EDITOR,
I'm writing to provide clarification on Whistler Blackcomb's recruiting policies in response to a letter published in the Squamish Chief, entitled: "Job-related Issues, questions" (Letters, June 17).
Whistler Blackcomb is the largest employer of Sea to Sky residents in the Sea to Sky Corridor. More than 66 per cent of our employees are long-time residents of the Sea to Sky Corridor, while almost 94 per cent of our full-time, year-round staff was comprised of Canadians this season. With the need to hire 1,000 to 1,200 new seasonal employees each year, there are not enough British Columbians or Canadians who express interest or apply for the jobs, which is why we recruit abroad.
To ensure all Sea to Sky residents are aware of any job that does come up, the majority of Whistler Blackcomb jobs are posted online. We also hold annual recruiting fairs in Whistler every year (since 1997), and for the past two seasons have partnered with Mount Currie to conduct recruiting fairs and visited Squamish First Nations to provide information on our recruiting initiatives.
We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to John Weston for his assistance in helping Whistler Blackcomb fill its employee gaps with temporary foreign workers.
Sincerely,
Joel Chevalier
Director of Employee Experience
Whistler Blackcomb
