Landing a job Winnipeg Airports Authority holds its first-ever job fair to address pandemic-related staff shortages By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022

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This article was published 30/08/2022 (801 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just months ago, Anna Harasymko had trekked through Winnipeg Richardson International Airport’s arrivals section, fresh from war-torn Ukraine.

She was back Wednesday, but the airport was different: job-fair booths took over the floor, while employers vied for potential workers.

“We are looking for (a) job and another life,” Harasymko said, her children standing beside her.

It’s just what Air Canada, Calm Air, GardaWorld, The Loop Duty Free and a number of others in the aviation industry want to hear.

The Winnipeg Airports Authority held its first-ever job fair to tackle staff shortages across the sector.

“There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of buzz happening around the aviation sector as we continue to recover,” said Michel Rosset, the Winnipeg Airports Authority’s communications manager.

Airports across the globe have made headlines this summer for long waits and cancelled flights, largely because of a lack of manpower and increased demand.

“As our partners and companies across the industry look to get back and recover, I know they’re all looking to bring their staffing levels back up,” Rosset said. “All of our partners are looking to expand their hours.”

The number of people using airlines has seemingly skyrocketed, according to Carla Foster, sales manager for Lakeview Hotels and Resorts’ airport properties.

Travellers through YWG hit 71 per cent of pre-pandemic numbers last April through June. The more than 775,000 people far exceeded the airport’s visitors in 2021’s second quarter — it was a 569 per cent increase, according to Winnipeg Airports Authority reporting.

“You went from zero to 60,” Foster said. “Restrictions lifted, and I feel like we were almost caught with our pants down… All of a sudden the hotels are full.”

She advertised Lakeview’s open positions at an airport booth Wednesday. She couldn’t count the number of staff the business needed to hire — its resorts in Gimli and Hecla are searching too, for roles in seemingly all departments.

Air Canada, which laid off more than 20,000 people nationally earlier in the pandemic, had a row of QR codes on display linking Manitobans to online job applications.

Keith Penner was one to pull out his phone.

Penner, 50, envisions a career transition: he’s ready to leave hair styling in the movie industry behind for a life as an airline steward.

“I like to do different things because we get one ride,” said Penner, who’s also owned salons.

During the pandemic, he pondered a life shake-up, he said. He’s not worried about another COVID-19 wave shutting down airlines.

“If it comes back again, I’ve created enough skills that I can definitely be employable (elsewhere),” he said.

Mark Daniel, 21, shared Penner’s lack of worry.

The commercial pilot student grinned as he walked away from Perimeter Aviation’s station. Daniel said the job fair could be a launching pad for his career.

“Even though aviation went down (during earlier phases of the pandemic), I’m pretty sure it’ll go… a lot stronger than before,” he said.

Integrated Deicing Services is preparing for a return to pre-pandemic activity levels, said Jarvis Christensen, the aircraft de-icing operations manager.

“We didn’t have very many people last year, just because… air travel was still limited,” Christensen said, adding he’s never worked a job fair booth for the company before.

The Winnipeg Airports Authority lost roughly 25 per cent of its staff over the course of the pandemic. It’s hiring, too — everything from administrative workers to snowplow operators.

The WAA will debrief with its partners post-job fair to understand how the event went, Rosset said. He didn’t rule out hosting similar functions in the future.

“This could be something we do in the future, depending on the need,” he said.

The airport authority is looking ahead to a busy winter. On Wednesday, Swoop announced a number of new direct flights to sun destinations from Winnipeg.

Earlier this month, WestJet publicised its new direct line between Winnipeg and Los Angeles.

“As we see more and more people travelling… the demand for more services are there,” Rosset said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché
Reporter

Gabby is a big fan of people, writing and learning. She graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in the spring of 2020.

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