Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many

BY STEVEN KASZAB

Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people, let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained, but are not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.

I have had potential candidates come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. Two out of ten we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Housing starts are doing well, but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from an ivy league university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three-month period was required and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.

Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited, or unwilling to conduct the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with fall and winter upon us these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada, but it is truly difficult finding someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire?

Several years ago, my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing, we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.

Restaurateurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, warehousing are all suspected in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000.

Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck chuck!. At least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.