An Alberta hot tub company losing employees to the oilpatch despite offering perks was among the businesses at a provincial symposium looking for solutions to the province's labour shortage.

Blue Falls Manufacturing was in Edmonton Tuesday looking for new strategies to hire and hang on to workers.

Now Hiring signs are a common sight in Edmonton and Calgary. The Alberta government hopes to bring 86,000 extra people into the workforce over the next 10 years.
(CBC News)

Despite education incentives like scholarships for employees' children, the Thorsby, Alta., company of 300 is still losing staff, mostly to oilfield jobs.

"They can certainly command a much higher wage than we can pay and [remain] competitive in the manufacturing climate," said co-owner James Keirstead.

"We've had no choice but to look at other methods of efficiency — automating our production line."
 
Concerned the problem will only grow, the Alberta government released a strategy in July aimed at bringing 86,000 extra people into the workforce over the next 10 years. At the time, provincial officials announced Tuesday's symposium, which included business, labour and education representatives.

Denis Herard, minister of advanced education, said Tuesday one of his key messages is for students to stay in school and resist jobs in the oilpatch.

"They see the jobs and they leave," he said. "Unfortunately, we've even heard of smaller companies that have had to shut down because they can't get help. All of that is certainly a negative on the economy."

A highly skilled workforce is going to be crucial for Alberta in the next 10 years, he said.

Opportunities grow for the disabled

Meanwhile, companies at the symposium said they are turning to people with disabilities to solve their staffing problems.

Casey McCarthy, 23 and autistic, is a month into her first job at a coffee bar in a downtown Edmonton grocery store. She's convinced she's getting the chance because of the shortage of workers.

"I think it's actually given us an advantage because of how many employers are out there who are desperate for people."

Businesses are making an effort to hire more people with disabilities, said Kevin Evans, spokesman for the Retail Council of Canada.

"They need people, it's impacting on their businesses and it's impacting on Alberta's prosperity, so we need to ensure that every person who has potential to be in the workforce has the opportunity to do so."