• Newsletter
  • News & Events
  • Work With Us
  • Our Commitments
  • Contact Us
Destination British Columbia logo
  • Who We Are
    • Overview
    • Provincial Government of BC
    • Board Of Directors
    • Executive Leadership
    • Tourism Marketing Committee
    • Regional, Community & Industry
      Partners
      • Industry Partners
      • Community Partners
      • Indigenous Tourism
    • Vancouver, Coast & Mountains
      • Meet the Team
      • Events
      • Regional Maps
      • Stay Connected
    • Corporate Documents
    • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
      • Accessibility
    • The Power of Tourism
  • What We Do
    • Overview
    • BC’s Destination Brand
      • Tools and Image Bank
    • Marketing
      • Consumer Marketing
      • Content Marketing
      • Social Media Marketing
      • Influencer Marketing
      • Travel Trade
      • Travel Media
      • Our Markets
    • Destination Management
      • Destination Development
      • Planning Area Look Up Tool
      • Emergency Preparedness
      • Industry Development
      • Visitor Services
    • Funding Sources
      • Co-op Marketing
      • Municipal & Regional District Tax
        Program (MRDT)
      • Other Funding Sources
  • Learning Centre
    • Overview
    • Experience Development
    • Digital Marketing
    • Social Media Marketing
    • Travel Trade & Travel Media
    • Applying Insights
    • BC's Destination Brand Resources
    • Accessible Tourism
    • Safety & Emergency Preparedness
  • Research & Insights
    • Overview
    • Industry Performance
    • Regional Research
    • Market Research
    • Activity Research
    • Resident Research
    • Research Tools & Methods
  • Invest in Iconics Strategy
    • Overview
    • Timelines and Engagement
    • Place Branding
    • Destination Development
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Who We Are
    • Overview
    • Provincial Government of BC
    • Board Of Directors
    • Executive Leadership
    • Tourism Marketing Committee
    • Regional, Community & Industry
      Partners
      • Industry Partners
      • Community Partners
      • Indigenous Tourism
    • Vancouver, Coast & Mountains
      • Meet the Team
      • Events
      • Regional Maps
      • Stay Connected
    • Corporate Documents
    • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
      • Accessibility
    • The Power of Tourism
  • What We Do
    • Overview
    • BC’s Destination Brand
      • Tools and Image Bank
    • Marketing
      • Consumer Marketing
      • Content Marketing
      • Social Media Marketing
      • Influencer Marketing
      • Travel Trade
      • Travel Media
      • Our Markets
    • Destination Management
      • Destination Development
      • Planning Area Look Up Tool
      • Emergency Preparedness
      • Industry Development
      • Visitor Services
    • Funding Sources
      • Co-op Marketing
      • Municipal & Regional District Tax
        Program (MRDT)
      • Other Funding Sources
  • Learning Centre
    • Overview
    • Experience Development
    • Digital Marketing
    • Social Media Marketing
    • Travel Trade & Travel Media
    • Applying Insights
    • BC's Destination Brand Resources
    • Accessible Tourism
    • Safety & Emergency Preparedness
  • Research & Insights
    • Overview
    • Industry Performance
    • Regional Research
    • Market Research
    • Activity Research
    • Resident Research
    • Research Tools & Methods
  • Invest in Iconics Strategy
    • Overview
    • Timelines and Engagement
    • Place Branding
    • Destination Development
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Newsletter
  • News & Events
  • Work With Us
  • Our Commitments
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • |
  • How to Find Good Tourism-Industry Employees
SGang Gwaay Llnagaay in Haida Gwaii

How to Find Good Tourism-Industry Employees

Share
LinkedIn Twitter Email Print
Posted on September 28, 2018

Does your tourism business have trouble finding and retaining good, reliable employees? While high season for much of British Columbia’s tourism industry is winding down, the challenge of recruiting and retaining employees continues.

People with disabilities represent an important employee talent pool that is largely untapped. With 334,000 working-age British Columbians who have a disability and an unemployment rate of 11.6% (versus 7.1% for people without disabilities), there is a big opportunity for tourism businesses to alleviate their staffing shortages by tapping into this labour pool.

So why hire people with disabilities?

“Of course this is the right thing to do,” says Craig Richmond, President and CEO Vancouver Airport Authority. “But this is actually a great business decision. In a world where competition for talent is only growing, it just makes sense to look out everywhere and gather the best people you can.”

Richmond is the co-chair of Presidents Group, a network of business leaders in BC focused on increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Destination British Columbia’s CEO Marsha Walden is also a member.

Why is hiring people with disabilities good for business?

Lots of reasons. Hiring inclusively can improve culture and increase retention. Ninety percent of consumers prefer companies that employ people with disabilities. Consumers want to do business with organizations they can see themselves reflected in. People with disabilities represent a $55 billion dollar consumer market.

The numbers speak for themselves.

So how do you go about hiring people with disabilities?

“There are four key things that need to be in place to really make inclusive hiring work well,” says Jamie Millar-Dixon, recruitment specialist at BC Partners in Workforce Innovation. “It starts with commitment—an executive champion within the organization who sets a strategic vision to be inclusive.” The other key elements are readiness (talking with your team about hiring people with disabilities, making adjustments, dispelling myths, training), recruitment, and retention.

Destination BC will be providing tips on each of these key steps over the next few months at DestinationBC.ca.

In the meantime, September is always a good time to make a fresh start. BC has also declared September Disability Employment Month. Watch a quick video to see how YVR has had success with hiring people with disabilities. Or read about the next steps for hiring people with disabilities, including a success story at the Shangri-La hotel.

Destination BC

  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
  • News & Events
  • Corporate Documents
  • Site Map
  • Legal Terms & Privacy Policy

Official Websites

Spirit Bear

HelloBC.com

Be inspired to start planning your BC Vacation.

B.C. and Guangdong work together to open doors for businesses, create good jobs in B.C.

Travel Media

Information for journalists, editors and broadcasters.

red truck in a vineyard

Tourism Business Portal

Online, self-service business listings system for tourism industry.


Follow Us:

Twitter Youtube Linkedin

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe
Destination British Columbia logo
© 2023 - Destination BC Corp. – All rights reserved. "Super, Natural British Columbia®", "Super, Natural", "Hello BC" and "Visitor
Centre" and all associated logos/trade-marks are trade-marks or Official Marks of Destination BC Corp.