Four years after returning to Hearst to combat youth outmigration, Sylvie Fontaine said there are signs that the community’s youth attraction and retention strategy is working.
Dec. 28 marked the fourth edition of Destination Hearst, an annual networking event held at the Inovo Centre that invites youth who are originally from Hearst to rub elbows with employers who are seeking employees to fill job vacancies.
The initiative focuses on the construction, forestry, health and education sectors, said Fontaine, director general at the Hearst Economic Development Corp. (EDC).
Ten businesses were represented at the event, including Columbia Forest Products, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Pepco, Tembec Inc., and Villeneuve Construction. Seventeen youth attended, which was fewer than in previous years, but a number with which Fontaine was pleased.
“It all depends what types of jobs are available,” she said. “If you’re studying biology and there are no jobs in biology, well, you’re not going to come to the event, because it’s no use coming, because there are no jobs for you there.”
According to the 2011 census, Hearst’s population has declined by 9.6 per cent in recent years, 6 per cent of which is comprised of youth aged 15 to 34. But Fontaine is starting to see a turnaround, and youth are returning to their roots.
“I think it’s the way of life that they miss about Hearst,” Fontaine said. “Some were in a bigger city, and they like to go into the bush, and they like to hunt, and they like snowmobiling, so they can’t practise that there, so some of them do some back for that.”
For others, it’s the desire to be close to family, while still others are presented with a job opportunity that brings them home. But there still aren’t enough jobs for everyone, and the EDC is well aware of how important it is to retain those who do return.
That’s why it’s formed a Welcoming Committee for New Residents. The committee is planning a symposium in May to develop an action plan, Fontaine said, and will then apply for funding to put a strategy into place.
“We want to gear ourselves to be more welcoming for people that are from out of town, because here we’re mostly French, and if you have somebody that doesn’t speak French, like most of Hearst, it’s quite intimidating for them,” she said. “So we need to be more inclusive and more welcoming.”
One idea is to develop a program that helps newcomers learn French to more easily integrate into the community.
Town council also hosts an annual New Resident Breakfast for newcomers. Fontaine said last year’s turnout was better than the previous year, and so she was eager to see the turnout at this year’s Feb. 7 event.
There could also be mining-related opportunities on the horizon as well, with the advancement of Zenyatta Ventures’ graphite mine project, currently under development northwest of Hearst.
In October, in conjunction with nearby Constance Lake First Nation, the town received $97,540 in provincial funding to develop a mining readiness strategy, and Fontaine said another application had been submitted to FedNor.
The two-year program will be rolled out in phases: in year one, a consultant will develop a strategy, and in year two, the consultant will help implement the plan.
Fontaine said the town and the First Nation want to position themselves to reap the economic benefits if and when the Zenyatta project gets off the ground.
“We want to make sure they don’t jump over Hearst and go elsewhere if we can,” she said. “So that’s going to be pretty exciting.”
