Kelowna is Canada's worst city to find a job

[phasyluck]

Pretty sad when Kelowna beats out Alberta for a place to seek employment haha. I actually have an older friend who will be doing just that but he has a job lined up already.

[The-Real-Deal]

Isn't it ironic that Premier "Shifty" Clark once came to Kelowna (officially, Canada's second worst place to find a job), to find a job herself, even though she initially tried to find a "job" in Vancouver Point Grey (among the best places to find work) and got TURNED DOWN by the people ! LOL

So, what is Shifty Clark actually doing to help improve the employment rates here in the Central Okanagan.

It must be an embarassment (to the B.C. Liberal govt) that the second worst place to find work in Canada is in HER RIDING !

I guess that all those government photo ops/handouts that Ms. Clark does on Castanet (LOL) to help develop local small business is mostly bullsh*t and is doing didley squat to help people find real work.

Guess who does VERY well, here in the darkest side of the Okanagan ? Chartered banks, who make billions each year in fees, but who also pay their front line tellers "peanuts" !

How do I know ?

My mother was once a bank teller for 14 years and my sister was a teller for 8 years. These are minimum wage jobs. They were minimum wage jobs back in the 1960's and 50 years later. they are still minimum wage jobs !

Next to politicians and real estate agents, the banks are the most greedy of businesses, by far !

Oh, I forgot. Drug dealers are never unemployed and do remarkably well, especially the ones who have pitbulls barking all day and night.

[jswiftkelowna]

809 posted job opportunities, not including volunteer opportunities to gain experience and get keyed into local organizations, on Castanet alone.

Speaking of the tech sector, there are 55 positions posted currently on the Accelerate Okanagan job board.

Business license numbers are up across the region, and development investment is up across the board. This is in an area that is traditionally known for being a hub for small business and entrepreneurship.

It's an appealing, competitive place, but you can't say there aren't opportunities. It's the same old story to say they're all in service sector, low-paying jobs. There are increasing opportunities in tech, professional services, and skilled labour within Kelowna. It's not all doom and gloom.

[The-Real-Deal]

809 posted job opportunities, not including volunteer opportunities to gain experience and get keyed into local organizations, on Castanet alone.

Speaking of the tech sector, there are 55 positions posted currently on the Accelerate Okanagan job board.

Business license numbers are up across the region, and development investment is up across the board. This is in an area that is traditionally known for being a hub for small business and entrepreneurship.

It's an appealing, competitive place, but you can't say there aren't opportunities. It's the same old story to say they're all in service sector, low-paying jobs. There are increasing opportunities in tech, professional services, and skilled labour within Kelowna. It's not all doom and gloom.

Agreed, not all gloom and doom. However, for many of our Okanagan young people, just fresh out of high school, it's a grim reality. I have a daughter who graduated with honours, last year, and she cannot find work. Every year, we lose many high school grads to the lower mainland. Meanwhile, retired people come up here (to retire ?) I would surmise that in 20 years, the only people serving hamburgers and pizza will be either old codgers or robots ?

All the young people in the Okanagan will likely be living in the lower mainland by then. or white women wont be giving birth at all ? Good luck finding people to serve your burgers, fries, make bank deposits, fix your car, etc.

Better find yourselves a robot on sale at Canadian Tire, since there will be no more young people for employers to exploit ?

[jamapple]

809 posted job opportunities, not including volunteer opportunities to gain experience and get keyed into local organizations, on Castanet alone.

Speaking of the tech sector, there are 55 positions posted currently on the Accelerate Okanagan job board.

Business license numbers are up across the region, and development investment is up across the board. This is in an area that is traditionally known for being a hub for small business and entrepreneurship.

It's an appealing, competitive place, but you can't say there aren't opportunities. It's the same old story to say they're all in service sector, low-paying jobs. There are increasing opportunities in tech, professional services, and skilled labour within Kelowna. It's not all doom and gloom.

Of the 809 jobs, how many were more then min. wage? Thought so.
And increasing opportunities in professional services, and skilled labour? How is that? Professional services being what? Doctors? OK, we opened an expansion at the hospital. That would account for some. And skilled labour? When has Kelowna opened anything remotely requiring skilled labourers? Oh ya, Western Star!
Sorry, opportunities for skilled labour doesn't fly.

[Tannah]

Can't say I'm shocked. With a decent chunk of the better paying jobs leaving the valley, and all the layoffs in 2015. Coupled with all the people coming back from Alberta after loosing their jobs in the old sands, or oil sands related jobs.
Then you have great deal of the entry level and mid level employers refusing to offer a living wage to employees.
Then the Canadian dollar being so low, this seems to always have a impact on the long term stable jobs in the Okanagan.
It's not just one thing its a whole bunch that are causing this.

[Static]

Here is an odd idea; support mom and pop business where profits stay local. Walk past the Starbucks where profits leave the country and hit up the local owners and non chain brands. Weir concept!

[Dizzy1]

Here is an odd idea; support mom and pop business where profits stay local. Walk past the Starbucks where profits leave the country and hit up the local owners and non chain brands. Weir concept!

