This episode was originally published on the "Destination: Northern Ontario" podcast on May 5, 2026.

If you're an employer in the North's tourism sector, you know how hard it can be to find workers. The good news is that you don't have to tackle this challenge alone. There are organizations that want to help you hire, train, and retain good employees.

For this episode, we've assembled a panel of three leaders from three of those organizations to talk about the state of the tourism workforce in Northern Ontario. The panel includes Laurie Marcil of Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario, Chantal Makela of Spark Employment, and Karen Peacock of Tourism Excellence North.

We cover the common challenges everyone is facing, what tourism workers are looking for, and the creative ways some employers are stepping up. By the end of this episode, you'll be equipped to step up your recruitment efforts too.

00:00 Introduction

01:43 Current challenges faced by Northern Ontario tourism operators

09:23 Creative approaches employers using to tackle these challenges

16:18 What are workers looking for in an employer today?

19:03 What operators can do to be more attractive to workers

23:00 Trends tourism operators should be paying attention to

24:40 Resources for training and hiring

32:19 One thing operators could do differently this year to improve their workforce situation

35:15 Wrap-up & closing remarks

Learn more

• Tourism Excellence North (TEN) website: tourismexcellencenorth.ca
• Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario (NOTO) website: noto.ca
• Spark Employment Services website: sudburyemployment.ca

About the Destination: Northern Ontario podcast

This is a series for tourism business operators in rugged and beautiful Northern Ontario. Whether you're just starting out, or you've got years under your belt, this podcast will make sure you're well equipped for the journey. If you’re not an operator yet, but plan to buy a tourism business in the north, then check out Season 1 for case studies and expert guidance.

Learn more about tourism investment opportunities in Northern Ontario at invest.destination northernontario.ca. Follow DNO on Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

The podcast is hosted by Michelle Samson and produced by Storied Places Media.

About the Let's Talk Northern Ontario Tourism podcast

Let's Talk Northern Ontario Tourism is a podcast for tourism operators and industry stakeholders featuring experts who understand what it means to run a tourism business or organization here in Northern Ontario. Through casual conversations, you’ll learn about cutting edge topics like AI marketing, Cruise Ship Tourism, and trends that are shaking up the industry. Plus, you can tune in while driving or doing chores.

For even more insights that’ll help you grow your business, organization, or community, connect with Tourism Excellence North, which is part of Destination Northern Ontario:

• Website - tourismexcellencenorth.ca
• Facebook - facebook.com/DestinationNorthernOntario
• Instagram - instagram.com/destinationnorthernontario
• LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/destinationnorthernontario

Let's Talk Northern Ontario Tourism is an initiative of Tourism Excellence North and is recorded on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek and the Mushkegowuk.

Hi, Michelle Samson here.

2

the host of Destination Northern Ontario's

other podcast, which is straightforwardly

3

called Destination Northern Ontario.

4

A few months ago, in May 2026, we did an

episode on how to hire, train, and retain

5

good tourism workers, which is obviously

super relevant to this podcast feed too.

6

in case you missed it, we're

sharing the full episode here.

7

I hope you enjoy it.

8

Welcome to the Destination

Northern Ontario podcast.

9

This is a series for tourism

business operators here in the

10

rugged and beautiful North.

11

Whether you're just starting out,

or you've got years under your belt,

12

this podcast will make sure you're

well equipped for the journey.

13

I'm your host, Michelle Samson.

14

If you're an employer in the

North's tourism sector, you know

15

how hard it can be to find workers.

16

The good news is that you don't

have to tackle this challenge alone.

17

There are organizations that

want to help you hire, train,

18

and retain good employees.

19

For this episode, we've assembled a panel

of three leaders from three of those

20

organizations to talk about the state of

the tourism workforce in Northern Ontario.

21

The panel includes Laurie Marcil of Nature

and Outdoor Tourism Ontario, Chantal

22

Makela of Spark Employment, and Karen

Peacock of Tourism Excellence North.

23

We cover the common challenges everyone

is facing, what tourism workers are

24

looking for, and the creative ways

some employers are stepping up.

25

By the end of this episode,

you'll be equipped to step up

26

your recruitment efforts too.

