The Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce has received a $5,000 provincial grant to organize a non-traditional job fair, in an attempt to battle the labour shortages that have plagued businesses the past few summers.
Jasper Works, which is scheduled for April 15, has two objectives: first, to attract new employees to Jasper and second to show those people everything the community has to offer, in an effort to keep them here.
It’s about attraction and, more importantly, retention, said Pattie Pavlov, manager of the chamber.
“The whole concept for Jasper Works is sort of a dual edged event, you’ve got the attraction end of it, the job fair—that’s probably the most colloquial way to put it. So, you’ll have employers there and hopefully you’re matching some of them up to job seekers.
“On the other edge of it is the community; the reasons why you want to stay here: what does Jasper offer you and your family so you want to come and become a part of this community?
“So it will be everything from events to activities to non-profit organizations that you can become involved with to services, everything that [Community and Family Services] would be involved with.”
The chamber’s advocacy committee has named attraction and retention as its No. 1 priority for 2015.
Pavlov said that entails much more than the job fair.
“Attraction and retention is multi-pronged; it’s everything from housing to the temporary foreign worker program to skilled labour shortages to general labour shortages.
“It’s a major issue.”
Labour shortages aren’t necessarily a new thing for Jasper, but the past few summers have been particularly difficult, and with the push for increased visitation, businesses can’t afford to have them persist.
To attract new workers to town, the chamber will be advertising the job fair in communities that are currently experiencing layoffs in the hospitality industry.
For example, Pavlov said she’s looking to Grande Cache, Grande Prairie, Edson and Whitecourt.
“We’ll market to those types of communities, for sure. Those kinds of places that have people looking for work.
“We have to reach out,” she said.
Judging by the latest numbers released by the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council of Canada, these labour shortages aren’t a temporary problem. In Alberta alone, the council is forecasting a shortfall of 24,562 tourism sector jobs by 2030.
And in a 2013 report prepared for the University of Alberta it shows labour shortages across the province, especially in health care, retail, hotel and food services. In that report—titled An Examination of Alberta Labour Markets—Jasper, Banff and Edmonton show the greatest risk of labour shortages, although their numbers are just slightly higher than the rest of the province.
Pavlov said there are a few reasons for those shortages in Jasper. One is that people who would historically be filling vacancies in Jasper are now going to the oilfields or oil towns where they can find a higher wage.
Another is the recent change to the temporary foreign worker program, which makes it more difficult and expensive for employers to attain workers.
And then there’s Jasper’s housing shortage.
“If you attract them, how do you retain them? You’ve got to be able to attract them with a decent job and a place to live, and housing is a serious issue,” said Pavlov, noting that there’s no easy solution.
“I’m hoping that some of the employers that are going to be participating are going to have solutions to some of those problems.”
Jasper’s businesses will soon start hiring for the summer season. But, Pavlov is convinced that the event will still be relevant come April.
“If it’s anything like last year, April 15 is not going to be too late, businesses are still going to be looking to fill holes.”
To participate in Jasper Works, contact the chamber at [email protected].
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