So support a business that hires 2 employees at minimum wage vs a business that hires 8 employees at minimum wage?

Keeping profits local is irrelevant to the topic.

[LANDM]

Wow, what a negative thread to wake up to.
Are all of you unemployed or at minimum wage jobs? From your posts, that must be the case because nothing else, apparently, exists in the area,
The reality is that we are an area that has little large industry. So what? You adapt to what is here, not what you *wish* was here or what is in other areas. If you choose to live here, and it IS a choice, you either adapt to what is needed or you whine about McJobs because that is all you are capable of.

The negativity and wrong information in some threads is staggering.

[Static]

So support a business that hires 2 employees at minimum wage vs a business that hires 8 employees at minimum wage?

Keeping profits local is irrelevant to the topic.

If business at a local cafe increased to that of a Starbucks, they too would hire more employees to operate their coffee shop. At the end of the day, only locals are to blame for the local economy. And, your comment on keeping profits local is very relevant t the topic. I believe you need to educate yourself in economics a little more because there is no ifs and or buts about it; local money that stays local builds a healthier economy and community.

[Dizzy1]

If business at a local cafe increased to that of a Starbucks, they too would hire more employees to operate their coffee shop. At the end of the day, only locals are to blame for the local economy. And, your comment on keeping profits local is very relevant t the topic. I believe you need to educate yourself in economics a little more because there is no ifs and or buts about it; local money that stays local builds a healthier economy and community.

Ok - supporting a local business that pays their employees minimum wage creates more jobs than a franchise paying minimum wage how?

[LoneWolf_53]

Isn't it ironic that Premier "Shifty" Clark once came to Kelowna (officially, Canada's second worst place to find a job), to find a job herself, even though she initially tried to find a "job" in Vancouver Point Grey (among the best places to find work) and got TURNED DOWN by the people ! LOL

So, what is Shifty Clark actually doing to help improve the employment rates here in the Central Okanagan.

It must be an embarassment (to the B.C. Liberal govt) that the second worst place to find work in Canada is in HER RIDING !

I guess that all those government photo ops/handouts that Ms. Clark does on Castanet (LOL) to help develop local small business is mostly bullsh*t and is doing didley squat to help people find real work.

Guess who does VERY well, here in the darkest side of the Okanagan ? Chartered banks, who make billions each year in fees, but who also pay their front line tellers "peanuts" !

How do I know ?

My mother was once a bank teller for 14 years and my sister was a teller for 8 years. These are minimum wage jobs. They were minimum wage jobs back in the 1960's and 50 years later. they are still minimum wage jobs !

Next to politicians and real estate agents, the banks are the most greedy of businesses, by far !

Oh, I forgot. Drug dealers are never unemployed and do remarkably well, especially the ones who have pitbulls barking all day and night.

Gotta love how some types like to spout the same stagnant rhetoric all the time, and when it comes to reading a story, opt to completely ignore the positive parts, and cling to their beloved "glass is half empty" syndrome.

One of the biggest gripes I repeatedly read is that of our precious young people having to go elsewhere to look for work.

FYI Kelowna is hardly the only place on the planet where as young people graduate and mature, they are forced to explore other areas for employment. With the exception of those who live in large urban areas such as Vancouver, Toronto, and such, it's pretty much viewed as natural progression.

Our population is barely over 100,000 so how many people do you expect that to support, particularly when practically a third of them are seniors/snowbirds?

The following part of the story so craftily ignored paints a far more optimistic picture............

He says that both B.C. and Ontario have seen their jobless rates rise in the past year despite firmer job growth, which he says is due to the fact more people are entering the work force.

He says economists have witnessed a stark turnaround in migration flows between B.C. and Alberta in response to better relative job prospects.

“In other words, don’t let the sticky jobless rates fool you—these are the two strongest markets in Canada, and it’s not really even close,” says Kavcic.

[atenbacon]

Wow, what a negative thread to wake up to.
Are all of you unemployed or at minimum wage jobs? From your posts, that must be the case because nothing else, apparently, exists in the area,
The reality is that we are an area that has little large industry. So what? You adapt to what is here, not what you *wish* was here or what is in other areas. If you choose to live here, and it IS a choice, you either adapt to what is needed or you whine about McJobs because that is all you are capable of.

The negativity and wrong information in some threads is staggering.

I usually avoid or ignore these threads because they are quite frankly filled with exactly what you describe above. It's silly and shows the lack of understanding many have of what industry Kelowna has.

But what you said in the above describes this thread quite well so I will quote it for what it is... wise. Well done LandM.

[Nom_de_Plume]

As far as I can tell, it's just gone back to the status quo, when I graduated, no one in my class expected to be able to stay here and find a good job, we all had to go elsewhere, a few of us were able to come back after a few years but usually at a reduction in wages we were experiencing in other provinces.
Kelowna has historically paid less for the same job... they call it sunshine tax. It's BS but whatever.

[Static]

Ok - supporting a local business that pays their employees minimum wage creates more jobs than a franchise paying minimum wage how?

Yes, because the profit will stay closer to home rather than being shipped off to Seattle (using the Starbucks example).