27

Thank you so much to all

three of you for being here.

28

I'd like to start with getting a big

picture of the state of the tourism

29

workforce in Northern Ontario right now.

30

Karen, can you kick us off and

give us a bit of a lay of the land?

31

Karen Peacock: Sure.

32

Thank you very much, Michelle.

33

And just thinking about Northern Ontario

and tourism specifically, prior to

34

COVID, prior to the pandemic that we

all went through, there was a real trend

35

in which we saw the labor force just

wasn't enough to meet a growing demand.

36

With the onset of COVID, you know,

we saw many of our businesses

37

shuttered for the term of COVID.

38

And some employees left the tourism

sector altogether because they didn't

39

feel it was safe enough as a ongoing

career prospect for them to be part of.

40

And so we saw, you know, a number of

people leave the industry at that time.

41

And where we are finding ourselves now

is yes, things have picked back up in

42

terms of tourism, but where we still

see a leg behind is skilled staff.

43

So there's a few challenges

that we're still seeing.

44

It's the recruitment of staff within

the tourism industry as well as

45

the recruitment of skilled staff.

46

And there's a number of things going

on there, and what we've tried to do

47

in the past is to try and assist and

support the development of those skills

48

through training, as well through helping

employers recruit additional staff.

49

So I think big picture is we're shaping

up for really great season in tourism and

50

we still wanna grow the sector in regard

to business growth, but also in regard to

51

seeing employees wanting to launch their

career in tourism and stay within tourism.

52

Laurie, maybe I'll turn it over to you and

see if you have any thoughts on that one.

53

Laurie Marcil: Yeah, I agree with

everything that you just said.

54

Absolutely.

55

I mean, the pandemic was

a very difficult time.

56

However out of that we were able to

do some really great things together

57

to support the tourism industry with

the Tourism SkillsNet North program.

58

And I think one of the things that

really hit for me, I've been around

59

the industry for a long time, and

training was always something that

60

employers seemed to snicker at.

61

It was too much work.

62

Too much money, too much work.

63

But what we saw with the development of

the TSNN Program or Tourism SkillsNet

64

North program we saw that operators

were beginning to really appreciate

65

what the training did for them.

66

And so I think that's a wonderful thing

that, if anything wonderful could come

67

out of a pandemic, there's something.

68

And I love the new, open

mind towards the training.

69

And I love how the industry understands

now how it's an absolute benefit to

70

them in their workforce development.

71

So some of the things that we're

seeing now that we were kind of

72

seeing before, is that operators,

I mean, the tourism business owner,

73

they're beginning to look for staff

a lot earlier than they did before.

74

So rather than waiting until

January, February, March to start

75

listing their jobs and looking for

folks, they're definitely doing

76

that in November and December now.

77

So that is something that we're

seeing as a new kind of trend

78

over the last couple of summers.

79

This year, it was interesting,

I was just talking to Kate who

80

works with me here at NOTO, and

we do a job board through Indeed.

81

We started that during the TSNN

program and we've continued it.

82

Mind you Indeed has changed their

pricing structure, so it makes it a

83

little bit more challenging for us.

84

But we've noticed that

there are less job postings.

85

We've reached out to some of the operators

that always sent us job postings,

86

and they've already found folks, and

they've used things like social media.

87

They've used their Instagram and their

Facebook pages to talk about their

88

business and do that tourism awareness

piece and put out those postings.

89

And I think that's something that

we love to see as well, operators

90

are becoming more creative and

having to do those types of things.

91

We still have challenges.

92

We're still hearing of challenges

around finding staff and getting

93

them to commit to a full season.

94

So that's something that is, you know,

not really sure how we can help with

95

that, but tourism is very seasonal.

96

So we're asking for four to five

months of your time to come and work.

97

And we're hearing more and more

from people that's definitely a

98

challenge for them, is getting people

to commit for the entire season.

99

So you can appreciate in the middle

of your season, all of a sudden

100

someone's saying, okay, I'm done.

101

And you're in the middle of a season.

102

How do you find and recruit new people?

103

The other piece that we have heard from

operators is, managing expectations

104

is now really top of mind for them

because of things like, they wanna

105

leave partway through the season.

