2,000 Open Hotel Jobs In Montreal Are Up For Grabs At A Job Fair This Week
Time for a career change?
The view from the street of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in downtown Montreal.
With the alleviation of COVID-19 travel restrictions coinciding with a labour shortage, local hotels are now hurrying to hire workers to fill thousands of open jobs in Montreal.
The Association des hôtels du Grand Montréal (AHGM) is launching a new hiring campaign in anticipation of renewed tourism in Montreal. The campaign, which will last from April 4 to June 4, will involve online recruitment initiatives as well as a job fair at the Centre d'appui aux communautés immigrantes (CACI) on April 7 from noon to 8:00 p.m..
The job fair will cover over 2,000 jobs in over 30 hotels in Montreal. While the event is targeted mainly toward immigrants, anyone can show up at the CACI headquarters at 12049, boulevard Laurentien with their resume and start applying for jobs.
"The hotel industry offers a host of possibilities and careers," said the president-director of AHGM Jean-Sébastien Boudreault. "It is possible to grow in a hotel, to start as a bellhop or as a waiter, for example, and to rise to the height of your ambitions."
According to the AHGM, Montreal's tourism sector was experiencing a boom in business before the pandemic. In 2019, over 11 million tourists visited the city, spending a total of $4.86 billion. Of those tourists, 80% came from out of province.
Unsurprisingly, the hospitality sector got hit hard by COVID-19, losing 95% of its business between 2019 and 2020. Unfortunately, 85 to 90% of the AHGM's membres' workforce was laid off due to the lack of business. What remaining business they did get came from a more local clientele.
"Quebecers began travelling closer to home and realized how beautiful Quebec is," Boudreault said, adding that there are beautiful hotels across the province.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.