Whether you run a grocery store, a food bank or a farm, if you are experiencing a worker shortage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, or need help with IT or project management, a new army of volunteers is ready and willing to help.
Annex, a Vancouver IT recruitment firm, has teamed up with other recruitment agencies to form an army of 1,000 volunteers – from students and retirees, to lawyers, project management specialists and IT professionals – to help businesses and non-profits with manpower and professional services, including cybersecurity experts, accountants, and software developers.
Annex partnered with Mindfield, which specializes in restaurant, retail and hospitality sectors, and Project Management Volunteers, to recruit volunteers and pair them with organizations and businesses that need workers. Mindfield is also offering employers a free job posting service.
“Some are IT professionals, because that’s what we do, and others are just retirees, students, lawyers, accountants, HR advisers…who are saying, ‘yeah, I’ll help out,'" said Annex CEO Stacey Cerniuk.
“Originally, we were thinking we would target health care, and some charities, but really we just decided if any essential service organization – so supply chain organizations, even grocery stores that, if they're finding that their workers are staying home, like stock shelvers or online grocery pickers -- if they’re worried and staying home, maybe we can temporarily provide them with some volunteer help.”
Jewish Family Services, for example, runs a food bank and crisis line but needed help developing a database, so Annex is working with the organization to provide software specialists to help.
And Union Gospel Mission needs volunteers to prepare and serve meals, so Annex is trying to help with volunteers, who may be taking some risk working on the front lines, but who will be provided with personal protective equipment.
Cerniuk said many students will be finishing classes soon with no prospect of summer job. They are encouraged to volunteer.
“It’s purely volunteer, but maybe it could lead to a paid position, if that organization needs someone,” Cerniuk said.
One area of need for specialized volunteers is in the medical manufacturing space to help with things like 3D printing and medical device manufacturing. Engineers, physicians and manufacturing specialists are needed to help companies making everything from ventilators to medical masks and gowns.
“There’s a lot of kids at UBC, or people in the life sciences industry who are involved in this, so there’s some highly niche skills required there,” Cerniuk said.
Volunteers are also needed to sew face masks for workers health care facilities and senior homes. Drivers are also needed to deliver groceries and other supplies to seniors who live on their own.
Cerniuk said lawyers speciazling in working with non-profits are also needed.
“There’s a lot of these niche not-for-profits getting started and they just don’t really understand how to get rolling to expand or scale up and make sure they’re onside with regulations," Cerniuk said.
Anyone who wishes to volunteer, or needs volunteers, can contact Annex at [email protected]
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