106

They're trying to manage those

expectations like starting in

107

the job posting and going right

through to interview and then

108

going right through to training.

109

Like they're carrying that all the

way through, making sure that people

110

really understand that this is a very

important job that they're doing.

111

It's a very important

part of their business.

112

And bringing them right into the

fold very early on to make them

113

understand that they're integral

to their success for the summer.

114

And housing.

115

Housing has been an issue.

116

A lot of our operators have become

very creative and worked with local

117

communities, or they've taken their

own assets, their own inventory

118

off the market like cabins and have

devoted those to staff members.

119

So those are some of the things we

heard during Tourism SkillsNet North,

120

but some of them are more recent.

121

And even the way that folks are looking

for staff, more people doing career

122

fairs, more use of social media.

123

Those things are becoming

more and more broadly used.

124

So I would say that's kind of what

I've been hearing about employment and

125

workforce over the last couple of months.

126

Michelle Samson: Those are

all really interesting.

127

I'm curious, Chantal, are these issues

common beyond the tourism sector?

128

Chantal Makela: Absolutely.

129

I think any owner, operator,

employer would probably be sharing

130

very similar information and

feedback as what we've heard today.

131

I think it's very important for

employers to truly understand their

132

business, what they're looking for.

133

And one of the things that Spark

does with employers is try to define

134

that, really narrow it down to what

are you really truly looking for?

135

And being able, as was already

said, being able to clearly

136

articulate that in a job posting.

137

And when you meet and connect with

folks through the interview process or

138

through job fairs, is really trying to

make sure that alignment between what

139

a job seeker is looking for and what

the employer is looking for so that

140

you have that most appropriate match

and you have less of those disruptions

141

throughout that employment relationship.

142

The training that's been

also identified a need.

143

Absolutely.

144

So again we highly encourage owners,

operators, employers to ensure that they

145

have a robust training curriculum for

individuals when they bring them on.

146

As we have all experienced new jobs,

you know, we come with a lot of

147

great skills, transferable skills

and strengths, that we would like to

148

be able to provide our new employer.

149

But they also have a business that we're

not familiar with, and they also have

150

processes and policies and procedures.

151

It's important for all of us to be

able to take that moment and learn.

152

So I think it's being able to support

one another and guide us through

153

those processes and making sure that

you're investing in your people.

154

Michelle Samson: Mm-hmm.

155

Yeah.

156

So Laurie, you already mentioned

some creative approaches like some of

157

these operators taking some of their

inventory off the market, a cabin, for

158

example, to be used for worker housing.

159

I'd love to give the whole panel

an opportunity to speak more to

160

these resourceful ways of dealing

with some of these challenges.

161

So, um, is there anything else

anybody could share that might

162

inspire some of the operators or

stakeholders who are listening?

163

Yeah, Chantal.

164

Chantal Makela: I think what's interesting

is we've had the experience as a provider

165

to both job seekers and employers.

166

And so an example I can give without

giving too much information is we

167

had an employer who was looking for

a particular position and had a hard

168

time recruiting for that position.

169

We had job seekers with some skills

that they could apply to the role, but

170

not quite what they were looking for.

171

And so one of the things we did that was

very creative is we, did some job carving.

172

So what that means is we take the

needs of an employer, we take the

173

skills of the job seekers, and we're

able to creatively create a position

174

that now meets the needs of both.

175

So in this example, it was a local

cleaning company that was looking for

176

cleaners, but one of the barriers that

individuals mainly had was transportation.

177

And working for this company, you

had to be able to get from site A to

178

Site B to site C throughout your day.

179

And so if transportation was a barrier,

they had a hard time recruiting.

180

We had an individual who was

looking for a driving position

181

with some cleaning experience.

182

what we ended up doing is we created a

role that now this employer hired this

183

individual and became sort of, a service

to bring their cleaners from site A to

184

site B to site C throughout the day.

185

And the last site, they were able to

also provide the cleaning service.

186

And so that was a creative way for us

to sort of look at what is available,

187

what is the employer looking for,

what is the job seeker bringing,

188

and how can we match that best?

189

Michelle Samson: Oh,

such a great approach.

190

Anybody else have any

other stories to share?

