VANCOUVER -- It’s no secret that the $1.76-billion 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games face a potential crisis. More sponsors, advertisers and ticket buyers are required if the Games are to meet their revenue forecasts and their break-even mandate.
Now there is another need: A supply of free labour.
On Thursday, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) called for private companies and governments to loan the Games their workers, so that it can fill some 1,500 new Olympics-related jobs.
Some have lofty titles: Broadcast Operations Coordinator; Cultural Olympiad Program Manager; Venue Transportation Manager.
These are important managerial positions, acknowledged Donna Wilson, VANOC executive vice president of human resources, during a conversation with reporters on Thursday afternoon. “Senior roles,” agreed VANOC’s deputy chief executive officer and executive vice-president, David Cobb.
There are also lesser functions: The committee is looking for spare truck drivers, housekeepers, a sports writer. A torch relay crew needs to be in place by September.
Mr. Cobb said that organizers received 30 inquiries within hours of the announcement being made on Thursday.
The jobs list caused a stir in Vancouver office towers. Reaction was mixed. Some desk-bound types expressed interest; however, there was disappointment that Olympic Mascot did not appear on the VANOC job sheet.
Others were dismissive. “Yeah, I’d really love to examine people’s pee all day,” said one account manager, referring to a call for anti-doping workers.
Matching candidates to appropriate positions will be a challenge. “We won’t use unqualified” personnel, said Mr. Cobb.
Earlier in a prepared statement, he described the “employee loan program” as an economic necessity, given the perilous times. “We’re navigating through an extraordinary downturn in the economy, and the use of seconded employees will ease some of the pressure on our budget.”
The program, he said, is a “win-win situation for everyone.”
Ms. Wilson explained how loaned-out workers will receive “all the benefits of being a Games-time worker such as an official uniform and a lifetime of memories, secure in the knowledge that their regular job will be there to return to when the Games draw to a close in March 2010.”
Of course, there is no such guarantee.
There is another caveat. VANOC cannot provide accommodation, so it is encouraging participation from workers who already reside in the Vancouver and Whistler areas.
These are not the first Olympic Games to look for borrowed labour. Workers were seconded to the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary; however, requesting the loan of additional troops so late in the process seems unusual.
VANOC has an existing employee secondment program in place, aimed at Games sponsors and official partners. But it has produced only 45 workers from companies such as accounting giant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and from federal agencies including the Canadian Tourism Commission. The non-profit Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is also involved, according to VANOC.
Mr. Cobb said on Thursday the call for more secondments had been anticipated. The 1,500 positions have all been accounted for in VANOC’s total $1.76-billion budget.
“For every one that’s filled, it’s relief to our budget,” he explained.
Earlier this month, following a VANOC board meeting, Mr. Cobb revealed that organizers are anticipating lower than expected revenues from outdoor advertising and from programs such as the Vancouver 2010 Club, which offers luxury ticket packages from $145,000 to $285,000.
VANOC is still waiting for the International Olympic Committee to make good on its international sponsorship commitment. That program is currently $30-million deficient.
National Post
Now there is another need: A supply of free labour.
On Thursday, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) called for private companies and governments to loan the Games their workers, so that it can fill some 1,500 new Olympics-related jobs.
Some have lofty titles: Broadcast Operations Coordinator; Cultural Olympiad Program Manager; Venue Transportation Manager.
These are important managerial positions, acknowledged Donna Wilson, VANOC executive vice president of human resources, during a conversation with reporters on Thursday afternoon. “Senior roles,” agreed VANOC’s deputy chief executive officer and executive vice-president, David Cobb.
There are also lesser functions: The committee is looking for spare truck drivers, housekeepers, a sports writer. A torch relay crew needs to be in place by September.
Mr. Cobb said that organizers received 30 inquiries within hours of the announcement being made on Thursday.
The jobs list caused a stir in Vancouver office towers. Reaction was mixed. Some desk-bound types expressed interest; however, there was disappointment that Olympic Mascot did not appear on the VANOC job sheet.
Others were dismissive. “Yeah, I’d really love to examine people’s pee all day,” said one account manager, referring to a call for anti-doping workers.
Matching candidates to appropriate positions will be a challenge. “We won’t use unqualified” personnel, said Mr. Cobb.
Earlier in a prepared statement, he described the “employee loan program” as an economic necessity, given the perilous times. “We’re navigating through an extraordinary downturn in the economy, and the use of seconded employees will ease some of the pressure on our budget.”
The program, he said, is a “win-win situation for everyone.”
Ms. Wilson explained how loaned-out workers will receive “all the benefits of being a Games-time worker such as an official uniform and a lifetime of memories, secure in the knowledge that their regular job will be there to return to when the Games draw to a close in March 2010.”
Of course, there is no such guarantee.
There is another caveat. VANOC cannot provide accommodation, so it is encouraging participation from workers who already reside in the Vancouver and Whistler areas.
These are not the first Olympic Games to look for borrowed labour. Workers were seconded to the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary; however, requesting the loan of additional troops so late in the process seems unusual.
VANOC has an existing employee secondment program in place, aimed at Games sponsors and official partners. But it has produced only 45 workers from companies such as accounting giant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and from federal agencies including the Canadian Tourism Commission. The non-profit Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is also involved, according to VANOC.
Mr. Cobb said on Thursday the call for more secondments had been anticipated. The 1,500 positions have all been accounted for in VANOC’s total $1.76-billion budget.
“For every one that’s filled, it’s relief to our budget,” he explained.
Earlier this month, following a VANOC board meeting, Mr. Cobb revealed that organizers are anticipating lower than expected revenues from outdoor advertising and from programs such as the Vancouver 2010 Club, which offers luxury ticket packages from $145,000 to $285,000.
VANOC is still waiting for the International Olympic Committee to make good on its international sponsorship commitment. That program is currently $30-million deficient.
National Post
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1 comment:
Interesting. One would think that the preparations for the Olympics even without workers are so costly that paying hundreds of workers is a negligible part of that. Preparing the Olympics, though, might sound attractive for many even with no pay.
Regards, Jay.
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