I’m seeing much chatter about jobs and unemployment in the last few days. I hav’nt contributed to the discussion in a while so time to put my 5 cents in.
I can mostly speak about me and my wife and the challenges we face. I realize our situation is not typical but it is not unique either. The other comments and observations are from others I have talked to or read about.
The issue of people trying to find work and employers trying to find people is not new, but the dynamics have changed. In the past, one person could work full time and make enough to buy a house, feed their family and live fairly comfortably. The job came with health and dental benefits so the family could remain healthy.
Things have changed thanks to lack of wage growth in relation to other expenses. As well there are fewer jobs and many of the ones that are now available are contract positions with low wages and no benefits.
Many Ontario communities have calculated a living wage figure. In London, it is $15.53 per hour. There are some assumptions built in. This is based on a couple both working full time with two younger children. So the actual family figure is $31.06 per hour. (Roughly $60,000 per year)
In our situation, my wife has several complex medical conditions including lupus and fibromyalgia This means she cannot hold down a full-time job and most part-time jobs are out of the question. This means I am the sole earner in the house. She cannot get any form of federal CPP etc as she only worked full time less than two years before she became sick. Because she is married to myself she cannot qualify for ODSP as I earn too much….
So what this means even though we don’t have children and those expenses that are calculated in the formula, we still have higher than normal medical expenses. I have to be working somewhere that pays me between the $15.53 for one via the $31.06 for two. If we cut the difference right in half it would be roughly $24 per hour. I haven’t even discussed benefits yet…
My experience so far with these jobs fairs are many employment agencies which are working for companies to provide contracts positions, typically with no benefits. There are also other companies there usually looking for entry-level positions. There may be some other places that are looking for some higher skilled positions but in my experience, both they and the agencies are typically offering lower wages for the skills they are looking for.
Other random job hunting notes / rants / comments.
As well I have directly experienced ageism. The belief that because I’m an older worker I’m not willing to learn or I will want more money. in my case, yes I can’t afford to keep a roof over my families head for the lower wages they are offering. but there are many older workers that if their partner works could go into the jobs. That’s why I don’t tend to apply for those lower wage positions. I have talked to many of these companies at these job fairs (most of the names you would know) and either been told ‘We have nothing for your skill set’ or seen my resume put in the trash when I leave.
“We are moving forward with a more suitable candidate’ is something I have heard several times since 2011” Quite often the following week I will see the same position open again.
This tells me several things.
They have not found a suitable candidate – I find this very hard to believe with the skill set of applicants in this area.
They are not offering enough money for the skill sets they want – I could write a whole separate post on employers who want a laundry list of skills but not willing to pay the market value for them.
They want a candidate to literally be fully trained up on the first day. This is not practical and many companies IMHO are missing out on excellent candidates because they may have to spend some time training them. Almost all workers are willing to learn you just have to give us a chance.
I would love to see at many of the job fairs for companies/agencies to state if the wages being offered for these positions due meet the criteria for a living wage. As well I’d love to see enforceable legislation that employers cannot continue to keep people on a contract for years. If you value the work the employee does then treat them properly. Companies seem to forget that having to retrain someone when they leave for a better job is far more expensive.
So in the end, if a company at this upcoming Job Fair is looking for an experienced skilled employee willing to learn and can offer full time with benefits for $24 per hour and up then let me know. Is anyone willing to bet if I’ll find one? I hope to be proved wrong….