A new study in Jasper is endeavouring to dig deep into the local labour market.
The research, which is being conducted by Edmonton-based consultants, Ballad Group, aims to get detailed information about the local workforce, said Ginette Marcoux of the Jasper Employment & Education Centre (JEEC).
“We don’t have clear numbers on things like our seasonal population, or how many full time positions are in town,” Marcoux said. “The labour market study will identify the needs, challenges and opportunities within the local workforce.”
Ginette Marcoux is the executive director for the Jasper Employment and Education Centre, which is conducting a study on Jasper’s labour market. // Jasper Local file
JEEC doesn’t yet have the advanced analytics on Jasper’s labour market, but having been in her role for more than two decades, Marcoux has her own barometer of where employers and employees are at on the eve of one of Jasper’s busiest weekends. While the community has recovered significantly from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s still lots of jobs to be filled and improvements to be made, she said.
“From a business perspective we still see lots of help wanted signs but we’re in better shape than in the past three years,” she said.
One factor which has helped Jasper employers has been the increased number of new Jasperites who are here on a working holiday visa. That, along with a re-activated Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) program has helped fill hundreds of jobs in Jasper, Marcoux said.
However, when the snow starts to fly in the fall, the campgrounds close and school starts up, many of those jobs will disappear as predictably as migrating geese. Advocating for seasonal tourism visas might be one way to address the cyclical nature of Jasper’s job market, Marcoux said.
“Many of those people are very happy to go back to their home country for five months and it would alleviate the pressure of terminating employment for other workers,” she said.
On June 29, according to JEEC, there were 276 available positions in Jasper. It sounds like a lot until you compare it with this time last year, when that number was at 600. Such a gap ends up leaving staff and employers burnt out, but it also leaves the people those jobs are designed to serve—Jasper’s visitors—in the lurch, Marcoux suggested.
“At the end of the day when you have long line ups and when the food’s not coming out of kitchens, it’s Jasper’s brand, our reputation, at risk,” she said.
To that end, JEEC is hoping to cast as wide of net as possible with its study. Only by working with a variety of employers and employees, from all sectors, can good data be mined. And only with good data can a sound course of action to address the labour market’s needs be set.
“From entry level to management to long term staff, we want to make sure we hear from workers of all stripes,” Marcoux said.
The study, accessed here, is online until July 31 and asks community members to complete a survey with the chance to win a $50 gift card.
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
