A Pass-Through Center

As people move up their respective career ladders, they are often required to move through several smaller centers in our province until they qualify for jobs in the larger centers. Brandon is about half way along many of these career paths, particularly in the social services. This same phenomenon was the case in radio and television, but automation has so changed that industry that the career patterns have changed drastically. With robot sub-stations and automated programming, the need for local staff in smaller stations has dropped, and personnel rarely move at all.

The University has been a way station on a similar career highway, but that may well change in the next decade as baby-boomers retire and hiring practices change throughout the continent. Until now, both School Board and University worked hard to ensure that spouses of staff were also employed so as to ensure staff retention in such a small center, even this may no longer be adequate. Recruiters from larger school Boards, United States and Britain are already seeking Teachers in Brandon, just as Brandon is actively recruiting across Canada.

With the high stress placed on social service professionals owing to high caseloads and resource cutbacks, the difficulty of keeping those professionals may well increase. Medical personnel have always been difficult to keep in rural areas, and Brandon is no exception.

A whole new dynamic in transient professionals is developing world wide. In this working relationship, the worker "packs to come home", and finds stability in him/herself, or at best a "temp" office. Many of the resources below address that situation. The career paths mentioned above may themselves be dissolving, with contract relationships emerging as the primary workplace interface.

Media Based Solutions

Further Resources