(Vancouver) go2HR is proud to announce the completion of the BC Tourism & Hospitality Labour Market Information (LMI) research project. The project launched in January 2021 with the purpose of developing up-to-date and relevant LMI to provide the industry with the data needed to ensure a thriving workforce during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
BC’s Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training’s Sector Labour Market Partnerships (SLMP) program provided funding for the project through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement.
The LMI project created highly anticipated new analytical resources for labour recovery planning for the industry. The BC Tourism & Hospitality Employment Tracker tracks monthly employment metrics in the industry, by region and by worker demographics. The project also created 11 Workforce Profiles, providing in-depth information on key employment and demographics of the workforce offered from a provincial, sector and regional perspective. The LMI Research Project Final Report details labour demand projections, recovery scenarios, and a summary of worker and employer sentiments about the industry, as well as recommendations to plot the path forward on labour recovery.
These research findings will help inform labour strategies to support labour recovery. The tourism and hospitality workforce makes up 12% of BC employment. The sector, which is the largest employer of youth in BC and home to many diverse peoples, was shocked by the onset of the pandemic and subsequent starts and stops, shrinking employment from 350,000 in 2019 to 298,000 at the end of 2021. The industry is fully aware of the challenge to build back a thriving workforce and has recently come together to develop a comprehensive labour recovery framework (LRF link) that identifies targeted, prioritized solutions to advance tourism and hospitality recovery.
Krista Bax, CEO go2HR, is grateful for the generous and timely support from the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training, ongoing partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport, and the strong industry support and engagement from 18 industry organizations and hundreds of employers and workers who shared their perspectives. Data-driven decision-making is critical to get the most out of our labour recovery efforts. With new LMI, as an industry, we are aligned and informed on the workforce, the impacts from COVID-19 and how to best move forward. “These research findings will be immediately integrated into our labour recovery `efforts, “she noted.
Industry leaders were excited by the project’s completion, noting that this critical piece of research has largely been absent prior to the pandemic.
Indigenous Tourism is an essential part of the tourism and hospitality sector in BC. We partnered and participated with go2HR on both this project as well as our own labour market research. Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on our labour force leads to better understanding broadly and helps to forge the path to recovery more effectively. We know that the tourism sector is a great place to advance economic and cultural reconciliation and look forward to using this research to guide those efforts,” said Brenda Baptiste, Chair of Indigenous Tourism of BC.
“Accurate labour market data is a critical component to rebuilding British Columbia's visitor economy. Our industry was the first and hardest hit by the pandemic and will be one of the last to recover. The Tourism Industry Association of BC congratulates go2HR for their work on this important file which will help inform and shape the tourism workforce in the years ahead,” said Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of BC.
“The BC Hotel Association has been an active participant in the BC Tourism & Hospitality LMI Research project as a member of the Governance committee,” said Ingrid Jarrett, CEO BC Hotel Association. “We’ve been keenly supportive of this work from the start. go2HR has led this project with a commitment to excellence on behalf of industry. Accurate, real-time and sector specific data is not only the smart way for us to plot our way back to economic health, it is the only way forward after the staggering devastation on our industry,” she noted.
“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities and workers has been devastating, and the future is so uncertain. It is encouraging to see various components of the tourism and hospitality industry band together to conduct this important labour market research. Having this information and accompanying analysis will be helpful for the communities and businesses who are struggling and are trying to plan for the future and for future hiring,” stated Anthony Everett, chair of the BC Tourism Resiliency Network and CEO of Tourism Vancouver Island.
About go2HR:
go2HR is BC’s tourism and hospitality human resource and health & safety association. We empower employers to have a strong human resource and health & safety culture that supports strong business performance. Our programs offer tools, information, and consulting services to elevate employers’ human resources and health & safety practices. We offer education and training for current and future workforces. We work as a resource to inform government, stakeholders, and communities on labour market conditions and strategies in relations to the tourism and hospitality sectors in BC.
Media Contact: Judy Frankel
Manager, Communications go2HR
jfrankel@go2hr.ca
604-787-8955
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