The task of finding enough staff to keep the lights on continues to be a challenge for employers in most sectors throughout New Brunswick.
At the Maritime Manor Special Care Home in Saint John, it’s an issue that’s worsened within the last three months after staff either left for retirement or other career paths.
“The Department of Social Development has given us some increases over the last few years, but it’s just not enough with inflation and right now the price of gas and all of those things. For someone to come and work in special care, it’s challenging,” said Crystal Powell, the home’s operator and owner.
Low wages have been an issue for recruitment and retention across the board, said Powell, adding the current rate is around $16 per hour.
The Maritime Manor is in need of a full-time staff member to cover overnight responsibilities, and part-time workers to fill in when necessary.
Powell said she’s willing to work with students studying to enter health care and those who have no qualifications but have a desire to become a personal support worker to ensure they can qualify for a position at her home.
“So, I’m not getting any luck this time around. I’ve had two applicants the entire three months, and unfortunately, neither applicant wanted to follow through based on the wage,” said Powell.
In her time in the industry, which includes nearly eight years as an operator, Powell can’t recall a period when it was this difficult to find workers.
Constantine Passaris is an economics professor at the University of New Brunswick. He believes low wages are likely a factor in many of the job vacancies impacting New Brunswick.
The latest data from Statistics Canada noted nearly 16,000 vacant jobs in New Brunswick as of March.
Positions in a health care setting have deterred some candidates due to the stringent measures implemented to protect against COVID-19, said Passaris.
However, he noted younger generations who may be keen to enter the workforce will not do so if it doesn’t include balance.
“They want a work-life balance so that you don’t own them, but they have a say in terms of what kind of incentives they need,” he said.
For governments, Passaris added, it’s no longer enough to continue with business as usual due to troubles with integrating the workforce with new skills.
“This may require reskilling some people who are unemployed or upskilling people who are already in the workforce but can’t do the better and more highly paid jobs,” he said.
“The other thing governments need to do is to make sure that our young people have the financial support to make it through university, to make it through community colleges without having this tremendous burden of student debt that they are having to carry for most of their employment careers.”
However, in the meantime, employers such as Crystal Powell will have to put added pressure on staff to fill the gaps.
“The staff that are on now are strained, they’re working extra hours, they’re pulling overtime trying to cover the shifts that we can’t cover, and as an operator, I’m here as much as I can be, but there’s times where I can’t be.”