The New Glasgow town councillor has worked from home for about 10 years. He says he believes other people could take advantage of this opportunity, and wouldn’t have to travel to look for jobs.
“The jobs are there, you just need to know how to look for them,” he said.
He said outmigration tends to have a ripple effect. What he’s seen happen time and time again is that a younger man will lose his job and end up going out west to work, at first leaving his family in Pictou County while he works so many weeks on, so many off. But after a while, those families get tired of the time apart and usually they all move west. Then the grandparents left behind in Pictou County decide if they want to spend more time with their grandkids they’ll have to move out near their children and grandchildren.
“Now you have two or three generations gone, because one person got a job in Alberta,” he said.
But if those people were able to work from home like he does, he’s confident they could live where they want and be near family.
That’s something he and others will share information about on April 28 during a virtual job fair to be offered by the Town of New Glasgow at Glasgow Square from 1 to 4 p.m. During that time Guthro will talk about his own experience, then they’ll have companies talk about what opportunities they have available. As an extra way to help people, New Glasgow Regional Police have offered to provide free background checks for town residents who need to complete one for the job.
Frank MacFarlane, business development officer, said he was amazed as he researched the topic how prevalent it’s becoming. Statistics show that in the U.S. in 1980 just 2.3 per cent of people worked from home and by 2012 it had only increased to about 4.4 per cent. Since then it’s exploded, with 24 per cent of people telecommuting at least some hours each week.
“From a business development standpoint, it’s a win-win, because you want people to stay in Pictou County, but if they can’t find work, you want to provide every opportunity for them to stay here.”
Within a couple of hours of research he said he was able to come up with 25-30 companies across Canada that offer these kinds of opportunities.
Businesses like it he said because it reduces their overhead costs. They’ve also found it’s a big incentive when recruiting people.
“I was reading they did a poll and the number-one thing that would attract millennials to a company is the ability to work from home,” he said. “Seventy per cent said that would be an incentive to work for companies.”
Guthro said there are various kinds of work people can do at home, from direct sales such as selling Tupperware or Scentsy products to call centre-style jobs where you clock in and clock out at particular times and are paid a set rate per hour. Others involve travelling throughout the region. For instance, he said, he does inventory for one company that involves driving to the area and checking the number of a particular item. For that he’s paid by the hour and also receives mileage.
Guthro believes Pictou County is perfectly suited for this kind of work because there is a loyal workforce. Also, many people here have experience working at call centres, and so would require limited training.
While everyone would love it for a big company to set up a factory in Pictou County, Guthro and MacFarlane believe this is one way they can help address the problem of unemployment.
“They may not be working for businesses that are geographically located in Pictou County, but they’re living here, they’re earning a salary and they’re buying services and goods in Pictou County,” MacFarlane said.
Want to go?
What: Virtual job fair
Where: Glasgow Square, New Glasgow
When: April 28, 1-4 p.m.
Why: Learn about opportunities to work from?
To register: Watch for the registration form on the Town of New Glasgow’s website www.newglasgow.ca.
