The CAO in Kamloops says the city is trying to deal with shortages of qualified managers and employees in some fields.

Speaking on NL Newsday, David Trawin says some positions are easier to hire for than others and says there can be competition with other jurisdictions.

“In certain areas we have had problems attracting a number of officials, such as building officials, which has caused development timelines to increase. So we are trying to work with other communities and see what they’ve done with best practices. They share stuff with us, I share stuff with them, for the mutual benefit of both parties.”

He was asked if the situation is because those workers are at a premium.

“I would say so. We’re seeing it in other areas too, in terms of municipal government. Other areas we can get employees fairly easily, some areas we can’t.”

Trawin says growing someone locally and training them upwards is often easier than trying to get someone fully qualified to move to the community.