Georgian Bay General Hospital hopes job fair can help balance labour shortages

This week the Georgian Bay General Hospital is hosting a job fair in an attempt to find the right staff for the hospital and combat the labour shortages being felt by medical facilities across Canada.

"One of the things we are really working on today is providing an opportunity to anyone in the area who wants to come in either for a traditional interview or an informational interview so they can get to know about GBBH," explained the hospital's vice president of people and culture, Angela Wiggins.

Sophie Robitaille was one of the first people to be offered a job on-site today as a personal support worker.

"I think it's great to get the word out that they are looking for people like all the different opportunities that the hospital has. I heard about the job fair online on Facebook, and I came to check out what this hospital has to offer since it is my local community hospital," said Robitaille.

The hospital says they are looking to hire lab technicians, security guards, nurses and personal support workers for in-patient units, including in its emergency department and critical care.

GBGH believes it has successfully recruited for departments that are typically difficult to fill, like pharmacy and environmental services. Confirming they have hired 27 nurses in the past six months.

"We're looking for all nurses, novice nurses, experienced nurses, they all play a really valuable part of the team, so we're looking for anyone interested in having that conversation today," said Karen Redpath, director of clinical services at Georgian Bay General Hospital.

"There's a limited number of workers out there, and we're trying to put our best foot forward to make this the place those workers chose to be," added Wiggins.

Interviews over the next two days will be done in person or virtually. Some people will be offered a job the same day, like Robitallie. Those interested in an employment opportunity can reach out online or physically visit between 2-6 tomorrow afternoon.