Community and recreation centres across the province fear they may soon be forced to cut back rink hours or shutter their doors because of a certified staff shortage.
It’s a job that requires more than taking the wheel on a Zamboni. From flooding the ice to ice-making, arena operators make sure you’re safe at the rink.
But at Notre Dame Recreation Centre, it’s getting harder and harder to fill those positions, executive director Carolyn Cameron said.
“For the second time in two years, I’m training new staff and trying to bring in new rink attendants,” Cameron told Global News on Friday.
Cameron’s facility is losing staff to other jobs and retirement, and few young people are signing up, she said.
“If I don’t have enough operators, I don’t get to always open. I’m going to have to reduce hours, and you start reducing hours, you’re going to start ending up seeing your costs elevate, and then you’re also going to wonder who doesn’t get the ice.”
Similar concerns are playing out at Garden City Community Centre/Seven Oaks Sportsplex, where they’ve already had to reduce public skating programs, executive board member and treasurer Lorrie Rogalka said.
“There’s a risk to losing business, right? And we have still a mortgage to pay on this facility.”
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Rogalka also said rinks are competing for the same arena operators.
For Cameron, this isn’t surprising.
“There’s going to be competition between all of the facilities because everybody needs to staff their own building.”
As the competition heats up, she said, it will only serve as fodder for more and people will go “where it’s better for them.”
An additional problem, Rogalka said, is that the certification process exceeds the demands of the job.
Assistant general manager Margie Reis agrees.
The provincial exam expects test takers to grasp trades, including electrical wiring, pipe fitting, refrigeration and welding, Reis said.
“I think it catches a lot of people off guard and word travels fast, and everybody gets very intimidated.”
The General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres said the pass rate dropped from between 60 and 70 per cent to five per cent in the early 2010s after the province changed the exam.
They’re challenges Cameron and Reis say require revision and support from both the city and province, so Manitobans have a place to play for years to come.
“Do we have to call and say, ‘Hey, your game’s cancelled,’ or ‘your session is cancelled,’ or ‘you know what, there’s no public skating?'” Cameron asked.
In a statement provided to Global News, a spokesperson for sport, culture and heritage minister Obby Khan said they’re committed to looking into this issue further.
“We understand that rinks are often staffed by volunteers, and this may be an unnecessary burden. We know how integral rinks are to our communities, and we want to ensure that they don’t have unnecessary red tape.”
Reis said one solution might be to develop a trade program “at the provincial level where arenas can benefit from helping apprentices learn.”
Cameron offers a similar solution.
“How can we adjust the test and potentially make a two-tiered system so that we can allow new employees to learn as they’re working?”
However, she said to remember safety is paramount.
“I think that there is a path forward,” said Rogalka. “I think the people that make those decisions just have to come to the table.”
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