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.

It's very important for employers to truly understand

2

that alignment between what a job

seeker is looking for and what the

3

employer is looking for so that you

have that most appropriate match.

4

Michelle Samson: Welcome to the

Destination Northern Ontario podcast.

5

This is a series for tourism

business operators here in the

6

rugged and beautiful North.

7

Whether you're just starting out,

or you've got years under your belt,

8

this podcast will make sure you're

well equipped for the journey.

9

I'm your host, Michelle Samson.

10

If you're an employer in the

North's tourism sector, you know

11

how hard it can be to find workers.

12

The good news is that you don't

have to tackle this challenge alone.

13

There are organizations that

want to help you hire, train,

14

and retain good employees.

15

For this episode, we've assembled a panel

of three leaders from three of those

16

organizations to talk about the state of

the tourism workforce in Northern Ontario.

17

The panel includes Laurie Marcil of Nature

and Outdoor Tourism Ontario, Chantal

18

Makela of Spark Employment, and Karen

Peacock of Tourism Excellence North.

19

We cover the common challenges everyone

is facing, what tourism workers are

20

looking for, and the creative ways

some employers are stepping up.

21

By the end of this episode,

you'll be equipped to step up

22

your recruitment efforts too.

23

Thank you so much to all

three of you for being here.

24

I'd like to start with getting a big

picture of the state of the tourism

25

workforce in Northern Ontario right now.

26

Karen, can you kick us off and

give us a bit of a lay of the land?

27

Karen Peacock: Sure.

28

Thank you very much, Michelle.

29

And just thinking about Northern Ontario

and tourism specifically, prior to

30

COVID, prior to the pandemic that we

all went through, there was a real trend

31

in which we saw the labor force just

wasn't enough to meet a growing demand.

32

With the onset of COVID, you know,

we saw many of our businesses

33

shuttered for the term of COVID.

34

And some employees left the tourism

sector altogether because they didn't

35

feel it was safe enough as a ongoing

career prospect for them to be part of.

36

And so we saw, you know, a number of

people leave the industry at that time.

37

And where we are finding ourselves now

is yes, things have picked back up in

38

terms of tourism, but where we still

see a leg behind is skilled staff.

39

So there's a few challenges

that we're still seeing.

40

It's the recruitment of staff within

the tourism industry as well as

41

the recruitment of skilled staff.

42

And there's a number of things going

on there, and what we've tried to do

43

in the past is to try and assist and

support the development of those skills

44

through training, as well through helping

employers recruit additional staff.

45

So I think big picture is we're shaping

up for really great season in tourism and

46

we still wanna grow the sector in regard

to business growth, but also in regard to

47

seeing employees wanting to launch their

career in tourism and stay within tourism.

48

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

see if you have any thoughts on that one.

49

Laurie Marcil: Yeah, I agree with

everything that you just said.

50

Absolutely.

51

I mean, the pandemic was

a very difficult time.

52

However out of that we were able to

do some really great things together

53

to support the tourism industry with

the Tourism SkillsNet North program.

54

And I think one of the things that

really hit for me, I've been around

55

the industry for a long time, and

training was always something that

56

employers seemed to snicker at.

57

It was too much work.

58

Too much money, too much work.

59

But what we saw with the development of

the TSNN Program or Tourism SkillsNet

60

North program we saw that operators

were beginning to really appreciate

61

what the training did for them.

62

And so I think that's a wonderful thing

that, if anything wonderful could come

63

out of a pandemic, there's something.

64

And I love the new, open

mind towards the training.

65

And I love how the industry understands

now how it's an absolute benefit to

66

them in their workforce development.

67

So some of the things that we're

seeing now that we were kind of

68

seeing before, is that operators,

I mean, the tourism business owner,

69

they're beginning to look for staff

a lot earlier than they did before.

70

So rather than waiting until

January, February, March to start

71

listing their jobs and looking for

folks, they're definitely doing

72

that in November and December now.

73

So that is something that we're

seeing as a new kind of trend

74

over the last couple of summers.

75

This year, it was interesting,

I was just talking to Kate who

76

works with me here at NOTO, and

we do a job board through Indeed.

77

We started that during the TSNN

program and we've continued it.

78

Mind you Indeed has changed their

pricing structure, so it makes it a

79

little bit more challenging for us.

80

But we've noticed that

there are less job postings.

