Whistler faces labour shortages amid COVID-19 pandemic – BC

Whistler’s Chamber of Commerce says the resort group is going through a labour scarcity exacerbated by the truth that many out-of-country employees are going through boundaries moving into Canada.

Whistler Chamber of Commerce CEO Melissa Tempo says about 35 per cent of the workforce comes from abroad.

“Most of our overseas employees had been right here on vacation working visas and so they went house,” she stated.

Tempo notes that quite a few hospitality employees moved into the trades once they had been laid off through the COVID-19 pandemic.

With not sufficient staffing, companies have needed to pivot.

“In some circumstances, it might be diminished menu, possibly diminished hours, and in some circumstances, they’re taking positions and transferring them from division to division,” Tempo stated.

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Matthew Hamilton of  Whistler’s Premium Mountain Rental says the bike and ski rental store is lastly bouncing again after a troublesome 2020. The problem now’s discovering sufficient employees to maintain up with demand.

“It’s fairly demanding,” he stated. “As a flooring supervisor I don’t have actually have too many individuals to oversee, so I’m operating round like a headless hen. It’s only a huge stress, it’s put plenty of pressure on everybody who’s working.”

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Whistler Blackcomb additionally depends closely on worldwide employees. Like others, it faces a difficult labour market.

In a press release, Whistler Blackcomb informed World Information:

“We take care of staffing dynamics yearly and whereas this 12 months might current distinctive challenges, we stay targeted on attracting and retaining expertise by way of aggressive wages, complete advantages, and a powerful dedication to tradition and management improvement.”

There’s loads of optimism for the winter season as Canada welcomes again worldwide guests.

Tempo says extra efforts to scale back purple tape are wanted if the trade is to bounce again.

“We actually want to start out seeing the vacation working visas come again, the short-term overseas employees come again,” she stated.