The Algoma district, with its towering trees and crystal-clear lakes, is gorgeous, but bleeding; Sault Ste. Marie worst of all.

Every year, its most valuable resource, young, working people, grows scarcer. The numbers show that students are predominantly choosing, or being forced, to relocate after graduation. Why is this?

“When contrasting the amount of job opportunities in the Algoma district to districts in other areas of the province, it seems we have a significantly lower number of [job] postings and openings,” says John Policicchio, executive director of Community Living Algoma (CLA), an organization that provides services, including finding employment opportunities, for intellectually disabled adults.

In May, CLA held a job fair aiming to find work for 60 individuals before the end of July. It prefaced its press release for the event with this grim reminder:

“There seems to be a stigma attached to the city of Sault Ste. Marie and communities throughout the Algoma district that suggests there are very few opportunities for employment. New graduates, or anyone that might be looking to make a career change, often fear they will have to leave our community in order to find work.”

This is exemplified by the story of one Algoma University graduate, who did not wish to be identified due to fears that voicing her opinion would affect her ability to get a job. She has a bachelor of arts, a certificate in social welfare and even a master’s degree in social work. Despite achieving all of this, the one thing she couldn’t find, and desperately wanted, was a job in the Sault.

“I had absolutely no luck finding a job,” she says. “In many cases, hiring managers already had someone in mind for the position I was applying for before I even got interviewed. This might be a benefit for some living here, but for many others who did not grow up in Sault Ste. Marie, and who are not privileged to have a substantial social network here, it’s a deal breaker.”

Despite applying to many jobs after leaving Algoma U, the only one she could find was three hours away, forcing her to commute home on weekends if she wanted to see friends and family.

“This took a toll on my social life, my mental health and my physical health. I was extremely close to burning out a year after graduation.”

She ended up having to take a job that would have historically gone to a new graduate, despite having her master’s, which is “sadly is even further from home,” forcing her and her fiancé to pick up their lives and move permanently.

“I love Sault Ste. Marie, I miss Sault Ste. Marie and I would love to come home to Sault Ste. Marie,” she says.

However, with the lack of job openings here, she doesn’t think that will ever happen.

“If I’m struggling to find work, even after being out of the education system for two years, gaining significant experience and holding a master’s-level education, I cannot imagine how trying it must be for new grads.”

Though the job drought most shockingly and frustratingly affects young people, it has permeated nearly all age groups, regardless of experience or education. The most recent Statistics Canada data available places the employment rate in Sault Ste. Marie at only 50.6 per cent, nearly 10 per cent below the provincial average. This means that, essentially, for every person working in the Sault, there is another who’s out of a job.

Jennifer Dickson, a Saultite since 1977, says she’s been forced to look for work in Ottawa because opportunities for her and her family just aren’t here.

“I definitely don’t want to move. This town is basically all I’ve ever known. I want to stay, but I can’t without a job,” says Dickson.

Despite having owned two businesses in the past, being experienced with numerous aspects related to operating small businesses and performing administrative duties, she says she hasn’t been able to find work in two years.

Dickson calls the cyclical process of online applications that she’s been forced to endure “horrid.”

“A lot of the hiring gets done from some head office. I never receive a note that my resume’s been received and never hear back after an interview. I just have to assume I didn’t get the job when I don’t hear from them for a month.”

It may not be all bleak and desperate for the young, hungry and educated in the Sault, however. The anonymous Algoma University graduate from early had some words of encouragement for local students:

“When you’re a new grad, you have two amazing gifts: the first is that you are fresh out of the education system with a ton of knowledge and the second is that you still have the passion to learn and that is what makes a successful employee. Branch out. There are so many incredible opportunities out there that you may be missing out on.”

As for CLA and its goal of employing 60 new people this summer, it’s well on its way:

“We’re currently at 25 new hires, with an additional 21 interviews that will be completed by June 21,” said Policicchio.

Ben Cohen is Ryerson University journalism student doing a summer internship at the Sault Star. You can reach him at BCohen@postmedia.com