81

We've reached out to some of the operators

that always sent us job postings,

82

and they've already found folks, and

they've used things like social media.

83

They've used their Instagram and their

Facebook pages to talk about their

84

business and do that tourism awareness

piece and put out those postings.

85

And I think that's something that

we love to see as well, operators

86

are becoming more creative and

having to do those types of things.

87

We still have challenges.

88

We're still hearing of challenges

around finding staff and getting

89

them to commit to a full season.

90

So that's something that is, you know,

not really sure how we can help with

91

that, but tourism is very seasonal.

92

So we're asking for four to five

months of your time to come and work.

93

And we're hearing more and more

from people that's definitely a

94

challenge for them, is getting people

to commit for the entire season.

95

So you can appreciate in the middle

of your season, all of a sudden

96

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

97

And you're in the middle of a season.

98

How do you find and recruit new people?

99

The other piece that we have heard from

operators is, managing expectations

100

is now really top of mind for them

because of things like, they wanna

101

leave partway through the season.

102

They're trying to manage those

expectations like starting in

103

the job posting and going right

through to interview and then

104

going right through to training.

105

Like they're carrying that all the

way through, making sure that people

106

really understand that this is a very

important job that they're doing.

107

It's a very important

part of their business.

108

And bringing them right into the

fold very early on to make them

109

understand that they're integral

to their success for the summer.

110

And housing.

111

Housing has been an issue.

112

A lot of our operators have become

very creative and worked with local

113

communities, or they've taken their

own assets, their own inventory

114

off the market like cabins and have

devoted those to staff members.

115

So those are some of the things we

heard during Tourism SkillsNet North,

116

but some of them are more recent.

117

And even the way that folks are looking

for staff, more people doing career

118

fairs, more use of social media.

119

Those things are becoming

more and more broadly used.

120

So I would say that's kind of what

I've been hearing about employment and

121

workforce over the last couple of months.

122

Michelle Samson: Those are

all really interesting.

123

I'm curious, Chantal, are these issues

common beyond the tourism sector?

124

Chantal Makela: Absolutely.

125

I think any owner, operator,

employer would probably be sharing

126

very similar information and

feedback as what we've heard today.

127

I think it's very important for

employers to truly understand their

128

business, what they're looking for.

129

And one of the things that Spark

does with employers is try to define

130

that, really narrow it down to what

are you really truly looking for?

131

And being able, as was already

said, being able to clearly

132

articulate that in a job posting.

133

And when you meet and connect with

folks through the interview process or

134

through job fairs, is really trying to

make sure that alignment between what

135

a job seeker is looking for and what

the employer is looking for so that

136

you have that most appropriate match

and you have less of those disruptions

137

throughout that employment relationship.

138

The training that's been

also identified a need.

139

Absolutely.

140

So again we highly encourage owners,

operators, employers to ensure that they

141

have a robust training curriculum for

individuals when they bring them on.

142

As we have all experienced new jobs,

you know, we come with a lot of

143

great skills, transferable skills

and strengths, that we would like to

144

be able to provide our new employer.

145

But they also have a business that we're

not familiar with, and they also have

146

processes and policies and procedures.

147

It's important for all of us to be

able to take that moment and learn.

148

So I think it's being able to support

one another and guide us through

149

those processes and making sure that

you're investing in your people.

150

Michelle Samson: Mm-hmm.

151

Yeah.

152

So Laurie, you already mentioned

some creative approaches like some of

153

these operators taking some of their

inventory off the market, a cabin, for

154

example, to be used for worker housing.

155

I'd love to give the whole panel

an opportunity to speak more to

156

these resourceful ways of dealing

with some of these challenges.

157

So, um, is there anything else

anybody could share that might

158

inspire some of the operators or

stakeholders who are listening?

159

Yeah, Chantal.

160

Chantal Makela: I think what's interesting

is we've had the experience as a provider

161

to both job seekers and employers.

162

And so an example I can give without

giving too much information is we

163

had an employer who was looking for

a particular position and had a hard

164

time recruiting for that position.

165

We had job seekers with some skills

that they could apply to the role, but

166

not quite what they were looking for.

167

And so one of the things we did that was

very creative is we, did some job carving.

168

So what that means is we take the

needs of an employer, we take the

169

skills of the job seekers, and we're

able to creatively create a position

170

that now meets the needs of both.

