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EARTH WEEK IN ACTION P. 3 EDITORIAL P. 6
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RESULTS FROM NV FESTIVAL P. 4 COLOUR CONTEST WINNERS P. 8
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$1.30 Inc. GST Vol. 37 No. 09
Serving Vanderhoof ● Fort Fraser ● Fraser Lake & Area www.ominecaexpress.com
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Decline in Vanderhoof labour force outlined by recent study Diego Syz Omineca Express There has been an increase in turnover of new employees over the past seven years, according to Alan Fitzpatrick, General Manager of Nechako Lumber located west of Vanderhoof. “It’s the entry-level operators where we find more turnover here,” says Fitzpatrick. “(However) we are very fortunate in having a stable workforce who have been here a long time,” he says. This means if an employee has been with Nechako Lumber for over 10 years they are more than likely to stay with the company, opposed to someone starting in an entry-level position, Fitzpatrick says. Fitzpatrick attributes his longtime employee loyalty to a program training people in stages through various levels of trade apprenticeships.
“We train them here and then they move up through the system.” “We used to have almost zero turnover,” says Fitzpatrick. Today, some people start with the company and move on to other lines of work, according to Fitzpatrick. Some of the various trade apprenticeships offered by the company include: carpentry, mobile/ heavy mechanic, millwright, welder, electrician and saw filers according to Fitzpatrick. The revelation from the Nechako Lumber is hand-inhand with the March 2014 findings from StatsCanada of a fewer number of people working in the region now than the same period in 2013 according to B.C. Local News. Nechako Lumber is just one of the companies affected by the recent decline in the labour force in the area from the North Shore to West of Vanderhoof, reported by StatsCanada
From (Left to Right) - Lory Derksen (Commercial Account Manager of Integris), Kaden Mason, Tanya Mason (Financial Services Rep of Integris), Audrey Carlson(Branch Manager of Integris), and Erek Mason, were just some of the volunteers who pitched-in around the community to clean up some of the garbage or recyclables around town, April 26.
A community cleaning up Diego Syz Omineca Express
The Nechako Lumber worksite, where over the past seven years they have seen an increase in employee turnover, according to Alan Fitzpatrick, general Manager of Nechako Lumber.
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The Sixth Annual Community Clean-up in Vanderhoof drew 215 volunteers out to help make sure the town of Vanderhoof stays spotless, April 26. “It’s an annual community clean-up and garbage pick-up done around town all by volunteers,” said Vince Verstappen, an organizer of the annual cleanup and member of the Nechako Waste Reduction Initiative. Approximately six different groups including the Nechako Waste Reduction Initiative, The Nechako Valley Food Network, Tim Hortons, Integris Credit Union, The Vanderhoof Bears and The
District of Vanderhoof got together to pitch-in and tidy-up the town, according to Verstappen. The District of Vanderhoof sponsored an afternoon Barbecue for the volunteers which was organized by The Nechako Valley Food Network, according to Lisa Burgener, a volunteer with The Food Network. The Barbecue featured 100% local flour (for hot dog buns) and 100% local beef (for the hamburgers) featured at the day’s Barbecue. Volunteers from Integris Credit Union helped rally support for volunteers (like the Vanderhoof Bears) to come out and invest time and resources in our community, said Daniel Wingham, manager of strategic partnerships and business development at Integris Credit Union and a volunteer for the day.
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