More work than workers

The economic boom means there's a high demand for workers  in Labrador West and businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit them.

According to Terry Curran, vice-president of H.J. O'Connell Construction Limited, a heavy civil contractor, finding skilled workers is not an easy task.

"The challenge of recruiting - it's not getting any easier," he said.  "There's more demand in industries in general.  Over the last five years, every year seems to be getting more difficult than the year before.  The reason for that is people have choices.  There's a lot of opportunities for workers now."

Major projects

That's a lot due to work out in Alberta, he noted, and a rise of major projects such as IOC expansion, Voisey Bay, Hibernia, Lower Churchill and oil rigs.

"These are all pretty major projects that take up a lot of the workforce - there's a lot of projects vying for a very limited pool of people," he said.

"With all those trades, they have opportunities to go out West, so some people will chase the money - for sure, the wages are higher out West."

Dying breed

Another key reason why there's a shortage of workers, Curran figures, is there's been a real focus away from skilled trades over the past 15 to 20 years.

Making the problem worse, many workers are retiring, he noted, with few people to replace them.

Some of the workers his company is constantly looking for include: engineers, surveyors, mechanics, welders, supervisors, and heavy equipment operators.

However, he said, in the past couple of years, skilled trades have been promoted as a great way of life with workers earning a great wage, setting their hours, and not having the hassle of management, so he believes change is coming, slowly.

Demanding More

Right now, he explained, people have the choice to be more demanding and particular about what they require.

Workers, he pointed out, are demanding shorter and shorter rotations, working four weeks and then getting two off.

All that adds up to the quality of life workers demand, he explained, and some people just aren't happy with seasonal work.

Not all about salary

Danielle Gignac, H.J. O'Connell's human resource sepcialist, said it's not all about salary and workers take into consideration what impact the job has on environment, how it could help them develop their career, safety record, reputation, continuing education, and family.

Both younger and older workers, she added, also look for a work-life balance, seek a meaningful work experience, and desire work longevity.

Seasonal not for everybody

"What we have to do is become aware of what turns people's cranks and what gets them motivated, so you can become an employer of choice," said Curran.

"So, will the bubble burst? Absolutely. When? I don't know. How much of an effect that will have? Hard to say. That's the nature of working in a mining town. So what you do is, deal with it when it comes." - Terry Curran, vice-president HJ O'Connell Constuction, Wabush

It's just the nature of the game, he noted, that companies compete for workers.

For instance, he said, his company, which offers seasonal work, can't compete with companies which offer work the whole year round.

However, his company, he noted, tries to get a core of seasonal workers, who actually prefer that lifestyle.

Skill training

H.J. O'Connell also provides training and skill upgrading, and although Curran hopes this instills worker loyalty, he said sometimes workers find other employment.

"We can be put into a position where you put a lot of money into workers and they go to work somewhere else after upgrading their skills, but that's a fact of life," he said.  "As long as you're the employer of choice, hopefully you won't see a lot of that."

As opportunities come up for employees, he explained, companies have to deal with turnover, but, he added, H.J. O'Connell has a good rate of retention.

Toll on business

Constantly seeking workers can take a toll on a business, acknowledged Curran, and that involves increased costs due to competitive wages, airfare, replacement workers, not having a preferred skill set (which decreases productivity), and overhead due to recruitment.

For now, H.J. O'Connell has plenty of business and, Curran said, it's better to seek workers for jobs than jobs for workers.

The only thing the business needs to be wary of, he noted, is not to get saturated with projects to the point of not being able to provide workers to finish the job.

The bubble burst

As for the boom, he said, eventually the bubble has to burst.

"It would be naive to say there wouldn't be a break somewhere down the road," he noted.  "This (Labrador City and Wabush) is a one industry town, it's a cyclical business, and it depends entirely on the demand for iron ore - that's tied right in with the world economy.  We saw that in 2008, things can change very, very quickly."

"So, will the bubble burst?  Absolutely," he said.  "When?  I don't know.  How much of an effect that will have?  Hard to say.  That's the nature of working in a mining town.  So what you do is deal with it when it comes."

H.J. O'Connell has managed to stay in business since 1931, he noted, and believes the contractor has a bright future if it keeps evolving.