Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 03/02) - The Northwest Territories has the highest employment rate in the country. That's good news, but it also means it's harder to lure the right person for the job. Now there's help recruiting workers to the right pair of workboots.

"I thought really we should have our own little niche job bank that serves just the North," said Workboot's John Simpson. His company launched a new job-finding service last weekend. It's a Web site with Northern job postings and training opportunities. Simpson was frustrated after searching job-hunt Web sites like Monster.com and Workopolis that only pertained to southerners.

He decided to set up a job bank geared to diamonds, oil and gas. Yellowknife has an overwhelming 82.3 per cent of its population at work. That's one of the highest rates in the country. Simpson realized companies setting up shop in the North could use help linking up with workers.

He's advertising his Web service in Northern newspapers as well as high unemployment locations.

"So we can attract people who are looking for more the technical and trades jobs," he said. That's where the name "workboot" fits in.

"It fit with the industrial flavour. The double entendre of workboot -- boot being a computer term," he explained. "So boot up your work."

Already more than 80 job seekers have submitted resumes and 25 employers have sent out feelers. Simpson started the venture with $130,000 help from Industry Canada's Smart Communities program. He matched that money and more with cash and service in kind -- that means his business provides the salaries, work space and expertise. The project has cost more than he originally projected because he underestimated advertising costs.

Simpson hopes to profit by charging employers. A single 30-day job posting on the Web site will be about $40 and then packages will go up in cost from there. There are different packages available for employers that include simply posting a certain number of jobs or writing job descriptions and building company Web sites.

"There are a lot of custom packages that we will be selling," he said. The service will be free for job-hunters.

But right now Workboot is still campaigning to publicize itself. "We're giving employers a three-month free trial," said Simpson, who started Genesis Group Ltd., an education, training and human resources consulting business in 1996. One of his biggest customers is De Beers, the company that wants to build an underground diamond mine in the NWT.

The Workboot Web site will also have employment tips, an assessment of personality traits to decide work suitability and resume help. "In a small market we do anything for a buck," said Simpson.

Genesis built the Web site and will keep it updated. A lay-out artist and graphic designer are part of the company's 14-person staff.

"People come in and work on their resumes and we do council ling and help them find jobs," he said. Genesis also maintains a career centre in Yellowknife's Panda II Mall.

Simpson said he hates to brag but, "we're pretty much the experts in training in the North."