171

So in this example, it was a local

cleaning company that was looking for

172

cleaners, but one of the barriers that

individuals mainly had was transportation.

173

And working for this company, you

had to be able to get from site A to

174

Site B to site C throughout your day.

175

And so if transportation was a barrier,

they had a hard time recruiting.

176

We had an individual who was

looking for a driving position

177

with some cleaning experience.

178

what we ended up doing is we created a

role that now this employer hired this

179

individual and became sort of, a service

to bring their cleaners from site A to

180

site B to site C throughout the day.

181

And the last site, they were able to

also provide the cleaning service.

182

And so that was a creative way for us

to sort of look at what is available,

183

what is the employer looking for,

what is the job seeker bringing,

184

and how can we match that best?

185

Michelle Samson: Oh,

such a great approach.

186

Anybody else have any

other stories to share?

187

Karen Peacock: I'll share another story

we had during our Tourism SkillsNet

188

North program, actually, we had, again,

an issue with accommodation for staff.

189

This particular business didn't have

enough local staff to fill the roles and

190

so they were having to hire staff to come

in and needed a place for them to stay.

191

So there wasn't lodging on site for

them so they actually built them.

192

Some small cabins tiny cabins

in which that they could stay.

193

Staff were comfortable with it, their

parents were comfortable with it.

194

And all of the needs all the way

around were met in that instance.

195

And I know of another employer

who actually will go so far as to

196

attend cottage shows or job fairs or

stuff that's going on at university

197

and college campuses in Toronto

to recruit staff from far away.

198

Because, again, they're in a

locale where they're not going to

199

be able to recruit only from the

local youth or local population.

200

And so they have to go

out from there to recruit.

201

And they do so willingly and really,

um, they tell the story of what life

202

will be like working the season at this

business and making it so that it's

203

very attractive to those who would just

naturally be good within that environment.

204

And so, to your point, Laurie, setting

it up so that everyone knows in advance

205

that they're there for the season as well.

206

And so looking at that as a creative

solution really for them to recruit

207

additional staff that are just

not feasible within the local

208

population that they sit within.

209

Michelle Samson: Laurie, anything to add?

210

Laurie Marcil: Yeah, so I think , a

really cool story that I heard was an

211

operator who had hired a number of young

folks to come and work at the lodge.

212

And they did a get to know you kind

of session with them, and learned

213

about their individual talents.

214

And one of them had a musical talent.

215

And of course they realized

that when he came with a guitar.

216

So anyway, you could just

tell how passionate he was

217

about playing the guitar.

218

So they offered him the opportunity

to play guitar at dinner time, as

219

people were arriving, coming off the

lake they were coming into the lodge

220

for dinner and he could play there.

221

Or there was different times,

they would have an outdoor fish

222

fry one day and he would be the

musical accompaniment for that.

223

And the other two had

other talents as well.

224

One loved to do photography and had

a beautiful camera, and they were so

225

excited about being in the wilderness,

they had only done like city stuff.

226

They hadn't done any wildlife or anything.

227

So they incorporated that as well, and

they allowed them to share their pictures

228

if they wanted on their social media.

229

And those students came back the

year after, like they were just so,

230

they felt like they were using the

things they love to do in their work.

231

Like they would still do all the cabin

cleaning and do all their stuff, but

232

they would have the opportunity to

use their skills and these talents.

233

So, I mean, I thought that was a

really cool story and it's kind of,

234

yeah, like take a minute and learn

about the folks that you've hired.

235

And what better way to make them

want to stay and do their job if

236

they can still be themselves and

they can excel in those areas too.

237

So that was one thing.

238

The other one was, we know that people

want affirmation in different ways.

239

And we've heard of employee of the week,

employee of the month, those kinds of

240

things, but incorporating something

different where it could be that, if the

241

employee wants it, they would do like

a employee profile on the social media.

242

Depending on their age they would

probably be interested in that.

243

Some people might not be, so of course you

gotta be careful with that sort of thing.

244

But just doing things like that, that

really help them understand, that you

245

really appreciate them in what they're

doing, and what you bring to the lodge.

246

And there was a staff day at the lodge.

247

So, you know, sometimes in the month

of August things kind of quiet down

248

a little bit and you could have a

staff day at the lodge where the

249

staff all get to go fishing or

hiking or whatever they want to do.

