By Adam Donnelly

Funding annouced to attract skilled workers to Kamloops region

Sep 16, 2016 | 4:48 PM

KAMLOOPS — As the current workforce in ages, it’s estimated there will 35,000 job openings in the region by the year 2025. This morning, Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone, gathered with stakeholders from the City, Venture Kamloops, Community Futures, and private industry to make a significant funding announcement regarding these job vacancies, and how we’ll be able to fill them.

For Greg Munden, finding qualified skilled employees to work in his Kamloops shop isn’t as easy as it once was.

“It’s been, over the last few years, getting progressively harder to attract… red seal mechanics, or professional truck drivers. Kind of anybody in the trades,” Munden told CFJC Today.

Over the next decade, it’s expected there will 35,000 job vacancies within the region; of those, it’s believed 10,000 of those could go unfilled.

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Today, MLA Todd Stone announced $96,000 in taxpayer money will go towards developing a strategy to attract skilled workers to Kamloops, and keep them here.

“I’m proud to announce $96,000 [for] Venture Kamloops and Community Futures…  to do the study and assess what are those broad range of strategies that could be employed to actually attract those 10,000 British Columbians… to Kamloops to assume all those highly skilled jobs,” Stone told gathered business people and dignitaries today.

For the recipients of the funding windfall, it’s money they hope to put to good use.

Margot Middleton, who’s president of the Venture Kamloops Board, and runs Middleton Petroleum Services, says the money will further some of the work her organization has already done.

“This allows us to continue with the program that was already in place,” Middleton explained. “[Venture Kamloops can now] expand on those findings and can work with the local community, community groups, employers, and businesses to come up with a strategy that will assist and help all to fill their workplace… [and] employment needs.”

Bill Kershaw, long time local business owner in the North Thompson Valley, and Board Chair of Community Futures Thompson Country, says the money is needed to find younger workers to fill positions of those who will likely retire in the next few years.

“Everybody that’s out there working is my age or just a little bit younger,” Kershaw explained. “We have to fill those positions from the bottom end up, and I hope that’;s where Community Futures fills in.”   

Munden said the trucking and transport industry has changed since he got involved 30 years ago. Improved facilities, more education, and increased focus on workers well-being are parts of the strategy many employers have embraced, in order to attract more skilled workers. This funding will help get the word out.

“Everything that we can do to attract people back from Alberta, show them that the BC economy is rolling, the forest industry is doing well. There’s lots of opportunities, I think part of it is getting the message out.”