Job hunting in Belleville is tooth and nail
By Ashliegh Gehl
![LyndsayKerik](http://www.qnetnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/LyndsayKerik-300x212.jpg)
BELLEVILLE, On. (06/01/11) Employment and Career Advisor, Lyndsay Kerik, helps prepare students for entering the work force at Loyalist College's Career Centre. Photo By Ashliegh Gehl.
Canada’s shift towards a creative economy hasn’t been easy on Belleville.
With a 9.1 per cent unemployment rate, Belleville’s rate is higher than the 7.6-per-cent national average.
Peter Scott, an employment specialist at Belleville’s Northern Lights Canada employment services, understands the ins and outs of the unemployment dilemma crippling Belleville’s economy.
“I think what you’re seeing is, we’ve been faced with a global recession, our debt crisis of 2008,” said Scott. “I think that’s had a direct impact, particularly on manufacturing. Higher fuel cost is another macro issue. That has huge impacts on all segments of employment. It has a direct impact on manufacturing.”
Global recession, higher fuel costs and a higher Canadian dollar are elements affecting Canadians from coast to coast. It’s the local issues that make Belleville’s unemployment rate unique, but concerning.
“We have a higher median age of workers,” says Scott. “In the Quinte region, the average median age of the worker in Ontario is 39. In Lennox and Addington, it’s 40.8. In Hastings County it’s 42.3 and in Prince Edward County it’s 47.7.”
Having an older workforce has a direct impact on manufacturing and labour intensive types of employment.
“Employers, when they’re thinking of setting up shop somewhere, they take into consideration what the median age of the worker is in that particular labour market. It helps them future forecast what kind of a labour force they can count on down the road.”
An aging workforce also means less youth staying in the Quinte region.
“The population growth in this region is way behind the province,” said Scott. “We have a 2.9 versus a 6.6 growth in the province.”
It’s a statistic reflective of the number of people migrating out of the area. When people in the 18 to 24 age group leave, they take skill, education and creativity with them.
Lower self-employment income in the area is also detrimental to Belleville’s unemployment rate.
“Most average small businesses in the Quinte region are only making 60.9 per cent of the provincial average of the small business owner.”
For every 10 dollars an average small business in Ontario makes, a Quinte business makes six. Small businesses are typically the driving force for a local economy.
Since the Quinte region faces a higher than average unemployment rate, it signifies a decrease in the amount people are willing to spend.
“If the businesses here aren’t doing quite as well as small business elsewhere, that makes sense that they probably don’t hire as frequently, or hire as many employees.”
With a higher unemployment rate also brings about change in job searching. A resume and cover letter is no longer acceptable.
Elizabeth Nicholas, employment and education coordinator for Trenton Military Family Resource Centre, has to get creative when helping when military spouses find work on and off the base.
“A lot of my job has changed. I’ve been here for over five years and my job, when I first started out, was just the career coaching, employment coaching, networking, finding information for people,” said Nicholas. “Doing their resume and cover letter. And just getting them prepared for job search. So we’ve gotten into portfolio development.”
With fewer jobs and more people unemployed, the competition is fierce.
“There are so many more job seekers. The supply outweighs the demand. People are going to have a harder time.”
Lyndsay Kerik, employment and career advisor at Loyalist College’s career centre, says the shift from CV to portfolio gives employers a better idea of the person they’re hiring.
“A portfolio is a skill in itself,” said Kerik.
Portfolios provide a visual representation of the job seekers skill base. A high unemployment rate means tougher competition, inevitably forcing job seekers to take their resume up a notch, demonstrating capabilities in a portfolio.
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