While the majority of the world's CEOs expect good revenue growth, they fear skilled labour shortages may hobble prospects, says a new survey.
Climate change ranked low on the agenda, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) 10th annual Global CEO Survey.
PwC surveyed 1,100 chief executives across 50 countries. Fifty-nine per cent of Canadian respondents and 52 per cent of global respondents are very confident for revenue growth in the next 12 months.
CEOs expect this expansion will be fuelled by improved market penetration, geographic expansion, and mergers and acquisitions.
However, 88 per cent of Canadian CEOs cite the lack of skilled labour followed by downturns in major economies (68 per cent) and over-regulation (61 per cent) as key threats that may hinder their prospects.
Globally, 73 per cent of CEOs claim over-regulation as their main threat, followed by lack of skilled labour (72 per cent) and low-cost competition (66 per cent).
When dealing with employee recruitment and retention, the survey found that 70 per cent of Canadian CEOs felt active engagement in social issues is a key success factor, versus 65 per cent of their global counterparts.
However, given their stated interest in social issues and the volume of recent political and media attention, 76 per cent of Canadian CEOs said they were either not at all concerned or not very concerned with the threat of global warming and climate change and its impact on the growth prospects for their companies.
Fifty-nine per cent globally shared that sentiment.
"There seems to be a disconnect between Canadian CEOs and public sentiment when it comes to climate change," says Christine Schuh, Canadian climate change leader at PwC, which provides assurance, tax and advisory services.
"The issue is becoming more and more important across the country and around the globe, but CEOs don't seem to share this concern - at least in the short term.
"This will likely change as the public pressures governments to take action to mitigate global warming.”