KF can't hire fast enough

Kelowna's KF Aerospace is having to turn away jobs because it can’t find enough workers.

KF is hiring from every corner of the country and across the world. It has even created its own college programs, and snapped up entire graduating classes.

Human resources director Grant Stevens says KF has been “hiring like mad.” He’s already added 264 people to the payroll this year, bringing the employee count to more than 1,000. And he still has more than 60 vacancies to fill.

“We can’t find enough people in Canada to do the work,” Stevens says. “Right now … if I could hire another hundred people in skilled labour, I could keep them all busy, because we’re turning away probably 20 per cent of our workline right now. We just can’t hire fast enough.”

As Canadian airline giant Bombardier goes on a hiring blitz to build its new Global 7000 aircraft, retrofitters like KF are finding more work upgrading older aircraft for cargo companies and discount airlines.

Stevens says many of the company’s contracts are for converting passenger planes to cargo planes.

“People are looking to fly smaller loads, point-to-point, as opposed to larger loads to a central facility, and then out again,” he says, adding that he believes the trend stems largely from the increasingly popularity of online shopping.

“From what we understand, companies like FedEx and Purolator are all growing their business in air cargo, as a result of online shopping demand.”

We've got more on the story over at Castanet's sister business site, okanaganedge.net.