250

And it allows people to just have

some downtime and actually do

251

what the guests are there to do.

252

And it gives them another appreciation

of why their jobs are so important.

253

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

bit of a break and the operator really

254

gets to entrench in them why they're

there and why they're so needed.

255

Michelle Samson: Yeah, that's so important

from both the retention and keeping

256

your employees happy point of view,

257

Laurie Marcil: Yeah.

258

Michelle Samson: but also it's

training, it's showing them what

259

the guests are getting as well.

260

Karen Peacock: Yeah.

261

Michelle Samson: I'm kind of hearing

across the board here is that,

262

you know, when labor is short,

it becomes a worker's market.

263

And so I'd love to send this back

to Chantal and flip this back to

264

their perspective, what you're

hearing in working with workers.

265

What are they looking

for in an employer today?

266

Chantal Makela: I love the stories

that are being shared so far.

267

I think for me, what it boils down

to is that culture piece, that

268

alignment, the values alignment.

269

One of the things we do spend a lot

of time with job seekers is, get to

270

know yourself, understand what you're

looking for, and go find the most

271

appropriate employer who can meet and

fulfill that need for you while you're

272

able to contribute to their business.

273

And we've heard these very

innovative, creative stories and

274

that is exactly what was happening.

275

Culture was being formed.

276

They believe in the mission and

the vision and they're prepared to

277

contribute and they will work really

hard if there's that alignment.

278

And so as an employer, it's

really important for you to

279

create that safe space for folks.

280

I would also say that communication

is extremely important.

281

In your posting, in your interviews,

in your onboarding processes and

282

ongoing is to make sure that you're

clearly communicating with folks

283

and making sure they understand what

is expected, what is the role, you

284

know, what does the job look like?

285

What does that internal communication

at the business look like?

286

I think that's something that people

are needing and that is extremely

287

important and creates this environment

that people wanna work within.

288

Michelle Samson: Yeah,

Karen, yeah, go ahead.

289

Karen Peacock: I was just going to, what

came to mind in our discussion here is

290

during our Tourism SkillsNet North program

we offered a number of different online

291

training courses, and there were times for

service excellence, let's say, or customer

292

service where an employer would sign their

staff up to take the online course and the

293

employer would actually take it with them.

294

And so everyone would gather round

one computer with their manager

295

or the tourism business owner.

296

I think what ensued from that is

an understanding of expectations.

297

There was a lot of communication and

discussion of what would work and

298

what doesn't and what that employer

was expecting of their staff.

299

But I think it, it really boiled

down to an open discussion.

300

And, all told, I think it really

benefited both employer and employee

301

and it formed an additional bond for

everybody going out of that training.

302

So I think, to Laurie's point

right at the start, that there's an

303

awareness that training is important.

304

And I think that's really true

and of the one of the things that

305

we saw of real benefit coming

out of COVID for the businesses.

306

So just adding that.

307

Michelle Samson: That's great.

308

Laurie, you've already sort of framed

some of this in terms of advice for

309

tourism business operators, and

how they can use this information

310

to be more attractive to workers.

311

But I'm wondering if that

conversation sparked any more advice

312

that might be helpful to them.

313

Laurie Marcil: I think

there's, there definitely is.

314

It all depends on the positions

and the people that you're

315

hiring, that you're interviewing.

316

You really need to get to know

them because I think it's more

317

than just your job description.

318

If you want to retain them, if you

want to have really good people that

319

are gonna work for you, you really

need to get to know what they like.

320

Another example I can give is

there was a young lady who wanted

321

to work out in the wilderness.

322

And she really wanted to do

something about the environment.

323

The environment was her passion.

324

And she was a little leery

about working at a fishing lodge

325

because they were consuming fish.

326

But the operator was able to go through

and explain to her, they only permitted

327

their guests to have conservation

licenses, not sport fishing licenses.

328

So talked about all of the things that

they do to protect the environment

329

in their job, and how they teach

people about why conservation

330

fishing makes a lot of sense.

331

Or many of our lodges have 'no fish

out,' which means that they can

332

catch and eat fish while they're

there, but they can't take any home.

333

And these are rules over and

above what government has.

334

So they were able to actually show

this young lady that, it's okay

335

to fish, We can put in practices

that make this more sustainable.

