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Tourism research study kicks off in Sea to Sky

A provincial tourism association is giving Squamish a hand with tourism development. The British Columbia tourism industry's human resources association, go2, kicked off a regional tourism labour market study in the Sea to Sky corridor Dec. 19.

A provincial tourism association is giving Squamish a hand with tourism development.

The British Columbia tourism industry's human resources association, go2, kicked off a regional tourism labour market study in the Sea to Sky corridor Dec. 19.

The research findings will be used to develop a regional tourism human resource plan to support tourism growth to 2015, according to a go2 news release.

The plan will include recommendations on recruitment, retention and training strategies, priorities and timelines to address the labour market gaps and other human resource requirements and issues of the region.

"If there's growth planned and the tourism industry is impacting Squamish, then to make it as healthy as possible you've got to do your HR planning to make sure you've got the right people there to do the work as you develop the product," said go2 director of human resource development, John Leschyson.

Funded through Services Canada - formerly known as HRDC - go2 will submit a final report within a year to address the specific needs of all communities from Britannia Beach to Pemberton.

The report may mirror previous studies that suggest a gap in certain areas of the tourism labour pool.

"For example, studies have shown that there's going to be a lack of cooks and chefs," said Leschyson. "So what does that mean for each region?"

Established by the B.C. tourism industry in April 2003, go2 is an independent, non-profit industry association with a mission to assist B.C.'s tourism operators to attract, recruit, and retain employees in support of industry growth.

The research is the first of several regional studies go2 will be coordinating over the next year.

"We need to have long term, human resource strategies that will support the economic goals of specific regions of our province," said Arlene Keis, go2 CEO. "There is clearly a need to drill down to the local level, with regional labour market research, analysis and planning."

A Sea to Sky Tourism HR Strategy steering committee has been formed to include business leaders, chambers of commerce, tourism operators, representatives from all municipalities, the Squamish and Lil'wat Nations, Capilano College, and the CAW Union.

For more information on go2 and human resource development initiatives for B.C., visit www.go2hr.ca.

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