Despite Jasper鈥檚 small town charm, beautiful surroundings and amazing amenities, it can be exceptionally challenging to find qualified people to relocate to our community.
This summer we saw a shortage of seasonal workers to staff our restaurants, hotels and shops. And we also saw a challenge finding the right person for a top job within the municipality: operations director.
The position, which is being created as a result of a recommendation in the Services and Structural Review, was posted during the summer. In early August, the municipality was shortlisting candidates and by the end of August, five of the 20 applicants were interviewed for the job.
The candidates were qualified and job offers were made, but shortly after, the position was again posted, with a closing date of Sept. 23.
This chain of events might raise some eyebrows and questions about the municipality鈥檚 hiring process, but, the truth is, it comes down to Jasper being a challenging town to hire for.
For someone who is already established in a career and is used to owning a home and living comfortably, Jasper is a difficult transition. Not only are wages lower here than in many other communities, the cost of living doesn鈥檛 match up.
So it鈥檚 not surprising that qualified people aren鈥檛 jumping at the chance to pack up their life to move to a community where the cost of a mobile home is $350,000 or a single-family detached home is $1 million.
Adding to the difficulty is that everyone thinks they want to live in Jasper. They think of a quaint small town in the middle of a national park and it sounds like the ideal life.
So it鈥檚 not until folks are offered a job and start looking for a home and considering the drawbacks of living in a national park that they realize it鈥檚 not all peaches and cream.
Of course, for many of us living in Jasper, the positives outweigh the negatives. We love the lifestyle our town affords and we choose a lower income in order to live that lifestyle. Many people even accept that they鈥檒l never, as long as they live in Jasper, own a home or afford more than one child.
There are sacrifices to be made to live in a place like this.
What鈥檚 sad is that those sacrifices, although easy for some, are impossible for others, so Jasper鈥檚 businesses鈥攁lthough great places to work鈥攕truggle to find the right staff.
A second round of interviews was done for the operations director position last week and Peter Waterworth reported to council on Tuesday that they were 鈥渆ncouraging.鈥�
We hope that someone out there, with the skills and experience necessary to lead the municipality鈥檚 operations, is willing to sacrifice a few dollars and a few rooms in their home to join us in our community and in embracing the lifestyle that makes those sacrifices worth making.