191

Karen Peacock: I'll share another story

we had during our Tourism SkillsNet

192

North program, actually, we had, again,

an issue with accommodation for staff.

193

This particular business didn't have

enough local staff to fill the roles and

194

so they were having to hire staff to come

in and needed a place for them to stay.

195

So there wasn't lodging on site for

them so they actually built them.

196

Some small cabins tiny cabins

in which that they could stay.

197

Staff were comfortable with it, their

parents were comfortable with it.

198

And all of the needs all the way

around were met in that instance.

199

And I know of another employer

who actually will go so far as to

200

attend cottage shows or job fairs or

stuff that's going on at university

201

and college campuses in Toronto

to recruit staff from far away.

202

Because, again, they're in a

locale where they're not going to

203

be able to recruit only from the

local youth or local population.

204

And so they have to go

out from there to recruit.

205

And they do so willingly and really,

um, they tell the story of what life

206

will be like working the season at this

business and making it so that it's

207

very attractive to those who would just

naturally be good within that environment.

208

And so, to your point, Laurie, setting

it up so that everyone knows in advance

209

that they're there for the season as well.

210

And so looking at that as a creative

solution really for them to recruit

211

additional staff that are just

not feasible within the local

212

population that they sit within.

213

Michelle Samson: Laurie, anything to add?

214

Laurie Marcil: Yeah, so I think , a

really cool story that I heard was an

215

operator who had hired a number of young

folks to come and work at the lodge.

216

And they did a get to know you kind

of session with them, and learned

217

about their individual talents.

218

And one of them had a musical talent.

219

And of course they realized

that when he came with a guitar.

220

So anyway, you could just

tell how passionate he was

221

about playing the guitar.

222

So they offered him the opportunity

to play guitar at dinner time, as

223

people were arriving, coming off the

lake they were coming into the lodge

224

for dinner and he could play there.

225

Or there was different times,

they would have an outdoor fish

226

fry one day and he would be the

musical accompaniment for that.

227

And the other two had

other talents as well.

228

One loved to do photography and had

a beautiful camera, and they were so

229

excited about being in the wilderness,

they had only done like city stuff.

230

They hadn't done any wildlife or anything.

231

So they incorporated that as well, and

they allowed them to share their pictures

232

if they wanted on their social media.

233

And those students came back the

year after, like they were just so,

234

they felt like they were using the

things they love to do in their work.

235

Like they would still do all the cabin

cleaning and do all their stuff, but

236

they would have the opportunity to

use their skills and these talents.

237

So, I mean, I thought that was a

really cool story and it's kind of,

238

yeah, like take a minute and learn

about the folks that you've hired.

239

And what better way to make them

want to stay and do their job if

240

they can still be themselves and

they can excel in those areas too.

241

So that was one thing.

242

The other one was, we know that people

want affirmation in different ways.

243

And we've heard of employee of the week,

employee of the month, those kinds of

244

things, but incorporating something

different where it could be that, if the

245

employee wants it, they would do like

a employee profile on the social media.

246

Depending on their age they would

probably be interested in that.

247

Some people might not be, so of course you

gotta be careful with that sort of thing.

248

But just doing things like that, that

really help them understand, that you

249

really appreciate them in what they're

doing, and what you bring to the lodge.

250

And there was a staff day at the lodge.

251

So, you know, sometimes in the month

of August things kind of quiet down

252

a little bit and you could have a

staff day at the lodge where the

253

staff all get to go fishing or

hiking or whatever they want to do.

254

And it allows people to just have

some downtime and actually do

255

what the guests are there to do.

256

And it gives them another appreciation

of why their jobs are so important.

257

So it's kind of a twofold, they get a

bit of a break and the operator really

258

gets to entrench in them why they're

there and why they're so needed.

259

Michelle Samson: Yeah, that's so important

from both the retention and keeping

260

your employees happy point of view,

261

Laurie Marcil: Yeah.

262

Michelle Samson: but also it's

training, it's showing them what

263

the guests are getting as well.

264

Karen Peacock: Yeah.

265

Michelle Samson: I'm kind of hearing

across the board here is that,

266

you know, when labor is short,

it becomes a worker's market.

