Hire One to help small businesses grow London’s job market

London Community News

By Sean Meyer/London Community News/Twitter: Newswriter22 Job seekers and those looking to hire them will now have a tool to bring together their respective needs. The City of London, along with various community partners, launched the Hire One employment program on Tuesday (Sept. 18), at Forest City Fire Protection & Security. Hire One is designed to provide encouragement and resources to local businesses that will allow them to, as the name suggests, hire one additional employee — or maybe more. Ward 8 Councillor Paul Hubert initially brought the idea to the city’s Investment and Economic Prosperity Committee earlier this year and said he is pleased council has embraced the initiative. “I am thrilled we are moving forward. I am thrilled we can celebrate what is happening in our community. I think this has legs, I think it can get traction,” Hubert said. “We have always struggled to connect employer to potential employee, and maybe this can help that. Hiring is expensive, time consuming, and if you can shorten that, be more effective, get the right people in the right seats on the right bus, that can be powerful for companies.” The Hire One website will contain information about available government programs, training programs to prepare individuals to move easily into new job situations and enable employers to connect with a wide array of local services. “It doesn’t matter whether you are making $11 per hour or $40 per hour; when you are unemployed, you lose your sense of identity and your place in the community —you lose your connectedness,” Hubert said. Hire One will not only be a resource to employers and potential employees, but it will also serve to update the community on how many jobs are being created in the Forest City. Employers are being encouraged to register their hires on the website, which contains a counter of all the jobs being created. Peter White, president and CEO of the London Economic Development Corporation, said the website will help build employment in the job sector that is most important to the Forest City. “Small and medium enterprises represent just a little under 90 per cent of the businesses in the city. So hiring one person, it can make a difference,” White said. “Two years from now, we expect a big increase in Baby Boomer retirement, so London is going to need talent. This is the kind of focus we are going to need. This will give employers the tools to be able to look at what resources are available to help them.” For Mayor Joe Fontana, who pledged during his election campaign to create 10,000 new jobs in a five-year period, praised Hire One as a powerful tool in reaching that goal. A longtime supporter of small- and medium-sized businesses, Fontana said it is important to recognize the efforts of these entrepreneurs. “It recognizes that each and every day, people are hiring. Businesses are hiring. We wanted to recognize those small and medium businesses are hiring, one at a time, two at a time,” Fontana said. “Sure it is great to bring in those companies that will bring with them 300 or 400 new jobs, but each and every day the small businesses that drive London’s economy need to be recognized.” For more information on Hire One or to register as an employer or potential employee, visit www.hireonelondon.ca. Find us on Facebook: London Community News