336

And then she says, "Well,

that's not on your website.

337

You should be talking about that."

338

So they created a job for that.

339

Michelle Samson: Hmm.

340

Laurie Marcil: Guess who was

doing the job for the summer?

341

Talking about going through

each step of what they do.

342

Like even the green products that

they used for cleaning their cabins.

343

Some of the brush work that they did,

some of the work at the shoreline

344

on keeping out invasive species

of plants, all of those things.

345

And I'm often, and Karen knows

this, I'm often telling my industry,

346

you've gotta talk about what you do.

347

Like you gotta tell more people.

348

It's not just about bringing

people in to go fishing.

349

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

350

If you've had a business for 40 years,

how have you kept that alive for 40 years?

351

And bring people along for the ride.

352

So I think there's things that operators

can do to connect with the youth.

353

Anything that you do that supports

things that youth want to support,

354

make sure you're talking about those

things and clearly identify those.

355

So that would be some advice in addition

to the other stuff that I've said.

356

But definitely, making sure that your

job descriptions really tell the story.

357

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

we want somebody to do these duties.

358

you gotta tell a little bit

more about who you are and what

359

your vision of your business is.

360

Karen Peacock: I love that, Laurie

and I think from an industry training

361

standpoint, we talk about, or we host

workshops at Tourism Excellence North

362

on experiential travel training.

363

And Laurie, what you just

described was experiential travel.

364

People are hungry for that

kind of knowledge now.

365

They want to dive in behind the scenes

of what's going on at the lodge.

366

They want to learn more

while they're on holiday.

367

And so I think that by being open

with your staff, even in that

368

recruitment stage, you can very

easily create experiential travel

369

for your guests without having

to do a whole lot, like learning

370

that someone likes to play guitar.

371

That's all part of what you can offer

as an additive for your business.

372

And it's very unique, becomes a

very unique thing to your business

373

without really having to do a whole

lot more or go to a greater expense.

374

Michelle Samson: I think this is a great

transition to my next question, which

375

I'm gonna start with a bit of preamble.

376

Karen, some of our listeners may

or may not realize that you are the

377

host of Let's Talk Northern Ontario

Tourism, which is the official

378

podcast of Tourism Excellence North.

379

And there are lots of really great

conversations over there including

380

some about experiential tourism

and about how young workers are

381

very environmentally conscious.

382

So, you know, I feel like you

might be in an interesting position

383

to be able to talk about trends.

384

In addition to what we've just talked

about, is there anything else that

385

is either on the cutting edge or

maybe something that some tourism

386

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

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

387

Anything they should be really thinking

of and acting on as we move forward?

388

Karen Peacock: I think something

that is on now and will continue as

389

a future trend is, we all wish to

travel in quality of standard, right?

390

Our traveler nowadays expects a standard

of quality that they've become accustomed

391

to and wish to see in the properties

and experiences and tourism product that

392

they choose to spend their money at.

393

So that's one piece.

394

I think one of the other trends that

we clearly saw during the pandemic and

395

through our Tourism SkillsNet North

program was wage subsidies for employees.

396

The labor market is still such

that employers are wanting to

397

recruit good quality staff and

providing that training is crucial.

398

And you can look, or employers can look

to places like Tourism Excellence North

399

for assistance in getting that training.

400

And I know Chantal, you have a

lot of good resources through

401

your organization as well.

402

Tourism Excellence North is more on

the industry training side for the

403

employers, for the managers, et cetera.

404

And there are a good number of

self-assessments in the tools that

405

we offer, you can complete those

online, and that's everything from,

406

you know, a visitor appeal assessment

index, really gauging where your

407

strengths and weaknesses are, in

welcoming guests to your business.

408

And right up to product

development with regard to cycling,

409

with regard to environmental

practices, festivals and events.

410

We also offer group workshops in

experiential travel training and

411

international product development.

412

And there are a number of online

resources within the Tourism Excellence

413

North website, including business

essentials for tourism operators.

414

So everything from Accounting 101, to

sole proprietorship versus incorporation,

415

and media and social media training.

416

So there's a number of different

resources there and available.

417

And I think it's really important to

try and keep up your own professional

418

development as you're bringing on new

staff as well, in making sure that people

419

have a good foundation of training,

skills, and knowledge behind them.

