Now that Vancouver has the 2010 Olympics where do we go from here ?
Who will keep an independent eye on the activities of the organising committees, sponsors, environment, contracted workers and many other aspects of the games ?
2010 Games to bring job boom: report Olympics, related projects to create 131,799 new jobs, 14.4 per cent more than without the Games
Gillian Shaw
Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
There are boom times ahead for B.C. job seekers.
The 2010 Winter Olympic Games and related projects will create 131,799 new jobs by 2015.
A new report from the Games human resources planning committee says this represents a 14.4-per-cent jump in the number of job openings B.C. could have expected without the Olympics.
The total number of job openings in the province between now and 2015 are projected to be about one million, with roughly half of those being new positions and the rest vacancies created by retiring baby boomers.
An estimated four out of every 10 new jobs created by the Games will occur outside the Lower Mainland and Whistler.
These employment figures, based on a technical report prepared for the planning committee by Roslyn Kunin & Associates, include the impact of the Games, the Sea-to-Sky Highway upgrade, the Vancouver convention and exhibition centre expansion and the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit line.
"The Games and those three other projects combined add a significant number of employment opportunities beyond the base growth we expected," committee chair Kerry Jothen said. "It's exciting and it's positive."
Jothen said the report, which estimates the Games and the other projects will contribute 12.5 per cent of B.C.'s total employment growth, delivers a good news/bad news story for B.C. employers.
"On the supply side, there are increased opportunities for people on top of the opportunities that already exist," he said. "On the negative side, it will increase pressure on certain industries and areas that will have to be pro-active in finding the people they need."
While the impact of the Olympics on B.C.'s job picture has long been projected at 76,813 person years of employment, Kunin's report is the first indication of just where those jobs will be.
Industries with the largest number of anticipated openings include: accommodation, food and recreation services, retail trade, health service and construction. Occupations that will be most in demand are sales and service, management, trades, transport and equipment operation, and clerical.
The report looks at the province's projected base job growth without the Olympics and the other capital projects and estimates the impact the projects will have on jobs. Without the Games and other projects, there would have been 913,000 jobs between now and 2015, with 354,990 new jobs and the rest attributable to attrition.
Kunin said her findings indicate there is a clear need for B.C. to prepare to meet the challenge of the added job growth.
"The Olympic Games and the other projects are going to have a very large positive impact on economic activity in this province over the next 10 to 15 years," she said. "If we want to benefit from them, we should prepare now to get this information out so that young people and other workers are in a position to take advantage of these opportunities."
While the jobs will be open to all Canadians, Kunin said, "it would be nice if the people of B.C. and B.C. companies were in a position to get a significant portion of this work."
In addition to the shortage of people skilled in trades, Kunin said there will be significant demand for managers and supervisors.
"Construction activities will be very important in the demand for labour. Retail trade, accommodation and food services are going to be very important, but in both these categories the demand will be more for managerial talent than entry level workers," said Kunin, adding transportation is another high-demand area.
"Our challenge between now and the Games, or when there is a significant start to the project, is not only to make sure we have enough skilled workers, but also that they are in a position to be upgraded to a managerial and supervisory level.
"All the people who are reluctant to go into trades because they don't want to be working at a trade all their lives should know there is definitely a career path. These are not just jobs -- there are also career opportunities."
