After more than two years of covid-19, many Chinese restaurant owners at Markham Canada have returned to new heights. But booming businesses also pose a worrying problem — labor shortages.
A report released by Statistics Canada on April 28 showed that the number of vacant jobs in the accommodation and foodservice services sector in February this year was almost double that of the first quarter of 2020.
One Shot BBQ at Markham First Place opened in January 2020. "It's not easy for us to hold out until now," said richard Liu, the owner. "The cost of recruiting in the post-pandemic era is so high that I have to do some work in the restaurant as well."
More than just an urgent need for workers to keep restaurants running on a daily basis, Richard said hiring help from Ontario and the federal government didn't work for him.
"We're a small business and we simply can't afford to spend time and energy into the lengthy overseas recruitment process."
Andy Liu, manager of Amazing Seafood near Markham's village, said he was tired of running a business these days because he had to keep an eye on the staff on a daily basis, fearing they would quit at any time.
"We rarely have young kitchen staff in our restaurants," Andy said, adding that hiring employees at high prices that break the rules of the market is becoming more common, with weekly salaries ranging from $900 to $1,300, much to the heart of business owners complaining.
Before the pandemic, hiring wasn't as difficult as it is now. Many foreign workers are determined to continue to work in order to obtain their status. Now, Andy argues, immigrants are reluctant to come to Canada for a variety of reasons, and permanent residency in Canada no longer attracts many people.
For most Chinese restaurants, they need workers who can use Chinese as their working language and are familiar with Chinese food culture.
For Andy, knowing Chinese is the minimum threshold for hiring. As a Hong Kong-style dim sum restaurant, their ordering machine is mainly Chinese, and if the system is upgraded, it will be unfriendly to the old staff.
Carrie Wu, an immigration consultant at Keero Immigration Consulting in Markham, found that Chinese students rarely come to Canada to learn how to cook. They prefer to major in IT, accounting or business under the influence of their parents.