In the current job climate, the challenge often lies more in the scarcity of available workers than in the difficulty of finding work.
East Sooke entrepreneur Tina Futcher has an innovative way of addressing the labour shortage through Tina’s Labourers Inc., a company she launched earlier this year following a chance encounter at a job site.
In December 2022, Futcher, the owner of Elite Garden Maintenance, was approached by one of her clients in Duncan, Seymour Pacific Development, about whether she had any workers available to break ice at construction sites.
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“I had no workers at the time so I started working right away,” she said. “It’s been difficult for a lot of companies finding people ever since COVID.”
While working at the job site, Futcher approached a Mexican man doing concrete work and asked if he knew anyone looking for work.
“He gave me a few names and that’s how Tina’s Labourers started,” said Futcher, who speaks Spanish fluently. “One of the workers I hired, Enrique Jimenez, is now my business partner. I find work for them, and Enrique goes over their daily activities with them.”
Tina’s Labourers provides many clients with workers skilled in various trades.
“Concrete, construction, drywall, carpentry, electricians and commercial renovation, just to name a few,” she said. “It’s really taken off, and we’re up to 22 workers now. I get calls every day from companies thanking me for the quality of workers. All of them were in the same situation as me, desperate for workers.”
After 22 years of trying to set up international workers independently, Futcher finally found a lawyer in Tijuana, Mexico, who specialized in that work.
“He has lots of experience and expertise working with the Canadian government and visas,” she said.
Futcher goes out of her way to assist her workers wherever she can, providing blankets and other items they might need.
“They call me Madrena, which means godmother,” she said with pride. “We have a really special relationship, and that means so much to me.”
Deb Schenk, executive director of the Sooke Region Chamber of Commerce, said employing workers from other countries for trades, landscaping, and general maintenance can inject fresh perspectives and skills into the local workforce.
“By embracing international talent, we can create more robust and thriving communities while fostering economic growth and development,” Schenk said. “With the shortage of workers and demands of development, the opportunity couldn’t be greater.”
