Staffing remains a major issue to Juneau’s Eaglecrest ski area following the absence of staff caused a drop in revenue last season.. However, workers coming from Central as well as South America could help.
The last week, Eaglecrest’s job ads received more than 7,000 views however, only six people who applied met the required qualifications.
“The interest appears to be abound however, we’re not yet able to transition this interest into accepting inquiries,” said Dave Scanlan the general manager of Eaglecrest.
Scanlan claimed that Eaglecrest has raised the base wage by 23% in the last year and half.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”In the same time frame the pressures on everyone have been enormous,” Scanlan said. “We’ve noticed that the wages of base workers across all ski areas increase much faster than we’ve managed to raise them. .”
As per the Eaglecrest job advertisements, lift-operators earn $13 an hour. Meanwhile, instructors who are not certified make between $13 and $15 an hour. Other ski areas pay $16 an hour for these jobs, according to Scanlan in a note to the ski resort’s board this week.
Ski season tickets and passes cost 10 more in the current season However, Scanlan says they should remain accessible.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”We do not wish to undervalue the community by increasing prices to much,” he said. “Those two factors do not add up enough to to keep raising the wages.”
Making more money during summer months through initiatives like the new gondola might assist in the near future. The gondola is scheduled to begin operation in 2028.
Then, a group of people could be the key to making this summer’s festivities a reality students taking summer vacation in their home in the Southern Hemisphere.
Eaglecrest is partnered with a firm that helps workers find opportunities to work abroad. According to Scanlan there are 16 people who have J1 visas from Peru, Costa Rica and Brazil who can work as lift operators and cooks, as well as ski instructors, and employees of the rental shop at Eaglecrest.
“That could provide us with the foundation of certain core functions that we’ve struggled with filling locally in the last couple of decades,” Scanlan said.
It is a requirement of the J1 visa requires employers to provide housing options for employees. Rooms that are vacant in a University of Alaska Southeast dorm could be an option. Scanlan explained that the university has rented the rooms out to tour companies in the summer and is hopeful Eaglecrest could come to a rental deal with the school that meets the J1 visa agency’s cost preference.
The housing market is still a problem to recruit American workers, too.
Eaglecrest began last season without a manager for their repair and rental shop. They’ve had one applicant for the position and another for the lead repair technician job.
Scanlan stated that the most crucial job is manager of maintenance and lifting for vehicles. The salary range is between $25 and $31 per hour, however Scanlan stated that the competition for mechanics who work on lifts in the field is very high. There is no one who has yet applied for the position.
