Bow Valley employers are looking to fill vacancies as they battle a housing shortage

Working in the beautiful Bow Valley is a dream come true for many people, but due to the area's housing problem, finding workers can be difficult.

A job retention report estimates Canmore has a shortfall of up to 650 employees.

Labor market recruitment and retention strategies point to housing and cost of living as its biggest barriers.

Reinira Lankhuizen, career coach at the Banff and Canmore Job Resource Centers, said because of the transient and seasonal nature of the region, “there will always be a lot of jobs.”

“We're seeing a healthy number of job seekers,” Lahnhuizen said. “Where there's opportunity, it's skilled positions.”

He cites lack of housing as one of the reasons for the shortage of workers for skilled culinary, mid- to senior-level management positions in hospitality and retail.

“For these positions, you need some experience and you need to be quite established,” Lahnhuizen said.

“People who work in these positions may not be interested in working in staffing.”

A job fair will be held April 18 at the Malcolm Hotel from 1 to 4 p.m. to help address the hundreds of job vacancies in Canmore.

Banff Park Lodge is hosting a summer job fair on April 24 from 1 to 4 p.m.