Stakeholders in Whitehorse and the Yukon are joining together to find productive ways to address the issue of labour shortages in the territory.

'People are asking and saying, We need to do something. So what do we need to do?'' Rick Karp, president of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce, told the Star in an interview Thursday.

'The question has been asked. The gauntlet has been thrown down.'

The chamber, along with about 20 other organizations and government departments, joined together Tuesday to discuss the labour shortage in the territory.

The discussion came at the impetus of Patti Balsillie, the chief executive officer at the Tourism Industry Association (TIA) Yukon.

'There was talk, there was talk and there was plans for talks,' said Balsillie. 'It was time to get together and start putting money where our mouth is.'

Frustrated at the lack of organization in addressing the growing labour crisis in the territory, Balsillie received the permission of TIA to write a discussion paper entitled The Yukon Labour Market Crisis: A Catalyst for Dialogue and Action.

The 11-page document states a serious dialogue must begin if the Yukon is to take the next steps and assume the responsibility necessary to address the current issues in the labour market and find solutions.

The territory is currently being impacted by several challenges, argues Balsillie.

The population is rising, and the building and exploration and mining industries are exploding.

The retail, hospitality and accommodation sectors in the territory are starving to find people to fill positions but there are fewer students returning to the Yukon to work summers. With the healthy and competitive economies in British Columbia and Alberta, attracting and retaining workers is proving difficult.

'Various pockets of people are doing things independently (to address the challenges),' Balsillie told the Star. 'But no one is doing something as a whole.'

But that is about to change.

The Department of Education, the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Tourism, Employment Central, 2007 Canada Winter Games, YuWIN, L'association franco-yukonnaise, Yukon Historical Society, Dana naye Ventures and the Yukon Chamber of Commerce were among the groups taking part in the first meeting of stakeholders committed to moving forward on addressing the challenges.

'After the meeting became public, then all of a sudden others started to call. We need to be involved in this,'' said Karp.

A steering committee has now been created and is scheduled to meet next week to develop a strategic plan.

'We have to plan. We can't just go at this everyone all on their own. It's something we have to co-operate with,' added Karp.

It is a community response, said Balsillie, and it's needed to combat and address the current labour market.

Canada has known for almost 10 years a situation was developing that would see more people retiring, fewer professionals and people shuffling around jobs, she said.

'Despite all our best intentions, we haven't be able to avoid it. But it's not too late.'

There are lots of solutions to the problem, said Balsillie; it is just a matter of developing them.

It is not as simple as looking into immigration and policy, she said. Employers need to know how the options available to them work and how to implement them in their businesses.

It is currently an employee market, said Balsillie, where it is the workers who have control over dictating how the employers treat them.

It's led to guerilla hiring in the territory, she said, with employers going out into other businesses to steal their employees away.

'It wasn't previously something you'd have to do in your own market,' she said.

It really is becoming about not just recruitment, but retaining employees, said Balsillie.

'Employers have a responsibility and businesses are catering more and more to employee needs. It's a workers' market these days.'

The problems in the territory are real and the Yukon has allowed itself to fall into a reactive position, but it doesn't mean there are not reasons to be positive, she said.

'We can be proactive,' agreed Karp, 'and that's why we came together to meet and to work on some solutions. We have to just start talking together.

'Part of the solution was to get a synergy going in Yukon start having Yukon businesses and associations talking to each other. That will really get some solutions to the problem.'

Karp cited the untapped potential that exists in the territory's first nation communities and partnerships with their governments.

Encouraging retirees to consider staying in the workforce in some capacity could also help rectify the situation, he said.

'You've been a career for many, many years. Now take those skills and help others out. Come on back into the work force at your pleasure.'

And continuing to encourage Yukon youth and children to come back remains a priority, he said.

'There are some really neat jobs to be had here and this is a good place to start your career because there are opportunities in Whitehorse and Yukon that you just won't find in larger cities,' Karp said.

'You can grow and prosper here, whereas you can't in other areas as much. There's much more competition in other areas.'

It's a matter of making a commitment as a community to work on the issue, said Balsillie.

It's connecting people with opportunities and promoting the work ethic and a positive attitude, she said.

Also selling the Yukon's high quality of life and competitive wages is a good way to continue to attract the growing interest in the territory among workers Outside, she said.

'When business comes to the Yukon, it brings people with them and when people come, we'll solve some problems here,' said Karp.

The government must be involved in the initiative, both agreed, but its role must be in the background.

'The strategy has to come from the business community, come from those who are most affected by it not to be imposed by government,' said Karp. 'We need government to facilitate the solution to this looming problem.

'We have to prepare for the future. We need a long-term sustainable strategy and that's what we're about to develop.

'We do not need a short-term fix. We need a long-term strategy.'