420

Michelle Samson: Yeah, Tourism

Excellence North and Destination Northern

421

Ontario are both an absolute wealth of

resources and knowledge and the staff

422

have so much to contribute as well.

423

But so do NOTO and Spark Employment.

424

So I wanna give all of you an

opportunity to talk about your resources.

425

Maybe we'll go over to you, Chantal.

426

Why should an operator reach

out to Spark Employment?

427

Chantal Makela: Absolutely.

428

Well, what we like to do

is build that relationship.

429

We really wanna understand the needs

that an employer has and equip the

430

job seekers with exactly that, right?

431

So if they identify for us certain

trainings that, you know, was previously

432

identified, we'll make sure we equip the

potential candidates with those things.

433

We'll also follow a job seeker.

434

So if there's an opportunity to hire

someone who has been working with Spark

435

and is looking for work and is prepared

to sort of obtain that training and do the

436

things that an employer is looking for,

we will support that individual throughout

437

their placement with the employer.

438

So that continual ongoing support

and training will be available

439

and accessible through us.

440

And so that's something that I

think employers can take advantage.

441

But before we even get to hiring someone

is we can assist with that posting.

442

We can assist with the recruitment,

we can assist with sort of defining

443

that when we talked about understand

your company and your business.

444

We will assist you going through that.

445

And what would a potential job

seeker be looking for, and let's

446

make sure that's clearly articulated.

447

So that's something that I think

that is beneficial to local

448

employers who are looking to hire.

449

We'll also host job fairs as a

collective with multiple employers.

450

But sometimes we'll do it with

one employer at a time, especially

451

if they're looking to hire for

multiple positions at once.

452

We like to call them open hires.

453

We just very clearly put out this event,

and we'll invite the employer to our

454

site, or we'll go onto the employer

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

455

a series of candidates that present

themselves and that are potentially

456

available to work for this employer.

457

And they'll have an opportunity

to meet with them one-on-one,

458

and then they'll get this event

planned and organized through us.

459

So that's definitely a benefit.

460

There's also ongoing training that we

can offer through our Get Set program.

461

If there's an individual that someone

hires that later identifies there's

462

perhaps a barrier to truly understanding

or reading the policies and procedures

463

and really just needs that additional

sort of hands-on support we can offer

464

that, we can get someone on some of our

staff to go to your site, understand your

465

business, and help in training individuals

if that's a need that employers have.

466

So there is definitely

a lot that we can offer.

467

Michelle Samson: Wow.

468

Yeah, lots there.

469

And then what about NOTO Laurie?

470

Laurie Marcil: So we do a little bit

of what Chantal's talking about, only

471

from the perspective of helping people

develop their job descriptions and

472

their postings and how to get them to

be more fullsome in their job postings.

473

We also have our job board.

474

So, because of the Tourism SkillsNet North

program, our Indeed job board has become

475

very popular, but as I said earlier,

Indeed has changed its fee structure.

476

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

477

But we do have our own

job board on the NOTO.ca

478

website that people can go there.

479

And it's for both, right?

480

So we get postings that people

are looking for work, as well as

481

postings that people have a job.

482

And some of this stuff that we do more

broadly is tourism career awareness.

483

I myself am a career coach so I,

whenever there's something local going

484

on in our high schools, I usually

go and talk about tourism as career.

485

And some of the stuff that you find

out during that process, like these

486

are high school students, so it's

really kind of cool, you get to

487

say to them, "What is your hobby?

488

What do you like to do

the most these days?"

489

And it's not very often that I

can't turn that into a potential

490

job in the tourism sector.

491

So it helps me understand sort of the

next up and coming possible employees.

492

So a lot of tourism awareness.

493

Just trying to get out there

and let people know that

494

there are careers in tourism.

495

They can be very long time careers,

or they can be careers where a

496

student is in high school, trying

to save up money to go to college.

497

They need somewhere where they can

make good money, get some tips, develop

498

their customer service training,

develop some very base skills.

499

And at the end of the year, at

the end of the season, they've

500

got a bank account full of money.

501

So I think letting people know that

it can be a stepping stone, but

502

it can also be a long-term career.

503

So those are things that we do.

504

We also have a newsletter that goes out

to the lodges and camps across the north.

505

And in that we usually make sure

that we're posting any reminders of

506

funding programs to support employers,

or whether there's TEN training,

507

we'll talk to them about that.

