Set your sights on PEI’s tourism sector
Tourism on Prince Edward Island – Company hiring practices
- Coastal Culture and Cool as a Moose, Various locations across PEI
- Inspired Living, North River Causeway and Cavendish Boardwalk
- Northumberland Ferries, Wood Islands
- Red Shores, Charlottetown
- Roberts Group of Companies, Kinkora, Alberton, Clinton, Kensington, New Annan
- Target Tours, Stratford
- The Gables of PEI Resort and Residential Community, Stanley Bridge
- The Holman Grand, Charlottetown
- TOURSEC & APPS Integrated Security Solutions, Charlottetown
Typically, the industry provides 15,000 to 17,000 full-time, part-time, seasonal, and year-round jobs, which is equivalent to 7,700 full-time year-round jobs. On average, over 1.55 million visitors travel to PEI each year.
Categories of work include:
Accommodations: Housekeeping, front desk, general managers, and supervisors.
Food & Beverage Services: Servers, bartenders, line cooks, chefs, kitchen staff, front end workers, supervisors and managers
Travel Services: Visitor information counsellors and tour guides
Transportation: Ferry boat captains, airport, taxi drivers, and motor coach drivers
Recreation & Entertainment: Golf courses, bike rentals, outdoor adventures, and cultural events.
According to Tourism HR Canada, the Food and Beverage Services industry is the largest employer among tourism businesses, accounting for over 50 percent of tourism jobs.
Produced as a result of COVID-19, a report called Summary of Tourism Recovery Measures to Support Canada’s Visitor Economy dated May 20, 2020 reads as follows:
The tourism economy is now facing unprecedented hardship as a result of COVID-19. Despite the fact that some businesses benefited from government supports already in place with many still not qualifying, recent research conducted by McKinsey & Company in collaboration with Destination Canada concludes that without further government investments, 61,000 tourism businesses (57% of total) are projected to fail, and 1.66 million tourism sector employees could be laid off (~83% of total) greatly affecting, women; youth, visible minorities; new Canadians and Indigenous owned businesses and workforces.
Pre-COVID-19, tourism was Canada’s 5th-largest sector, responsible for 10% of Canadian jobs and 2% of GDP. Based on McKinsey’s Sustaining Canada’s tourism sector through COVID-19 report findings, Canada’s visitor economy is unlikely to quickly “bounce back” once the pandemic has ended. This crisis has struck on the cusp of the busy summer season (June-August) that is responsible for 36% of the tourism sector’s annual revenues and the lion’s share of most tourism businesses’ profits.
Should progression of this pandemic and consequent emergency orders continue past the July 1 holiday, it is unlikely that tourism businesses will be able to profitably restart before the end of the summer season. Therefore, businesses that survive beyond May will likely struggle to remain viable over the next 12 to 14 months or until the 2021 summer season begins.
The industry has been supportive of measures taken to mitigate the impact of this pandemic and protect the health and safety of Canadians. We also agree that the first step to recovery will be to allow local and regional travel with appropriate safety measures in place. That said, with economic conditions continuing to decline and the importance of the international travel market in stimulating growth, it is imperative to ensure that when tourism businesses gradually re-open and travel restarts, a balanced approach and careful consideration to border openings is in place to accelerate the overall economic recovery of the country.
The importance of the travel economy to Canada’s job market also cannot be over-stated since tourism provides one of the most diversified workforces and is a major source of employment for youth as well as several under-represented groups. The loss of youth jobs in particular could have long-term implications in the ability of this key cohort to find employment on a longer-term basis.
New hotel at the tourism job fair in Charlottetown looking to hire 40 staff
More employers at the tourism job fair in Charlottetown looking for staff
Program encourages mature workers to join tourism industry
Green Isle Air Heli Tours, Charlottetown
Prosper West program helps address seasonal employment needs
Think Big conference shares good economic news for PEI
Program removes barriers while addressing labour shortages
Tourism PEI Strategic Plan for Tourism 2016-2021: Vision 2021
In November 2016, the final presentation of the report Tourism PEI Strategic Plan for Tourism 2016-2021 was presented to stakeholders. Read the report here.
