Can a job pay reasonably well and still be a dime a dozen? You bet. It’s happening right now in Slave Lake. It seems that every store is hiring, from Tim Horton’s and Wal-Mart to the little movie store on the corner. Business owners are finding they have to be creative to attract competent staff.
“There are just not enough people here for the amount of work,” says Tyler Warman who manages the local Boston Pizza. Recently, several key personnel left the restaurant. Warman says he would love to hire somebody but it’s hard when he can count on one hand the number of job applications he’s seen in the last three months.
Such a low application rate is standard for the industry now. The employment agency Youth Connections works hard to help young people find jobs but not many people are making use of the place.
“It’s pretty slow,” says youth career coach Marcia St. Pierre. “We do have a few clients that come in, but there is just a ton of jobs out there. Because of the large amount of jobs, there isn’t a great need (for a solid resume and good interview skills). I think some people realize that in the future they will need it. Right now they don’t. But if you leave this area, you will need those skills.”
That can sometimes make it hard to find the right person for the job. Being desperate doesn’t mean that a company can afford to hire just anybody.
“In the last three months I’ve probably had six people apply. Three of them I hired,” Warman says. “Of them, one never showed up and two lasted a day. Of the other three, one ended up going to jail before I could hire him, another had trouble with the cops, and the last guy was just unhireable.”
People can now choose between a variety of different perks as Slave Lake business actively compete for people.
“We’re using the Internet to look for people, talking to people all over Canada and the world and offering accommodations,” says Warman. “7-Eleven is offering a $700 signing bonus right now. There’s a few (stipulations) but it shows you just how desperate employers are getting.”
Boston Pizza was among the first companies in the area to reach outside the country to find workers. Warman already has several Philippinos in his employ with application made to bring over 16 more.
“Immigration is the only answer to the problems in the north right now,” Warman says. “My Philippines exchange has been working out excellent. We’re lobbying to the government to make the process easier. They are very backlogged with applications right now.”
The pizza chain isn’t the only company looking at bringing people to Canada to work. The Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre is also looking to the Philippines for good help.
“We have some Phillipinos who will be starting soon,” says hotel manager Dave Nelson. “And we managed to latch onto some employees from the east coast. Right now, it’s not too bad but it will get really busy in the winter. We’ve got 22 employees staying in our hotel.”
“It is starting to become common practice,” says Warman. “We’re buying houses and putting them up for our workers. We have a house already that’s full of people. We do charge them rent but it’s not as expensive as other places in Slave Lake. We’re covering our expenses, so it works out for both of us.
“To be honest, from January on it was running very well. I had time for extracurricular activities like Rotary and the firefighters. Basically, I had to take a few steps back because my right hand man left. My fire department pager has not been turned on in about three weeks.”
It will likely be years before growth in this region begins to level off. Until then, the ever-increasing demand for employees will continue.
“Customer service is going to continue to suffer,” says Warman. “We really need to open the borders. There are thousands of people in the world with skills who want to work.”

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