Odd Job Jacks closing down, citing 'rough' labour market

Friday marked the last day of operations for Odd Job Jacks, a locally owned and operated cleaning, lawn care and contracting business that was in operation for a decade.

“It’s been a rough couple of years for the business,” said Kurtis McDermid, Odd Job Jacks owner, speaking to SooToday.

McDermid said staffing issues have been a problem.

“I tried to do a really big expansion plan with the business and it didn’t pan out the way that I wanted it to, going from being a one crew operation to being a multiple crew operation.”

McDermid started hiring employees in 2015 after working solo for three years.

Now he’s faced with a labour shortage.

“When I first started hiring people between five and eight years ago, you’d hire guys and if a guy left there were five or 10 people waiting to take their place,” McDermid said.

That has changed.

“Lately we’ve been to every job fair, we’ve called every resume that’s come in and we just can’t find the talent that we need.”

“I was looking at statistics from AWIC (Algoma Workforce Investment Corporation) a while ago and something I found was how low our participation rate is in the city once you take out everybody that’s working, or retirement age, or underage to work," McDermid said.

“We were doing landscaping for some developments that were going up and five years ago you’d look up at a roof and see five guys roofing a building and now you look up and there’s one guy up there.”

McDermid said another issue he has faced is finding employees with a driver’s licence.

“I’ve got three vehicles sitting in the parking lot and nobody with a driver’s licence.”

Then there are labour costs.

McDermid said he made a commitment two years ago to being a certified living wage employer.

Sault Ste. Marie’s living wage is currently at $19.80 an hour, according to the Ontario Living Wage Network.

“I had to let that lapse,” McDermid said.

“Trying to pay unskilled labour kids to haul material, cut grass, blow snow, it gets hard to tell somebody that their lawn cut is going to be sixty or seventy dollars because you're trying to pay all your guys a living wage. Their supervisor needs to get paid more than that, and then there’s your taxes and insurance, and somebody wants their lawn cut for thirty dollars.”

McDermid added that some new employees he trained would move on to a larger employer.

“You never seem to get your training investment back on somebody.” 

Material costs went up after the COVID-19 pandemic.

McDermid said a part for a snowblower that cost $20 now costs $60.

He said the business problems he’s faced are not uncommon.

“Lots of my friends have closed businesses. I know Scott Coffee closed down, East Street Pizza closed down, lots of contractors have gone back to just working for themselves being a one man crew again.”

Odd Job Jacks, McDermid said, is committed to finishing jobs currently in progress.

All outstanding invoices are still due and payable as outlined in customers’ invoices.

McDermid said he will be selling off his equipment, such as his business vehicles, a landscape trailer, leaf blowers, snow blowers, painter's scaffolding, ladders, hand tools, power tools, shovels, rakes, building materials, tables, benches, shelving units and office equipment.

He has also sent out his thanks to clients through social media.

McDermid said he wants to help his former employees find work.

Regarding community involvement, Odd Job Jacks supported Summer Moon Fest, Bon Soo, the Downtown Association and the West End Theatre Project.

“I’m taking December to wrap up the business and get that mental load off me and go into the New Year with a fresh mind and a rested mind and start to explore what’s next for me,” McDermid said.

McDermid is Bon Soo board of directors president and said he is looking forward to this year’s winter carnival as something to devote his time to.

He said he might take a nine to five job but is more inclined to operate his own business.

“That's all I’ve ever done. I’ve had side jobs here and there but the only career I’ve ever had is owning a business.”