Retiree Employment Agency Being Rolled Out Across N.B.
A program that reintegrated retirees into the workforce to solve labour shortages in Northwestern New Brunswick is being rolled out across the rest of province. WorkingNB is collaborating with a handful of third-party organizations that will act as Retiree Employment Agencies across the province, to provide the service. The new, two-year Retiree Employment Agency pilot project has already connected more than 40 retirees with employers looking for labour this year.
New Brunswick’s labour shortages need to be tackled on multiple fronts. The agency pilot is part of that effort, with WorkingNB helping to fill employers’ short-term labour needs and find positions for retirees looking to stay busy.
For the next two years, the service will represent an opportunity for businesses, communities, and retirees to grow together, along with New Brunswick’s economy, building on the success of the program’s original run in northwest New Brunswick, in 2021.
The agency will help retirees over 50 looking to re-enter the labour market, providing employers a pool of talent to choose from, along with assistance from WorkingNB to find the best fit for each job and retiree. Since its launch in 2021 in the northwest, it’s created 100 total pairings between workers and employers.
The initiative was originally a collaboration between WorkingNB and the Edmundston Region Chamber of Commerce – a program that originally helped nearly 50 retirees find full temporary, casual, and seasonal labour positions and ease local demand in the region.
“From the success we had that year, there was the opportunity to have agencies open everywhere in the province,” said André Lang, the regional director for WorkingNB – Edmundston.
Lang noted that with 340,000 people over 50 not working in New Brunswick, “that’s a big pool you can work with.”
The available jobs span a variety of sectors.
Marco Ruest is the pairing officer in the original pilot in northwestern New Brunswick. He says retirees have been set up with jobs in a variety of workplaces, from factories and shops to stores and offices. Anything from mechanic to administrative assistant is available to those who participate.
“We’re trying to help everyone in every sector,” Ruest said. “What an employer needs, is what we’ll try to help them with.”
Much like the first time he carried out the pilot in the northwest, Ruest’s job this time around is to act as a point of contact between employers and potential employees, approaching and encouraging local employers to join the agency.
“I meet with them to talk to them to see what their transferrable skills are,” said Ruest.
“I see if they still want to work in their former sector or if they want to try anything else. Some people will just say, ‘I just want to help. Put me anywhere, it’s not the money,’ and some people will say, ‘I want to be out of my house. I just want to see people, so anything, I’ll do it.’ Then I have to talk with them just to see what they can and can’t do,” he explained.
Jobs range from part-time gigs to full-time and short-term employment, and if the match is right, employers can save time and resources that would go toward training younger, less-experienced employees.
Ruest says he expected a lot of uptake in the original program from retirees between 50 and 60, but he says many people aged 65 and over also showed interest.
“It’s surprising who would like to get back to work and start a job – maybe in a different area,” Ruest said.
“When a retiree comes into work, they’re very loyal to the job they commit to.”
Diane Levesque, Workforce Consultant for WorkingNB’s Edmundston Regional Office, said she acts as an advisor with the Agency staff.
She stressed that the pilot entails a personalized one-on-one service.
“The Agency’s staff are good listeners, and will find ways to work with the employers,” she said, noting that sometimes there are full-time positions that more than one retiree can take on,” she said.
“Employers can approach Marco and put their name in a pool and explain what jobs they’re willing to offer – Marco works with both sides,” said Levesque.
WorkingNB’s seven provincial regions are carrying out the program, working with several third-party agencies.
Although there’s no concrete number of businesses the pilot is set to help, Levesque said they are helping as many as they can.
This story was sponsored by WorkingNB.