Fernie Workforce & Labour Shortages Panel Discussion | Wednesday 12 May

The Fernie Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a virtual panel discussion on the topic of Fernie’s Workforce & Labour Shortages this Wednesday 12 May from 12:00pm to 1:30pm. The panel discussion will be hosted as a webinar on Zoom (meeting link below) and streamed live on the Fernie Chamber Facebook page where people can watch the event.

The panel will be made up of representatives from local, regional, and provincial organizations who work in the field of employment services, human resources, workforce attraction, and immigration. The panelists will include Ginger Brunner (Regional HR Specialist for Go2HR), Jenny Perez (Managing Director for Perez McKenzie Immigration), Londa Morris & Lilian Chan (Employment Resource Advisors for Kootenay Employment Services), and Brad Parsell (Executive Director of the Fernie Chamber who run the Work In Fernie website).

“We consistently hear from our local business community about the challenges of attracting and retaining staff – especially outside of the winter ski season months”, explains Brad Parsell from the Fernie Chamber. “High staff turnover and vacant positions because of labour shortages are extremely costly and disruptive to businesses. Without a stable workforce that can power our business growth and expansion, it can become extremely challenging to do business in our area. This is exacerbated by other issues like the relatively higher cost of living in Fernie and lack of affordable childcare options.”

In the Fernie Chamber’s Business Pulse Check survey that is sent to members each month, the March 2021 survey revealed that 45% of respondents reported having at least one or more job vacancies in their business.

To watch  on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83706847011

To watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ferniechamber

Questions for panelists can be submitted to brad@ferniechamber.com in advance of the meeting.