Employment

The Opportunity:

When the Glen Campus finally opens for business, and the transfers of hospital units is completed, the Glen Campus will attract over 7000 employees daily.

Quebec is facing a major workforce shortage in the health sector, in the next five years. Currently, the MUHC hires hundreds of new employees each year. The jobs are unionized and many of them only require a high-school leaving certificate and a technical training certificate. Successful candidates also have to fit well into the demanding culture of a face-paced and complex hospital work environment, at the MUHC.

Consider the following:

• The Glen Campus will become the major employer, for that part of Montreal, when it opens in 2015.
• The MUHC hires hundreds of new employees every year.
• In addition to hiring doctors, nurses and health professionals, the MUHC’s Glen Campus will also create many other jobs.
• The MUHC has over 200 job titles, many of which only require a high-school leaving certificate and a technical degree from a recognized school.
• Jobs at the MUHC are unionized and well-paid, but can be very demanding (split shifts, evenings and week-ends, challenging work environment).
• Government estimates suggest that, with the aging of the baby boomers, approximately 20% of workers in the Health Sector will be eligible to retire in the coming years.
• The MUHC, like many institutions in the Health Sector, will face some challenges in trying to address this problem.

Initiatives of the CIQ/MUHC partnership agreement regarding employment:

1) With sustainable development in mind, as well as a mutually–‐beneficial approach for all partners that respects everyone’s capabilities, competencies and limitations:

• The MUHC commits to continue collaborating with its community partners, by participating in awareness-­‐raising activities and in certain programs, with a view to considering local hiring where appropriate.
• Community partners commit to work in collaboration with the MUHC and other institutional or community partners to stimulate, sensitize and adequately prepare as many people as possible for hiring by the MUHC and/or its health network partners.

The Inspiration:

The Woodbine Live! – 2010 – Toronto, Ont.

With support from the City of Toronto, the non-profit Woodbine Entertainment Group partnered with the developer the Cordish Company to draft an agreement regarding a large-scale development of an entertainment complex in Rexdale, adjacent to the famous Woodbine racetrack.   A number of community benefits relating to employment were secured in this deal, which was supported by Toronto’s institutional planning structure.  These include:

• 30% local hiring at the entertainment complex
• The inclusion of a local employment training center
• A job posting office that would give local community members first notice of employment opportunities
• Community monitoring of progress

Source: Some of the best material publically available is on CORD’s Facebook page here.

Cherokee-Gates, in Denver, Colorado

In 2006, a coalition of community groups of the Campaign for Responsible Development (CRD) signed a Community Benefits Agreement that addressed opportunities arising from the redevelopment of a former rubber factory. The result of more than three years of research and organizing, with leadership from the city and elected officials, and a process of dialogue with the private developer, this agreement achieved some “firsts”, especially in targeted job opportunities for local residents.

Actions for Community Employment (ACE), Barts Hospital, London, England

Via a tripartite partnership between local community groups, a new hospital in inner city London and the public health Trust, Actions for Community Employment resulted in hundreds of local residents getting jobs at their new hospital, via a job brokerage firm, targeted job training and a determination on the part of the hospital to hire locally. A key outcome of Actions for Community Employment for was a hospital workforce that better reflected the diversity of the community.

A handy “how-to” guide shows exactly how to set up a jobs brokerage like Actions for Community Employment, including how to build a business case and some do’s and don’ts.

North East London Strategic Health Authority (NHS)

Since 2003, NHS has been working with numerous partners to build local skills and provide routes into employment for local unemployed people and disadvantaged groups. The NHS is committed to the concept of regeneration – that large health and social care employers can and should have a positive impact on their local economy and environment.

The innovative approach taken by NHS has been to encourage the creation of brokerages. A brokerage is a partnership arrangement between an employer and a job recruitment, regeneration or development agency. Through the brokerages, staff connect with managers at health trusts who want to advertise vacancies. The brokerage then provides details of the jobs to local people. Brokerage staff assess candidates’ skills and ability to do the job, acting as a valuable link between the trusts and local people.

So far there have been four brokerages set up by NHS: Jobs in Health and Social Care (Jobshac), Jobs Junction, Actions for Community Employment (ACE), and The Oldchurch Recruitment Centre. The first three are health and social care brokerages while the last is a construction brokerage. Partnerships are vital in assuring a successful brokerage; regular engagement with partners is necessary to get the right people into the right jobs.