Summer camps are looking for monitors: parents could pay the price
Operation charm in the province to recruit thousands of monitors in the day camps and vacation camps this summer.
Day camps launch an offensive to recruit their animators.
The association of Quebec camps estimates that all camps need to hire between 20,000 and 25,000 animators for the summer.
A challenge, admits general manager Éric Beauchemin. All camps in Quebec have strategies in place to get ahead of recruitment efforts.
The shortage of labor is an obstacle, but the wage conditions are at the heart of the concerns. Competition with other sectors is fierce. There is really a broader reflection by our managers to improve salary conditions, explains Daniel Beauchemin.
The camps do not want to pass the bill on to the parents, but the director general admits that x27; there will surely be an increase in costs to be able to improve the work environment.
The Loisirs Saint-Sacrement day camp in Quebec City has been working hard for the past few weeks. Registration begins in April and there is still a shortage of 30% of the workforce, that is to say about thirty instructors. The camp will increase the wages of its counselors to $16.75 per hour, an increase of $1.50 from last summer, in order to be competitive.
< p class="e-p">The coordinator, Philippe Bertrand, visits the schools. He sets up his stand and tries to convince the teenagers. He explains to them that a paid training of 60 hours will be offered to them on the weekends before the end of the classes. Young people who show interest can even have a job interview the next day.
Philippe Bertrand, coordinator of the Loisirs Saint-Sacrement day camp
My goal is to get to know them and find out why they want to work in a camp. Already at the base, I have an idea with their passions, their interests, whether they like children explains the coordinator.
The question in this context : Does it works ? Philippe replies that if each time I find a [new] one, I'll be happy.
At Saint-Charles Garnier secondary school earlier this week, Philippe managed to convince 14-year-old Marie-Catherine Julien.
I love working with children , it would be my first summer. I have been looking for a job for a long time, but the embarrassment stopped me. I saw the opportunity so I will give it a try.
Philippe Bertrand is sure to succeed in completing his team by the start of registration. But he must repeat his arguments with conviction.
“It's a life experience, it's more than a job, it's fun. In the summer, you're going to be outside, then you're going to have your weekends, there's nothing better! »
— Philippe Bertrand
Nearly 700 children attend the Loisirs Saint-Sacrement camp each week.
In Lac-Beauport, near Quebec, the phone does not ring off the hook at the day camp at the outdoor center Le Saisonnier. The camp offers specialties such as climbing or dancing and is very popular.
Registration began at the beginning of February. It filled up quickly, after a week most of the camps were full, notes general manager Jean-Philippe Lehuu.
Jean-Philippe Lehuu, general manager of Le Saisonnier outdoor centre.
Last summer, 600 children attended the camp every day. This summer, it is currently estimated that this number will decrease to 400. The management prefers to play it safe by opening less space, even if it means adding more.
“We want to eliminate the management, the stress caused by the search for human resources. »
— Jean-Philippe Lehuu, General Manager, Le Saisonnier
Day camps are an essential service, we don't take it easy will say no to some parents, says Jean-Philippe Lehuu.
Currently, 366 children are on the waiting list. The rest will depend on recruitment because 70 animators are still wanted. The team has created a Facebook page and posters are posted around the streets. But salary is an issue. We don't have the same facility to offer a good salary as in other fields, we offer the minimum salary even if it's difficult, we have to be able to attract them in other ways.
The camps put a lot of effort and rack their brains in order to offer them a better salary.
He relies on the feeling of belonging and flexible working hours.
Jean-Philippe Lehuu remembers that when he was an instructor, he would never have dared to ask for a vacation during the summer. But today it is changing, you have to be able to adapt, but also to make young people aware of the importance of being present in as many weeks as possible, otherwise it' is a headache for us.
The association of Quebec camps estimates that the majority of camps will be able to meet the demand. But we remain vigilant, we will see what we can do to support the camps in their efforts, explains general manager Éric Beauchemin. He advises parents to register their children as soon as possible.
