Companies looking to fill job vacancies are scouting for workers about to be affected by Canfor’s closing of its Houston sawmill, its sawmill and pellet plant in Chetwynd and a pulp line in Prince George.
Tolko Industries, a B.C. forestry company with operations extending into Alberta, Saskatchewan and into the southern United States, has held job fairs in all three communities over the past two weeks.
Tolko communications official Chris Downey said the company spoke to Canfor after hearing of the closures.
“They are supportive of us reaching out,” he said. “I think this is one way they are looking to support their workers.”
Downey said Tolko regularly holds job fairs where it has operations but that travelling to communities where workers are about to be affected is a bit different.
“We’re always looking for good people,” he said. “The nature of our operations is that we are in smaller communities and that can be a challenge.”
And Tolko, as with many other companies, is not immune to the difficulties of finding workers with the skills and experience it needs, Downey added.
That’s in line with first statements from Canfor that it was looking for ways to ease the impacts of the closures on its workers.
While Canfor is closing its Chetwynd operations and its Prince George pulp line for good, the closure of its Houston sawmill as of April is a little more uncertain. The company says it wants to build a new mill in Houston but won’t be making a decision on that until June.
Tolko has also been speaking with the United Steelworkers which represents the unionized workers at Canfor’s sawmills and pulp workers represented by the Pulp and Private Workers of Canada.
“I also think it’s important to have good relationships with the unions that represent these workers,” said Downey.
Kamloops-based Lots Group Canada, a transport company servicing a variety of industries, has also been looking at Houston, Chetwynd and Prince George for skilled people, says Greg Munden, its managing director for Canada.
Because Kamloops is a major centre in its own right and because it is on the pathway of the Trans Mountain Pipeline being built from Alberta to the coast, demand for skilled people is particularly high, he said.
“It’s not that we have existing vacancies, it is that we are expanding, not just in Kamloops but also on Vancouver Island,” Munden said of the Lots Group’s own human resources needs.
The company has also been offering signing bonuses and relocation packages.
“What we try to do is think out of the box, to be innovative,” said Munden in acknowledging that a decision to move to another community is life-changing for workers and their families.
Canfor official Michelle Ward said its contacts with other companies is just one function underway to support its workers.
“At the mill we’ve set up a transition office that’s staffed by hourly and salaried employees. In the transition office we’re providing information about available jobs in Canfor and also sharing job postings from other companies,” she said.
“We also support employees with resume writing and job applications.”