267

And so I'd love to send this back

to Chantal and flip this back to

268

their perspective, what you're

hearing in working with workers.

269

What are they looking

for in an employer today?

270

Chantal Makela: I love the stories

that are being shared so far.

271

I think for me, what it boils down

to is that culture piece, that

272

alignment, the values alignment.

273

One of the things we do spend a lot

of time with job seekers is, get to

274

know yourself, understand what you're

looking for, and go find the most

275

appropriate employer who can meet and

fulfill that need for you while you're

276

able to contribute to their business.

277

And we've heard these very

innovative, creative stories and

278

that is exactly what was happening.

279

Culture was being formed.

280

They believe in the mission and

the vision and they're prepared to

281

contribute and they will work really

hard if there's that alignment.

282

And so as an employer, it's

really important for you to

283

create that safe space for folks.

284

I would also say that communication

is extremely important.

285

In your posting, in your interviews,

in your onboarding processes and

286

ongoing is to make sure that you're

clearly communicating with folks

287

and making sure they understand what

is expected, what is the role, you

288

know, what does the job look like?

289

What does that internal communication

at the business look like?

290

I think that's something that people

are needing and that is extremely

291

important and creates this environment

that people wanna work within.

292

Michelle Samson: Yeah,

Karen, yeah, go ahead.

293

Karen Peacock: I was just going to, what

came to mind in our discussion here is

294

during our Tourism SkillsNet North program

we offered a number of different online

295

training courses, and there were times for

service excellence, let's say, or customer

296

service where an employer would sign their

staff up to take the online course and the

297

employer would actually take it with them.

298

And so everyone would gather round

one computer with their manager

299

or the tourism business owner.

300

I think what ensued from that is

an understanding of expectations.

301

There was a lot of communication and

discussion of what would work and

302

what doesn't and what that employer

was expecting of their staff.

303

But I think it, it really boiled

down to an open discussion.

304

And, all told, I think it really

benefited both employer and employee

305

and it formed an additional bond for

everybody going out of that training.

306

So I think, to Laurie's point

right at the start, that there's an

307

awareness that training is important.

308

And I think that's really true

and of the one of the things that

309

we saw of real benefit coming

out of COVID for the businesses.

310

So just adding that.

311

Michelle Samson: That's great.

312

Laurie, you've already sort of framed

some of this in terms of advice for

313

tourism business operators, and

how they can use this information

314

to be more attractive to workers.

315

But I'm wondering if that

conversation sparked any more advice

316

that might be helpful to them.

317

Laurie Marcil: I think

there's, there definitely is.

318

It all depends on the positions

and the people that you're

319

hiring, that you're interviewing.

320

You really need to get to know

them because I think it's more

321

than just your job description.

322

If you want to retain them, if you

want to have really good people that

323

are gonna work for you, you really

need to get to know what they like.

324

Another example I can give is

there was a young lady who wanted

325

to work out in the wilderness.

326

And she really wanted to do

something about the environment.

327

The environment was her passion.

328

And she was a little leery

about working at a fishing lodge

329

because they were consuming fish.

330

But the operator was able to go through

and explain to her, they only permitted

331

their guests to have conservation

licenses, not sport fishing licenses.

332

So talked about all of the things that

they do to protect the environment

333

in their job, and how they teach

people about why conservation

334

fishing makes a lot of sense.

335

Or many of our lodges have 'no fish

out,' which means that they can

336

catch and eat fish while they're

there, but they can't take any home.

337

And these are rules over and

above what government has.

338

So they were able to actually show

this young lady that, it's okay

339

to fish, We can put in practices

that make this more sustainable.

340

And then she says, "Well,

that's not on your website.

341

You should be talking about that."

342

So they created a job for that.

343

Michelle Samson: Hmm.

344

Laurie Marcil: Guess who was

doing the job for the summer?

345

Talking about going through

each step of what they do.

346

Like even the green products that

they used for cleaning their cabins.

347

Some of the brush work that they did,

some of the work at the shoreline

348

on keeping out invasive species

of plants, all of those things.

349

And I'm often, and Karen knows

this, I'm often telling my industry,

350

you've gotta talk about what you do.

351

Like you gotta tell more people.

352

It's not just about bringing

people in to go fishing.

