Baker looks beyond border for staff as Manitobans find more reasons to celebrate

As purveyors of pastries, Janette Jajalla and her staff are skilled at baking the perfect cake to mark a big celebration and increasingly Winnipeggers, freed from some pandemic restrictions, are finding reasons to celebrate.

But the Filipino baker says her shop, Baker's Bowl Bakeshop, cannotrise to the occasion as Manitoba's economy strives to rebound 20months into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Herlocal call-outfor a specialist in makingelaboratetiered cakes, some inspired by Filipino flavours,has come up empty.

"Thedemandof skills that I needfor this productis kind ofhigh, so I have to make sure I get someone who's really got the passion, the skills,"she said.

Businesses ready to expand, but struggling to find skilled staff

3 years ago

Duration 2:02

With fewer pandemic restrictions in place, Manitobans are planning gatherings and celebrations. That should mean a bonanza of business for those catering to such events, but some are running into trouble trying to feed the demand.

She'slooking toManitoba'sprovincial nominee program one of thefirst Canadianexperiments inmatching foreign workers with specific job openings to help her business expand.

Jajallaisn't alone in trying to sponsor a new arrival to fill a position.

Prime minister's call

New Premier Heather Stefanson has made expanding the provincial nominee program one of her early priorities in office.

Her otherpriorities were, in many ways, expected like rebuilding the post-pandemic economy, slashing the surgery backlog and prioritizing reconciliation with Indigenous people.

Manitoba has lobbied its federal counterparts to allow the province to accept morenominees for years, and Stefanson raised it in her first call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Her decision to elevate a longstanding provincial askas one of her topgoals was somewhat unexpected.

"That tells me she's listening and that she understands our economic need right now," said Bram Strain, president and CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba.

Manitoba's provincial nominee program, which started in the late 1990s, is a fast-track immigration option,allowing provinces and territories to nominate people withneeded skills, education and work experience to move to their specific area of the country.

Each jurisdictionhas its own criteria. A job offer froman employer benefits a candidate's application.

Manitobahas benefited greatly from the program, as federal immigration streams usually help large metropolitan cities, but some nomineeshad their entriesdelayed.

Travel restrictions and delayed federal processing times stemming from the pandemic led to a 44 per cent drop in the number of provincial nominees and their family members who settled in Manitoba in 2020 (5,835 compared to the average of10,458 over the previous four years).

Having thousands fewer arrivals hasleft jobs unfilled, Strain said.

"We need workers. We need professionals. We need skilled employees. We need entry-level employeesfrom top to bottom," hesaid.

Focusonjobs

The federal ceilinghas risen from 5,500 nominee applicationsin 2016 to 6,275 this year, which excludes a spouse and any dependants. Since the Progressive Conservatives were elected five years ago, Manitoba has responded by issuing more nominations on a nearly annual basis 2020's total was record-breakingwhile deliberately choosing to prioritize those candidates witha joblined up.

The need for increased immigration has been amplified as the labour force ages and some peoplemove away.

Business groups have floated the idea of Manitoba accepting another 2,000 nominees annually, Strain said.

A University of Winnipeg economist said it's in the province's interest to persuadethe federal government to raise the ceiling, but Manitoba needs to make a convincing case.

"Ontario's lobbying for nominees as well, and so are other provinces, so it's going to be a competition across provinces in terms of who gets what," said ManishPandey, a professor who has studiedtheprovincial nominee program in Canada.

Pandey said the delayed arrival of newcomers has impacted the economy in the short term. Businessesmust also adapt to workers who left low-paying occupations, often in the service industry, andfound positions withhigher wages, he said.

In Steinbach, Man., the competition for new workers is stiff, said Jon Sawatzky, director ofproduct and marketing at Loewen Windows and Doors,one of the city's largest employers.

Growing companiesare competing for the sameworkforce, which has prompted Loewen toboost wages andpromote afour-day work week for manufacturing staff, Sawatzky said.

"Things have to be more competitive, because everybody's looking for the same type of employee," he said, adding the company supports the province's efforts to boost immigration.

At her bakery,Jajalla islooking forward to inviting someone to Canada through the same nomination program that got her family to Winnipeg a decade ago.

"It's like kindness begets kindness, isn't it?" she said.

"The opportunity was open to us. We're trying to open up an opportunity, too, by getting a provincial nominee in our business."

They've already extended one openingto her brother,Christopher Navarro.

After arriving in Winnipeg on a work permit last year, hegot approved through the nominee program and is now seeking permanent resident status to bring over his wife and threechildren.

He learned how to be a cake designer working with Jajalla's husbandand business co-owner,CiriacoJajallaJr., more than a decade ago in Saudi Arabia. They are both in the same kitchen on St. James Street inWinnipeg, crafting cakes and other baked goodieslike pandesal and mamon.

"It's very meaningful to me" to be here, Navarro said. "I'm not thinking about my future anymore. I'm thinking about my kids because everything that I'm doing right now is for them."

Stefanson's office wouldn't answer how it wants toimprove the provincial nominee program. The federal government declined to say if it would entertain Manitoba's requests.