Among the many findings in the report, one conclusion is that labour force supply is one of the most pressing issues which needs to be addressed.
One goal the report identifies is to “ensure a committed, skilled and professional industry leadership and workforce to professionally supply peak requirements and support shoulder season expansion.”
Other Human Resource Priorities:
- Set up informal mentoring support for new operators
- Provide continuous training in digital marketing to the SME sector
- Introduce a tax break or fiscal incentive to over 55s who work as tourism/hospitality sector employees
- Modify the rules of the International Experience Canada (IEC) program
- Promote succession planning in rural areas via a tax code or other adjustment
Top 10 things tourism employees say they like about their jobs
- Flexibility
- Dealing with people
- Working with other tourism employees
- The opportunities
- Advancement potential
- Developing skills in demand globally
- Easy to get started
- Training opportunities
- Extra income from tips
- Creativity
Source – www.discovertourism.ca
Best way for job seekers to approach tourism employers
Interested in opportunities in Tourism on PEI?
Tourism employers generally start the hiring process in March and April. However, there are year-round positions within the tourism sector.
Ways to get connected with employers in tourism:
- Check tourism employment opportunities posted at www.choosetourism.ca.
- TIAPEI will host a Tourism Job Fair in Charlottetown in March, and in Cavendish in April. A Job Fair specifically for cooks and line cooks is to be held in Charlottetown in March.
- TIAPEI hosts a number of Tourism Passport to Employment Programs for mature workers and the next will take place in Montague in February.
- TIAPEI will host a Ready to Work Program for youth with a focus on cooking and related jobs in February.
For more information about jobs, training options on PEI, and more, call 902-566-5008. Visit Tourism Industry Association of PEI www.tiapei.pe.ca.
Tourism job titles and details about the profession: VIDEOS
See for yourself what it is like to work in the tourism industry on PEI!
Careers in Tourism – Front Desk Agent
Meet Josh. A Front Desk Agent working in Charlottetown, PEI. Let Josh show you what a day in a life of a Front Desk Agent looks like!
Careers in Tourism – Line Cook
Meet Andrew. A young man working in PEI as a Line Cook. Hear his real life stories of cooking in the industry and why he loves his job!
Careers in Tourism – Visitor Information Counsellor
Meet Robin. A Visitor Information Counsellor who provides information to visitors and absolutely loves helping people plan their dream PEI vacations.
Careers in Tourism – Housekeeping Room Attendant
Meet Rose. A young lady working in Charlottetown, PEI as a Housekeeping Room Attendant. Hear about her housekeeping stories and why she loves her fast paced job!
Careers in Tourism – Food & Beverage Server
Meet Sarah, a food and beverage server on PEI. Hear what she has to say about working in tourism, including perks, responsibilities and why she continues to stay in the industry.
New Master's program in tourism now offered at UPEI
Master of Arts – Island Studies, with a specialization in Island Tourism is a new two-year program which starts in August, 2018. It offers a graduate degree in the expanding field of tourism, applied specifically to islands throughout the world. Using primarily online courses, the program includes two work-studies with tourism organizations.
“Island tourism is one of the fastest growing global sectors,” says Jim Randall, coordinator of the Master of Arts in Island Studies at UPEI. “This new online program gives graduates a high-quality post-graduate credential targeted to students’ specific career needs.”
Employment opportunities for graduates
- Travel agency and tour operating companies
- Heritage sector
- Official tourist organizations
- Branding and marketing companies
- Local or national government
- Other local or national government or regional and international organizations where knowledge of the tourism sector is important
Scholarships and bursaries are available. For more information, contact Jim Randall, Program Coordinator, at [email protected] or 902-620-5013.
Visit www.upei.ca/programsandcourses/island-studies.
April 2018 Issue
Page 5
by Heidi Riley
For more information about jobs on PEI, training options, and more, visit:
Tourism Industry Association of PEI: www.tiapei.ca
Choose Tourism: www.choosetourism.ca
Work PEI: www.workpei.ca
Training and certification programs for most tourism jobs: www.emerit.ca
More information about training, jobs, and videos: www.discovertourism.ca
 | Click to watch videos of the many programs Holland College offers at the Tourism and Culinary Centre |
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