System-Wide Workforce Recovery

Toronto Pearson

Rebuilding a 50,000-person workforce through coordinated action.

When the pandemic grounded travel, Toronto Pearson faced a 73% drop in passenger volume and massive workforce disruption across 50+ employers. The scale of disruption meant piecemeal fixes weren’t enough - the only solution was acting as one system.

Context & Challenge

Toronto Pearson International Airport is one of Canada’s largest employment hubs, supporting over 50,000 workers pre‑COVID across 400+ employers.

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When the pandemic hit, Toronto Pearson saw a 73% decrease in passenger volume, prompting major operational disruptions and workforce reductions.

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Recovery was complicated by:

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No shared workforce planning across 50+ employers.
Clearance and certification delays.
Intense competition for talent in a tight labour market.
Limited awareness of airport job opportunities and diminished appeal of these roles.
A lack of coordinated onboarding, training, and retention strategies.

Policy Response

In partnership with Toronto Pearson, the Toronto Region Board of Trade, and key airport employers, we co‑designed a workforce recovery strategy aimed at three urgent goals:

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Attracting talent back into the aviation sector
Retaining experienced workers through better job quality and working conditions
Developing skills to meet the evolving operational needs of the airport ecosystem

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To deliver on these goals, we convened employers, unions, training providers, and government partners to align hiring and onboarding processes, create shared job pathways, and coordinate training and certification requirements.

Implementation & Results

The process produced Taking Off Together, a comprehensive workforce playbook that is now guiding the airport’s recovery.

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Workforce Playbook created as a shared planning tool for all airport employers.
Coordinated hiring and onboarding protocols reduced duplication and bottlenecks.
Shared training pathways streamlined clearance and skills development.
Obtained $1.625M in SDF2 funding to carry out priority actions from the Workforce Playbook.
Early signs of improved recruitment efficiency and reduced turnover in key operational roles.
Referenced in Toronto Pearson’s 2022 Sustainability Report and 2023 Annual Report as a core element of its workforce recovery strategy.

Why It Matters

This model shows how a multi‑employer hub can rebuild its workforce by acting as one system - not as 50+ separate employers. The approach is transferable to other complex employment hubs facing rapid workforce recovery needs.

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