General Meeting Minutes
July 16, 2008 12 noon
Parksville Community Centre
In Attendance: Michelle Jones, Chair Karen Barry
Kim Burden Maureen Pilcher
Egon Kuhn Bruce Cownden
Garry Bentham Bob Dean
Kevin, Timberlake Jones Joel McDaniel
Catherine Mosher
Guest Speaker: Larry Rumming, Employment Consultant/Job Coach, Careercentre
Marilyn Hayden, Recording Secretary
Michelle Jones called the meeting to order at 12:10 pm. and turned the meeting over to Larry Rumming for his presentation on the skill shortage in the labour market:
Past:
· 2002 – very few jobs available, unemployment rate 18% on Vancouver Island.
· 2005 – shift to more jobs posted and more clients coming through the Careercentre.
o Help wanted signs going up
o Employers getting frustrated finding skilled employees
o Ladysmith Hiring Fair had 250 people attending and 30% of those were already employed.
Today
· Unemployment rate under 4% on the island.
· 75-85 jobs posted in the paper.
· The Careercentre posted 27 new jobs in one day alone.
· $10/00/hr. rate now $15.00/hr.
· Construction projects delayed due to shortage of skilled workers.
· Employers are frustrated and not bothering to advertise.
· Tim Horton’s paying $11.00/hr. for entry positions.
· Huge influx of people looking for work coming from Calgary and Ontario.
· Seeing 7 – 8 clients a month, average age 40.
· The Careercentre held a Job Fair, March 11th, 2008, 530 people through the doors, 30% of those were already employed, many retirees.
· The next Careercentre Job Fair is scheduled for September 18th. All employers are welcomed to have a table.
Future
· Suggest reading “Boom Bust & Echo” by David Foote.
· Skilled Labour shortages will continue for the next 15 years. The forecast for 1 million jobs open.
· In the Oceanside area 1,200 workers will be needed for care facilities.
· There is no affordable housing to attract workers, the new term will be “working homeless”. 12 rental accommodations posted, average rent $1,200/mo.
· Business failures due to lack of employees.
Solutions
· Employers adopt better retention programs.
· Succession planning.
· Thinking “outside the box”. Ex. On a construction job on the mainland, the employer hired a caterer to provide 3 free meals per day to employees. The job was completed on time.
Opportunities
· Check out the BC Government major projects inventory on line.
· The future is in the construction industry.
Questions:
· Are you looking at Economic Development to attract employees? Yes, it can happen, but not sure if it is happening.
· Has local government been given the statistics? No, not unless they have attended Rotary meetings.
· It was suggested that this same presentation be given to local municipal governments.
· In the 60 - 70 age group looking for employment, are there more men or women? Mostly retired men coming from management positions. They are looking for creative new professions or jobs to keep them busy and would be happy with $15 - $20/hr. positions. Most are too qualified and their resumes have to be down done.
· Are other employers coming up with innovative ideas? One farm garden employer looking to provide a basket of food every week.
· Recently hired 5 people from the USA this past month as a solution to finding good qualified employees. Are there skilled workers from other countries looking for work in Oceanside? Yes, many from Europe are looking at the island as a place to relocate for work and establish their families. Post your employee requirements on the Careercentre website: www.careercentre.org.
Michelle Jones thanked Larry Rumming for his informative presentation and invited him to stay for the rest of the meeting.