Career opportunities abound in tourism

Page 30

A shortage of trained and qualified workers in the tourism industry in British Columbia could translate into a wealth of job opportunities for Aboriginal youth.

A number of factors, including high employee turnover, and a shift in demographics that translates into an aging workforce heading towards retirement and a drop in the number of young people available from which to draw new workers, are creating a problem for the industry.

And that problem grew even larger when the provincial government challenged the tourism industry to come up with a plan to double in size, explained Rick Lemon, vice-president of operations for Tourism British Columbia. Currently, tourism is a $9.3 billion industry in the province, with about $1 billion of that going directly to government in taxes.

"We did a sort of labor market analysis, looking at what we needed, just in order to maintain our current growth rate, and we need 50,000 new workers in the industry by 2010. If we want to double the size of the industry, that's an additional 34,000, so we'll need 84,000 new workers before 2010," Lemon said.

The industry has traditionally targeted young people in their recruitment of new workers, particularly for front-line jobs, but according to census data, that population is shrinking in Canada.

"The one exception was Aboriginal youth, who are in fact growing as a demographic segment," Lemon said.

Because of the demographic shift, he explained, the industry will now have to change their recruitment target to Aboriginal youth specifically, as well as to older workers and those wanting a change in careers.

These recruiting challenges are not specific to the tourism industry, or even to B.C., Lemon explained, but are being experienced by all sectors, right across the country, and even on an international level.

"We talk about this looming shortage. It's primarily in food and beverage, because that makes up 60 per cent of our industry. But it is not just entry-level workers. In terms of some of the numbers . . . we need 7,500 managers/supervisors in the food service sector. We need over 3,000 managers for accommodation services. We need recreation leaders and guides. We need people who can do special attractions, conferences and events. So there's a wide selection of jobs, entry level right up to management/supervisory, that are driving this labor shortage that we see here in B.C. for the tourism sector."

The nature of the tourism industry makes it that much more important to ensure employees are properly trained and qualified, Lemon explained.

"Part of the challenge for us is that customer service is a competitive advantage. I mean, a good visitor experience really depends on having skilled staff."

A task force was formed more than a year ago to look at the challenges facing the tourism industry in the province, and to develop a five-year plan to address the human resources needs that come with trying to expand the industry.

Part of that strategy will include industry image, recruitment, and career awareness, Lemon said.

"How do we recruit, where do we target resources, who do we go after in terms of getting people interested in a career in tourism? And it's probably going to shift quite dramatically from some of the things that we did in the past."

That shift will likely involve moving away from presentations at high school, and toward actively targeting specific groups, including Aboriginal youth.

"It may be through the Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia, for example, who may give us some ideas about how to get good career information and training information into the hands of Aboriginal youth for them to think about tourism as a potential career. We'll also be working at the national level as well with Aboriginal Business Canada and some other groups that I think will be able to help guide us and shape us."

Another part of the strategy will look at ways of retaining workers once you find them, Lemon said, inluding "upgrading the people skills of employers in the tourism industry, and have them understand what it takes to retain people," skills he thinks a lot of employers in the industry are currently lacking.

The strategy will also have to look at the way training is currently offered for careers in the tourism sector, Lemon said.

"Because right now, for example, in a number of tourism programs in British Columbia, you have to quit your job and go back to school for two years and do a diploma program. And there's got to be a vehicle for people to be able to earn and learn at the same time."

In addition to working with the Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia to find ways to recruit Aboriginal youth for tourism careers, the task force is working with the association on a strategy to develop Aboriginal products in the tourism industry, creating opportunities not only for Aboriginal people wanting a job in the tourism sector, but also for entrepreneurs wanting to start up their own tourism-related businesses.

For more information about career opportunities in B.C.'s tourism industry, visit the Web site of the Hospitality Industry Education Advisory Committee at www.hieac.com, or call their offices at 604-930-9770.