Kennedy Road BIA launches pilot project to hire local at Scarborough small businesses
Posted July 10, 2023 6:37 pm.
Last Updated July 10, 2023 8:03 pm.
Small business owners say it’s more important than ever to buy local coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and as we deal with inflation, but in Scarborough the Kennedy Road Business Improvement Area has launched a local hiring pilot project and it’s one organizers say is a win-win solution.
BIA staff created a portal through its website called Kennedy Connect for high school students and local youth. Selvin Sanderson, the community outreach and social media manager for the BIA, said potential participants can upload their resumes and accessing resources to help them boost their cover letters and resumes if needed.
Once resumes and applications are uploaded, he said participating BIA business owners can log into the portal to post updating job listings and review applications.
“The community provides a lot of assistance for these businesses, so why not a give-back to the community and they’ll always reciprocate by coming to the business,” Sanderson said.
“I believe small businesses are what makes up Scarborough.”
He said hiring people who live in Scarborough close to the Kennedy Road BIA with its more than 380 businesses makes it easier for prospective workers to get to local jobs, and added there’s another benefit.
“You can basically break down defences by starting small conversations with customers as they come into the stores and if they know you’re a local talent or a local student, or somebody from the area, it becomes easier to have conversations in regards to your daily day-to-day activities,” Sanderson said.
Rick Impera has operated Impera Auto Collision Inc. on Kennedy Road for 40 years and has seen the area change to more of a retail destination from an industrial one. At his shop throughout all the changes, he said there hasn’t been a shortage of business. Impera said he has turned to younger apprentices, high school co-operative education students and those new to the business.
“I’ve had older workers come in to shop and maybe not working in the way that I would think they would … and I find that starting someone from scratch and bringing them up in the way that I was trained, it seems to be more advantage to the shop,” he said.
“With other businesses, I can see they’re holding back on hiring new students, are thinking of all the fears and maybe the the liabilities involved, but I’ve always taken that challenge and that’s what made me continue in business.”
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Justin McCallum, a 21-year-old who has worked a variety of retail jobs, signed on as the first hire under the Kennedy Connect program. It’s about to be his first time working in an automotive setting, but he has a budding passion.
“I like old cars … because it’s most easy to fix, because there’s less electronics in them,” he told CityNews as he recently met with his soon-to-be employer.
It was the passion and enthusiasm that got McCallum hired. Impera said McCallum will start off doing smaller tasks, but will work his way up and learn new skills.
“When Justin came in, just his presence, I go, ‘You know what, I want him in our world,” he recalled.
“It seemed like he’s willing to work and work, and ambitious, and once you have that you can’t teach that right off the bat.”
Sanderson said the BIA will be working throughout the summer to promote the Kennedy Connect program in Scarborough and in September they want to reach out to students at nearby David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute.
Running between Lawrence Avenue East and Highway 401, the Kennedy Road BIA has long been a draw for those looking for furniture, home renovation supplies, home décor, and automotive repairs and supplies. Sanderson said the area is changing and expanding to new types of businesses, and added ways of recruiting need to change too.
“We’re in a digital world now and we just brought the digital world to the present by making this portal accessible and available online,” he said.
Meanwhile, Impera said he hopes hiring local youth in small businesses will catch on within the BIA, in Scarborough and across the Greater Toronto Area.
“They are the future at the end of the day and they have a lot of ideas and things to bring forward to us, and you got to keep an open mind,” he said.
“Go for it and don’t hold back, reach out to your local schools and get those kids working and you’re going to be pleasantly surprised.”
