New jobs for unemployed youth also pay for housing expenses

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 2, 2016) - With youth unemployment holding high at 13.3%, a new trend has emerged: more and more Canadian hospitality employers are attracting unemployed youth to other provinces by covering their living expense through a seasonal work/travel adventure program, Mobilize Jobs.

Two years ago, Mobilize Jobs launched an exciting new staffing model designed to increase youth employment rates across the country, and bring motivated workers to parts of the country plagued with staff shortages.

"The program solves two related problems - youth unemployment and local labour shortages," says Benjamin Guth, Mobilize founder. "It's like bringing two pieces of a puzzle together. We send workers from locations with high youth unemployment to parts of Canada where their skills are needed and valued. It's a win-win for everyone."

A big part of the draw for youth is that their accommodations are free. Workers live in small "pods" of four to six people in local housing. This eliminates what is usually the biggest portion of a young person's cost of living. In the last six months alone, the program placed over 200 Mobilize workers at 20 locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and the Yukon. Since launching in 2014, more than 350 young Canadians have found work across the country, with great feedback from member properties.

"From the moment the Mobilizers arrived in our Village, they were a breath of fresh air!" says Christine Latimer, General Manager, Valemount Best Western. "I appreciated their positive attitude, willingness to work and help out in any department, their 'over and above' service skills for our guests, and their excitement to experience the beautiful BC mountains. We will remain a long-term client for sure!"

"The hospitality skills we've seen have been OUTSTANDING thus far," says Brody Purser, Regional Director of Human Resources, Deerhurst Resort. "We are very pleased with their performance to date."

"The Mobilize program provided our resort with motivated employees who have a base of training and interest in the tourism industry," says Dianne Hounsome, General Manager, Bayview Wildwood Resort. "We set a contract period that works for our business and works for the employees as they move on to other tourism establishments upon contract completion. The additional funds we spent to use the program compared favourably to the cost of staff turnover in our busy season. I will be contracting employees for the 2017 Spring-Fall season through Mobilize based on my good experience this past year."

Mobilize works on a rotational placement basis, supplying tourism, hospitality, resort, golf course and food service businesses with a continuous supply of hard-working young employees. Mobilizers rotate to different locations seasonally so businesses always have fresh, motivated staff.

Mobilize is placing more and more young Canadians in businesses across the country to meet shortages in industries that have traditionally faced big staffing challenges. As a result, the program's popularity has grown dramatically in high-tourism areas, and is increasingly being recognized as an exciting, viable, cross-country solution for industries plagued by labour shortages. For more information, visit http://www.mobilizejobs.ca/.

About Mobilize Jobs

Mobilize (http://www.mobilizejobs.ca/) is a new staffing model that works on a rotational placement basis, providing tourism, hospitality and food services businesses with a continuous supply of staff. It's a structured program that provides youth with full-time, paid work over consecutive seasonal placements. Mobilizers rotate to different locations for summer and winter, working with a different business each time, and gain valuable experience in a variety of roles. The program arranges everything from placement to training to housing. Participating businesses always have motivated workers, and millennials build skills and experience different parts of Canada.