508

We'll make sure that anything

that we hear to support employers

509

we will put in the newsletter to

help them from that perspective.

510

Chantal Makela: I just, it made

me think, so just recently I

511

participated in Ontario Career Lab.

512

It's a nonprofit organization

that actually goes across

513

Ontario into high schools.

514

And they offer career coaching sessions.

515

So what they do is they invite local

professionals from the community to

516

come speak to high school students

and they share sort of their industry,

517

how they, their career journey and how

they landed the job that they have.

518

And I've participated in a

couple and a few were actually

519

from the tourism industry.

520

And so it's another great way for

us to sort of introduce to students

521

that these opportunities do exist.

522

Often it's because we don't know that

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

523

So this was a fun way of us to

introduce that conversation.

524

I think that's important for us to

just put ourselves out there and have

525

these conversations with individuals

and letting them know that these

526

opportunities do exist and here's how we

particularly got there, and here's how

527

they could potentially sort of create

that path towards a career in tourism.

528

Michelle Samson: Yeah, absolutely.

529

Alright, we're coming to the

end, shortly, but I have one

530

more question for each of you.

531

Might be a little bit of a tough one.

532

If a tourism operator is listening today

and you could tell them one thing that

533

they could do differently this year

to improve their workforce situation,

534

what would each of you recommend?

535

Who wants to dive in first?

536

Laurie Marcil: I will.

537

So building on that tourism

awareness piece, I mean, I think,

538

it's like Chantal said, they

don't know what they don't know.

539

So getting into our communities,

talking about tourism as a career,

540

signing up for any local events

where you may have the opportunity to

541

have a booth or just meet new young

people, I think that's important.

542

Then you, you're not only speaking

to potential employees, but you're

543

speaking to possibly their parents,

who might want them to stay local

544

for the summer or want to get them

into the workforce in some way.

545

So I think making those connections

within your community in a

546

different way would be really good.

547

Just spreading that tourism

career awareness information.

548

Michelle Samson: Great advice.

549

Chantal Makela: I think for me it's

what I would share with every and any

550

employer is create that culture, right?

551

Create the culture that

individuals wanna work within.

552

The employment experience

that one has goes a long way.

553

That word of mouth travels really far.

554

And so if it is seasonal and if it is

someone who's there perhaps for a period

555

and has really enjoyed working for you

within your company and has enjoyed

556

the atmosphere and that environment,

they will be sharing that with others.

557

And so perhaps other relatives or

friends or family that they know will

558

also wanna work for your company.

559

So I think it's building culture that

attracts folks, attracts the job seekers.

560

Michelle Samson: Great.

561

And Karen, do you have

one piece of advice?

562

Karen Peacock: I'll just build on or add

to what both Laurie and Chantal have said.

563

So, the awareness piece is

really critical for youth.

564

Creating that culture

while they're on site.

565

That word of mouth, capturing that.

566

Actually getting some testimonials,

whether in video or in print

567

or audio, whatever it may be.

568

But being able to share that story

afterward or even during the employment

569

season that they're in, I think is

pretty critical to giving people,

570

again, a picture into the story

of what things might look like.

571

How might they react or how might

they see themselves integrating into

572

that business, into that culture,

into the tourism industry as a whole?

573

And I think you can see that if

you're able to get, you know, some

574

information or some testimonials from

those staff that are on the ground and

575

that you've been able to invigorate

with that culture that you've created.

576

Michelle Samson: Alright,

thank you, all three of you.

577

This has been a really interesting

conversation with lots of points

578

for further exploration, I think,

by the listeners to this episode.

579

So we're going to include links to all

of your organization's websites and maybe

580

some other resources in the show notes.

581

So, yeah.

582

Karen, Chantal and Laurie, thank

you so much for being here.

583

Karen Peacock: Thank you.

584

Michelle.

585

Laurie Marcil: Thank you for having us.

586

Michelle Samson: If you're a tourism

business operator looking for more

587

resources on product development, human

resources, marketing, or partnerships,

588

visit DestinationNorthernOntario.ca

589

or any of the links in the show notes.

590

New episodes of this

podcast are coming soon.

591

Follow us on your favorite podcast

platform to be notified when it drops.

592

Destination: Northern Ontario is

produced by Storied Places Media

593

and hosted by me, Michelle Samson.

594

Thanks for listening.