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Old 11-30-2013, 10:31 PM
 
7 posts, read 20,620 times
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Hello all. I'm supposed to leave for Canada in a few months and I do have a plan in place, now it's time to go about making it happen. Basically, my plan is to get a job in the hotel industry. Start at an entry level, working as a front desk clerk would be preferable and then going from there. Yes, I know wages aren't all that but you gotta start somewhere.
I did do a lot of research but I still feel somewhat lost in it all and would appreciate some help.

I kind of know where I want to go, where I should go. Western Canada, meaning BC or Alberta. Personally, I'd loke to narrow that down to Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton because I really want to live in a bigger city or at least withing a reasonable proximity to one.
East Canada doesn't seem like much of an option for me. I don't think Toronto really needs that many workers and Quebec well, my French is good but I'm not fluent and truth to to told, not sure I'd want it.
I know there are also some good resorts like Whistler and Banff.

Now, I did read a whole lot about supposed labour shortages, especially in western Canada but it's all newspapers and articles from the web. Wanna ask some people, that being you lol, does it really exist? Especially in western Canada, especially in hospitality, especially in hotels? I'm still young, don't have much skills but i think i could have a career in the hotel industry. Any tips you have perhaps, where to go, when to go, anything I might've overlooked etc. And what I'm most interested in, from your first hand experience, how it really is in the sector I desire to get into. I've read a bunch of stuff online.
Any suggestions you can provide perhaps? Any advice is valuable.

Thank you all in advance.
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Old 11-30-2013, 10:47 PM
 
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Wow, just saw the big stickied thread about all things immigration. Didn't see it, sorry. Please merge or delete..
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Old 12-01-2013, 05:58 AM
 
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Your English is fine, so, do you speak any additional languages aside from French? Do you qualify for working holiday visa? Whistler and Banff are wonderful places, although keep in mind housing is expensive. It's worth it IMO. Lots of WHV working in Whistler, mostly Australians.
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Old 12-01-2013, 07:53 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aliss2 View Post
Your English is fine, so, do you speak any additional languages aside from French? Do you qualify for working holiday visa? Whistler and Banff are wonderful places, although keep in mind housing is expensive. It's worth it IMO. Lots of WHV working in Whistler, mostly Australians.
I do have a visa. And I only speak French besides English although what I'm after is the typical North American experince and as I imagine it.....it's in English only lol.
I know Whistler and Banff are beautiful, have no doubt about it and between the two, I'd prefer Whistler as proximity to Vancouver is more appealing to me than proximity to Calgary.

Just not sure how much choice do I have, want to be smart about this opportunity. If I had it my way, I'd end up in Toronto. Basically, I'd want to end up in as big of a place as possible. Montreal also, no doubt.
But from all that I've read online, Western Canada is the place to go. Most jobs available, labour shortages and all that. Is it true? Anyone knows more about it?
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Old 12-01-2013, 09:07 AM
 
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Personally, I would suggest Montreal or Toronto (Montreal only if you can have a conversation on the phone properly with a French-speaker, no need to be linguistically fluent but functionally, yes).

The problem with Whistler/Banff is that you are coming in a few months, in other words, you've missed the season. There is some summer hospitality workers there, but those are all the remainders leftover from the winter. I am very familiar with both areas (grew up outside Whistler) and the winter hospitality workers do a lot of things like tree planting in the summer, most of them are laid off.

In Montreal (where I live now), you get to deal with a lot of tourism and it will help you improve your French. If you are actually into a hospitality career, it would be a worthwhile thing to add to your resume. Toronto, I have never been and know nothing about it.
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Old 12-03-2013, 09:17 AM
 
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Originally Posted by aliss2 View Post
Personally, I would suggest Montreal or Toronto (Montreal only if you can have a conversation on the phone properly with a French-speaker, no need to be linguistically fluent but functionally, yes).

The problem with Whistler/Banff is that you are coming in a few months, in other words, you've missed the season. There is some summer hospitality workers there, but those are all the remainders leftover from the winter. I am very familiar with both areas (grew up outside Whistler) and the winter hospitality workers do a lot of things like tree planting in the summer, most of them are laid off.

In Montreal (where I live now), you get to deal with a lot of tourism and it will help you improve your French. If you are actually into a hospitality career, it would be a worthwhile thing to add to your resume. Toronto, I have never been and know nothing about it.

First of all, thanks for your reply.
So, are you saying that Montreal is the place to go for hotel/hospitality jobs? That's weird because BC and Alberts offer the best incentives for workers in that industry and also, evertime I look for job postings, there are by far the most in Alberta. Literally 10 times more than anywhere else. If there are 20 openings for a position in BC for example, there are 200 in Alberta. Also, I think those two provinces really want and need those workers, or at least they present themselves that way for whatever the reason.
As for Quebec, I'm actually under the impression that Quebec City for whatever the reason always has more hospitality opportunities than Montreal but certainly, I don't get the impression of any hotel/hospitality labour shortages anywhere in the east.
Montreal would be awesome, no doubt. I think I can communicate in French fairly well. Quebec accent is a byatch but with time it'd be alright.
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Old 12-03-2013, 11:19 AM
 
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BC and Alberta resorts do have great jobs for hospitality workers, but your season is off. All those job ads will be gone soon.
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Old 12-04-2013, 09:33 AM
 
Location: Gatineau, Québec
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There are quite a few hospitality jobs in Montreal and Quebec City but not sure it's the slam-dunk best place in the country to look for these types of jobs. BC and Alberta are the best bet I think.
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Old 12-04-2013, 11:01 AM
 
Location: Sunnyside, Calgary
250 posts, read 640,410 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aliss2 View Post

The problem with Whistler/Banff is that you are coming in a few months, in other words, you've missed the season. There is some summer hospitality workers there, but those are all the remainders leftover from the winter. I am very familiar with both areas (grew up outside Whistler) and the winter hospitality workers do a lot of things like tree planting in the summer, most of them are laid off.
Summer is a much busier season in Banff. Banff isn't a bad base for skiing, but it really isn't a ski town.
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Old 12-04-2013, 12:54 PM
 
7 posts, read 20,620 times
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Originally Posted by Acajack View Post
There are quite a few hospitality jobs in Montreal and Quebec City but not sure it's the slam-dunk best place in the country to look for these types of jobs. BC and Alberta are the best bet I think.
That's exactly the way I see it. Personally, I will look what is out there. I want to live either in a big city or close to one, for example, I stumbled upon some jobs in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta which is only 16 miles/25 km from Edmonton. A place like that would definitely work for me.

But honestly at this point, I have no idea where I"ll end up. I know I want a big city. What's going to happen, we"ll see.
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