on over 235,000 employees from a variety of professions and fields to build and maintain local infrastructure and deliver local services that Ontarians rely on every day.

AMO established its Workforce Development Project to engage Ontario’s municipal employers and employees, municipal staff associations, and post-secondary sector partners to identify priorities and take action to retain current employees and attract the next generation of community builders for careers in the municipal sector.
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.

Project Roadmap

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.

AMO developed a Project Roadmap to identify priority areas and implement actions it can take alongside its partners to support municipalities with their workforce challenges. The Roadmap is based on engagement with over 30 municipal CAOs and human resources professionals, over 2,400 municipal employees through our Municipal Employee Survey, and municipal and post-secondary sector partners.

Click here for a one-pager of the Executive Summary.

Municipal Employee Survey

As part of the Municipal Workforce Development Initiative, AMO sought feedback via survey from current municipal staff to understand what attracted staff to the municipality, what they enjoy about their work, and how municipal employers can enhance the employee experience moving forward. Nearly 2,400 municipal employees in Ontario voluntarily filled out the survey between November 3-24, 2023.