353

It's about all of the stuff that you do.

354

If you've had a business for 40 years,

how have you kept that alive for 40 years?

355

And bring people along for the ride.

356

So I think there's things that operators

can do to connect with the youth.

357

Anything that you do that supports

things that youth want to support,

358

make sure you're talking about those

things and clearly identify those.

359

So that would be some advice in addition

to the other stuff that I've said.

360

But definitely, making sure that your

job descriptions really tell the story.

361

It's not just, here's the duties,

we want somebody to do these duties.

362

you gotta tell a little bit

more about who you are and what

363

your vision of your business is.

364

Karen Peacock: I love that, Laurie

and I think from an industry training

365

standpoint, we talk about, or we host

workshops at Tourism Excellence North

366

on experiential travel training.

367

And Laurie, what you just

described was experiential travel.

368

People are hungry for that

kind of knowledge now.

369

They want to dive in behind the scenes

of what's going on at the lodge.

370

They want to learn more

while they're on holiday.

371

And so I think that by being open

with your staff, even in that

372

recruitment stage, you can very

easily create experiential travel

373

for your guests without having

to do a whole lot, like learning

374

that someone likes to play guitar.

375

That's all part of what you can offer

as an additive for your business.

376

And it's very unique, becomes a

very unique thing to your business

377

without really having to do a whole

lot more or go to a greater expense.

378

Michelle Samson: I think this is a great

transition to my next question, which

379

I'm gonna start with a bit of preamble.

380

Karen, some of our listeners may

or may not realize that you are the

381

host of Let's Talk Northern Ontario

Tourism, which is the official

382

podcast of Tourism Excellence North.

383

And there are lots of really great

conversations over there including

384

some about experiential tourism

and about how young workers are

385

very environmentally conscious.

386

So, you know, I feel like you

might be in an interesting position

387

to be able to talk about trends.

388

In addition to what we've just talked

about, is there anything else that

389

is either on the cutting edge or

maybe something that some tourism

390

operators thought, "It's a fad, it'll

go away," but like it's here to stay?

391

Anything they should be really thinking

of and acting on as we move forward?

392

Karen Peacock: I think something

that is on now and will continue as

393

a future trend is, we all wish to

travel in quality of standard, right?

394

Our traveler nowadays expects a standard

of quality that they've become accustomed

395

to and wish to see in the properties

and experiences and tourism product that

396

they choose to spend their money at.

397

So that's one piece.

398

I think one of the other trends that

we clearly saw during the pandemic and

399

through our Tourism SkillsNet North

program was wage subsidies for employees.

400

The labor market is still such

that employers are wanting to

401

recruit good quality staff and

providing that training is crucial.

402

And you can look, or employers can look

to places like Tourism Excellence North

403

for assistance in getting that training.

404

And I know Chantal, you have a

lot of good resources through

405

your organization as well.

406

Tourism Excellence North is more on

the industry training side for the

407

employers, for the managers, et cetera.

408

And there are a good number of

self-assessments in the tools that

409

we offer, you can complete those

online, and that's everything from,

410

you know, a visitor appeal assessment

index, really gauging where your

411

strengths and weaknesses are, in

welcoming guests to your business.

412

And right up to product

development with regard to cycling,

413

with regard to environmental

practices, festivals and events.

414

We also offer group workshops in

experiential travel training and

415

international product development.

416

And there are a number of online

resources within the Tourism Excellence

417

North website, including business

essentials for tourism operators.

418

So everything from Accounting 101, to

sole proprietorship versus incorporation,

419

and media and social media training.

420

So there's a number of different

resources there and available.

421

And I think it's really important to

try and keep up your own professional

422

development as you're bringing on new

staff as well, in making sure that people

423

have a good foundation of training,

skills, and knowledge behind them.

424

Michelle Samson: Yeah, Tourism

Excellence North and Destination Northern

425

Ontario are both an absolute wealth of

resources and knowledge and the staff

426

have so much to contribute as well.

427

But so do NOTO and Spark Employment.

428

So I wanna give all of you an

opportunity to talk about your resources.

429

Maybe we'll go over to you, Chantal.

430

Why should an operator reach

out to Spark Employment?

