Opportunity abounds in tourism
Aging workforce & rising demand for services, creates wealth of jobs
By Bruce Constantineau
Vancouver
Sun, January 13, 2007, I1
When it comes to winning the perception battle about tourism jobs, Lynne Henshaw says it's two steps forward and one step back.
"The big misconception is that it's all part-time, low-paying work," said the marketing director for the B.C. tourism industry's human resources association, go2. "But when we look at other sectors of the economy, we find our wages are at par or above retail and some financial services positions."
Tourism officials acknowledge they can't offer the starting wages found in the red-hot resource and construction industries. (The average B.C. tourism salaries now range from $10 to $12.25 an hour for tour guides while food servers earn from $9 to $11 an hour. B.C. construction labourers made an average of $16.50 an hour in a 2005 survey.)
But few sectors of the economy can proclaim the kinds of job opportunities offered in B.C.'s $10-billion tourism industry, which employs about 118,000 people across the province.
An aging workforce and increased demands for services are expected to create more than 84,000 new job openings over the next decade -- including 44,000 in food and beverage, 19,000 in the accommodation sector, 13,000 in adventure tourism and outdoor recreation, 8,000 in attractions and 500 in travel services.
Tourism supports more than 400 different occupations but those in greatest demand will include professional chefs and cooks, food and beverage managers, accommodation sector managers and outdoor recreation leaders.
A network of 18 colleges and universities currently offer tourism industry training throughout B.C. and the Yukon and Tourism Vancouver chairman Jim Storie said they do a great job.
"The problem is that many people who graduate from tourism programs don't go into the hospitality industry," he said. "They go into all kinds of different things that pay more -- maybe work the oil fields in Alberta for 30 bucks an hour."
Storie, president of The Vancouver Trolley Company, said virtually all tourism operators are looking for employees. He'll employ 85 people this summer, up from 65 last year, and bus drivers and ticket sellers are among the top priorities.
"We're also looking for people who can move up into management as we go forward because we're short of managers too," he said.
"These aren't McJobs we're talking about."
Alisha Hagan, a 22-year-old sales representative for Delta Vancouver Suites Hotel, went straight into the hotel sector after graduating from the BCIT tourism marketing program in 2004. She started as a sales and marketing co-ordinator and was promoted to sales representative last year.
"I was attracted to tourism because I've always had a huge interest in travel and hotels," Hagan said. "That's what really pulled me in this direction."
She said the pay is good and the perks include employee-discounted pricing at hotels throughout the Delta chain. Her long term goal is to become a sales and marketing director and she doesn't mind the long hours often required in her line of work.
"You have to love it," Hagan said. "You can't just come in and expect it to be a nine-to-five kind of job because it's not. But once you really get into it, it almost becomes an obsession."
Henshaw said go2 participates in six career fairs a year throughout B.C. and has partnered with the Canada West Ski Areas Association this year to highlight job opportunities in the snow sports sector.
"They need everyone from people who take your tickets to people who can work in accounting and sales and marketing," she said. "We need trades people, accountants, you name it. All sectors are hurting for those kinds of skilled positions."
Henshaw said tourism industry employees can upgrade their skills at many training programs throughout B.C. but overburdened employers can't always give them the time off required. "They just need them too badly now because we're in the middle of a labour shortage," she said.
The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council says 32 per cent of the national tourism industry work force is in the 15-to-24-year-old age category -- more than double the 15 per cent of the overall workforce. Given the country's aging demographic, it's not surprising the industry is having problems finding new workers.
Statistics Canada says tourism spending in Canada grew for the 13th consecutive quarter during the July-to-September period last year, increasing by 4.4 per cent over the same quarter a year earlier to $14.3 billion. Tourism employment grew by 0.4 per cent during the quarter and the industry now employs about 1.65 million workers across Canada.
bconstantineau@png.canwest.com
- Tourism News -
