Bancroft Community Employment Services (CES) is showing a lot of people are looking to employ in town.
Warren Gee, Director of Bancroft Campus and Employment Ontario Programs at Loyalist College (which runs CES) says employers are gathering lots of business while some seasonal businesses are gearing up for the summer. However it’s not just hospitality and tourism that are looking for workers. Out of the estimated 100 positions, there are also demands for skilled trades and renovation work.
Aside from the summer bringing in more seasonal jobs, the housing boom has created demand as well. With cottage owners revamping their seasonal homes into more permanent ones, the need for landscaping and renovation work is growing. Gee also says that because of COVID’s impact on the economy, they are seeing applications for positions he has never seen before.
Gee predicts this trend will continue even after the initial boom is done. With non-essential businesses about to reopen, those people will be looking for employees too and more second vaccine doses will also allow people to feel more comfortable entering the workforce. While Gee isn’t entirely sure if there will be a true low unemployment rate or if it’s influenced by COVID, there are signs that the economy of Bancroft and North Hastings will continue to grow.
For its part, Loyalist College is set to make sure that there is good training for people entering the workforce. They plan to offer short programs to give people hard and soft skills that they can apply in the workplace. Examples include a construction skills course and a health sector course that will focus on training for jobs in the healthcare industry that don’t require a college education. More details on these programs will be released soon, and Gee says that they are ramping up for what they predict will be a busy hiring