431

Chantal Makela: Absolutely.

432

Well, what we like to do

is build that relationship.

433

We really wanna understand the needs

that an employer has and equip the

434

job seekers with exactly that, right?

435

So if they identify for us certain

trainings that, you know, was previously

436

identified, we'll make sure we equip the

potential candidates with those things.

437

We'll also follow a job seeker.

438

So if there's an opportunity to hire

someone who has been working with Spark

439

and is looking for work and is prepared

to sort of obtain that training and do the

440

things that an employer is looking for,

we will support that individual throughout

441

their placement with the employer.

442

So that continual ongoing support

and training will be available

443

and accessible through us.

444

And so that's something that I

think employers can take advantage.

445

But before we even get to hiring someone

is we can assist with that posting.

446

We can assist with the recruitment,

we can assist with sort of defining

447

that when we talked about understand

your company and your business.

448

We will assist you going through that.

449

And what would a potential job

seeker be looking for, and let's

450

make sure that's clearly articulated.

451

So that's something that I think

that is beneficial to local

452

employers who are looking to hire.

453

We'll also host job fairs as a

collective with multiple employers.

454

But sometimes we'll do it with

one employer at a time, especially

455

if they're looking to hire for

multiple positions at once.

456

We like to call them open hires.

457

We just very clearly put out this event,

and we'll invite the employer to our

458

site, or we'll go onto the employer

site, and we'll make sure that there's

459

a series of candidates that present

themselves and that are potentially

460

available to work for this employer.

461

And they'll have an opportunity

to meet with them one-on-one,

462

and then they'll get this event

planned and organized through us.

463

So that's definitely a benefit.

464

There's also ongoing training that we

can offer through our Get Set program.

465

If there's an individual that someone

hires that later identifies there's

466

perhaps a barrier to truly understanding

or reading the policies and procedures

467

and really just needs that additional

sort of hands-on support we can offer

468

that, we can get someone on some of our

staff to go to your site, understand your

469

business, and help in training individuals

if that's a need that employers have.

470

So there is definitely

a lot that we can offer.

471

Michelle Samson: Wow.

472

Yeah, lots there.

473

And then what about NOTO Laurie?

474

Laurie Marcil: So we do a little bit

of what Chantal's talking about, only

475

from the perspective of helping people

develop their job descriptions and

476

their postings and how to get them to

be more fullsome in their job postings.

477

We also have our job board.

478

So, because of the Tourism SkillsNet North

program, our Indeed job board has become

479

very popular, but as I said earlier,

Indeed has changed its fee structure.

480

So we aren't able to do it as much.

481

But we do have our own

job board on the NOTO.ca

482

website that people can go there.

483

And it's for both, right?

484

So we get postings that people

are looking for work, as well as

485

postings that people have a job.

486

And some of this stuff that we do more

broadly is tourism career awareness.

487

I myself am a career coach so I,

whenever there's something local going

488

on in our high schools, I usually

go and talk about tourism as career.

489

And some of the stuff that you find

out during that process, like these

490

are high school students, so it's

really kind of cool, you get to

491

say to them, "What is your hobby?

492

What do you like to do

the most these days?"

493

And it's not very often that I

can't turn that into a potential

494

job in the tourism sector.

495

So it helps me understand sort of the

next up and coming possible employees.

496

So a lot of tourism awareness.

497

Just trying to get out there

and let people know that

498

there are careers in tourism.

499

They can be very long time careers,

or they can be careers where a

500

student is in high school, trying

to save up money to go to college.

501

They need somewhere where they can

make good money, get some tips, develop

502

their customer service training,

develop some very base skills.

503

And at the end of the year, at

the end of the season, they've

504

got a bank account full of money.

505

So I think letting people know that

it can be a stepping stone, but

506

it can also be a long-term career.

507

So those are things that we do.

508

We also have a newsletter that goes out

to the lodges and camps across the north.

509

And in that we usually make sure

that we're posting any reminders of

510

funding programs to support employers,

or whether there's TEN training,

511

we'll talk to them about that.

512

We'll make sure that anything

that we hear to support employers

513

we will put in the newsletter to

help them from that perspective.

514

Chantal Makela: I just, it made

me think, so just recently I

515

participated in Ontario Career Lab.

