Photo: Cindy White
The pandemic has driven labor shortages in some sectors of the Okanagan’s economy, particularly the hospitality industry, into crisis.
Recently, several restaurants in Kelowna had to be temporarily closed after workers were exposed to COVID-19 because they did not have enough staff as workers stayed home to isolate themselves.
One of the problems is that due to the pandemic, many people who work in the hospitality industry have been laid off or their working hours cut due to forced closings and restrictions and have decided to move to other professions.
Convincing them to come back or attract new people to the sector could be a challenge.
Dr. Kevin Wainwright is the director of the BCIT SITE Center of Excellence, which recently published a report on the most pandemic resistant workplaces.
It indicates high demand in the years to come for nurses, retail managers, caretakers and food servers and restaurant managers, both of which make the top ten list.
Dr. Wainwright says the restaurant industry must consider working with post-secondary institutions and even communities to find a solution for chronically understaffed positions like chefs.
“In British Columbia, we don’t have enough coordination between the industry and whoever delivers the training, whether it’s a public post-secondary or through the ITA (Industry Training Authority). This has always been a problem in British Columbia that we need to address. It could be that the pandemic is the impetus for us to bring these guys together, ”he said.
He hopes the restaurant industry will actively participate in the programs, not only offering apprenticeships, but also working with educators to develop a delivery model that will work in the Okanagan.
“Or, the other big problem is, we train them for the first year, they work in the restaurants and the restaurant says, ‘We can’t afford to let them go back to eat and it’s kind of a compromise between here What I need now is what I need in the long term, ”adds Dr. Wainwright added.
He advises that students need the peace of mind that by enrolling in a program they will be able to complete their full certification.
Wainwright says that the third player in the scenario is the town or city.
“If you want to get people to come and work in these areas, we have to make sure there is some kind of affordable housing.” He says places like Whistler and Banff have a better grip on the situation than maybe Kelowna.
He adds that the pandemic has contributed to the housing crisis here as professionals are moving from Vancouver and other major cities, and it is putting more pressure on entry-level prices.