516

It's a nonprofit organization

that actually goes across

517

Ontario into high schools.

518

And they offer career coaching sessions.

519

So what they do is they invite local

professionals from the community to

520

come speak to high school students

and they share sort of their industry,

521

how they, their career journey and how

they landed the job that they have.

522

And I've participated in a

couple and a few were actually

523

from the tourism industry.

524

And so it's another great way for

us to sort of introduce to students

525

that these opportunities do exist.

526

Often it's because we don't know that

they're there that we don't seek them out.

527

So this was a fun way of us to

introduce that conversation.

528

I think that's important for us to

just put ourselves out there and have

529

these conversations with individuals

and letting them know that these

530

opportunities do exist and here's how we

particularly got there, and here's how

531

they could potentially sort of create

that path towards a career in tourism.

532

Michelle Samson: Yeah, absolutely.

533

Alright, we're coming to the

end, shortly, but I have one

534

more question for each of you.

535

Might be a little bit of a tough one.

536

If a tourism operator is listening today

and you could tell them one thing that

537

they could do differently this year

to improve their workforce situation,

538

what would each of you recommend?

539

Who wants to dive in first?

540

Laurie Marcil: I will.

541

So building on that tourism

awareness piece, I mean, I think,

542

it's like Chantal said, they

don't know what they don't know.

543

So getting into our communities,

talking about tourism as a career,

544

signing up for any local events

where you may have the opportunity to

545

have a booth or just meet new young

people, I think that's important.

546

Then you, you're not only speaking

to potential employees, but you're

547

speaking to possibly their parents,

who might want them to stay local

548

for the summer or want to get them

into the workforce in some way.

549

So I think making those connections

within your community in a

550

different way would be really good.

551

Just spreading that tourism

career awareness information.

552

Michelle Samson: Great advice.

553

Chantal Makela: I think for me it's

what I would share with every and any

554

employer is create that culture, right?

555

Create the culture that

individuals wanna work within.

556

The employment experience

that one has goes a long way.

557

That word of mouth travels really far.

558

And so if it is seasonal and if it is

someone who's there perhaps for a period

559

and has really enjoyed working for you

within your company and has enjoyed

560

the atmosphere and that environment,

they will be sharing that with others.

561

And so perhaps other relatives or

friends or family that they know will

562

also wanna work for your company.

563

So I think it's building culture that

attracts folks, attracts the job seekers.

564

Michelle Samson: Great.

565

And Karen, do you have

one piece of advice?

566

Karen Peacock: I'll just build on or add

to what both Laurie and Chantal have said.

567

So, the awareness piece is

really critical for youth.

568

Creating that culture

while they're on site.

569

That word of mouth, capturing that.

570

Actually getting some testimonials,

whether in video or in print

571

or audio, whatever it may be.

572

But being able to share that story

afterward or even during the employment

573

season that they're in, I think is

pretty critical to giving people,

574

again, a picture into the story

of what things might look like.

575

How might they react or how might

they see themselves integrating into

576

that business, into that culture,

into the tourism industry as a whole?

577

And I think you can see that if

you're able to get, you know, some

578

information or some testimonials from

those staff that are on the ground and

579

that you've been able to invigorate

with that culture that you've created.

580

Michelle Samson: Alright,

thank you, all three of you.

581

This has been a really interesting

conversation with lots of points

582

for further exploration, I think,

by the listeners to this episode.

583

So we're going to include links to all

of your organization's websites and maybe

584

some other resources in the show notes.

585

So, yeah.

586

Karen, Chantal and Laurie, thank

you so much for being here.

587

Karen Peacock: Thank you.

588

Michelle.

589

Laurie Marcil: Thank you for having us.

590

Michelle Samson: If you're a tourism

business operator looking for more

591

resources on product development, human

resources, marketing, or partnerships,

592

visit DestinationNorthernOntario.ca

593

or any of the links in the show notes.

594

New episodes of this

podcast are coming soon.

595

Follow us on your favorite podcast

platform to be notified when it drops.

596

Destination: Northern Ontario is

produced by Storied Places Media

597

and hosted by me, Michelle Samson.

598

Thanks for listening.