For Immediate Release
Rising tide of seniors, with one in four Canadians over 65 by 2030
Vancouver, B.C. (December 5, 2019): A “rising tide of seniors” and the resulting labour shortages facing the seniors’ care sector will both take centre stage at the first Seniors Living Expo and Job Fair, at the Vancouver Convention Centre, November 21-22, 2020.
The two-day consumer show highlighting seniors living, with an accompanying job fair for career hunters interested in working in the sector, will showcase the exciting growth in independent living, assisted living, long-term care, home support and home care, and the accompanying services today’s older adults seek.
“By 2030, one-in-four Canadians will be over age 65, and seniors and their families have a lot of questions when it comes to housing and wellness services,” explains Daniel Fontaine, CEO of BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA) which is producing the Expo and Job Fair with EngAge BC.
“There’s unprecedented growth in the number of seniors living in British Columbia. In fact, in just 20 years we’ll have 1.6 million seniors here, that’s double the number in 2013.”
Fontaine says today’s older adults have different expectations than prior generations when it comes to housing and care. “As a group, they’re better educated, more prosperous and living longer, and together with their families they’re asking for the broadest possible range of lifestyles and wellness services,” Fontaine notes. “That growth, and the rising tide that’s happening right now, is also driving the incredible career opportunities in the seniors care sector right across the province.
“That’s why we will host what we believe will be the largest job fair of its kind in Canada, right alongside the Expo, which is aimed at seniors and their families.”
Presented by Essity, a leading global hygiene and health company with the leading brand TENA, Canada’s Seniors Living Expo will feature a wellness plaza, exhibitor zone, and presentation stages featuring hourly discussions and insights from experts on seniors living, with opportunities for audience interaction and questions.
The Job Fair will feature opportunities for prospective employees to meet directly with a broad range of employers as well as participate in our “Peer to Peer” information sessions.
“The Expo and Job Fair will take place over 30,000 square feet at the Vancouver Convention Centre, giving us plenty of room for major exhibits and presentations,” adds Fontaine.
Fontaine says the Seniors Living Expo and Job Fair has also enlisted recently retired host of the CBC Early Edition program, Rick Cluff, as well as former Vancouver city councillor and community leader Maggie Ip as ambassadors for the show.
“We’re expecting upwards of 20,000 visitors with a target audience of older adults aged 60-plus,” says Fontaine. “We’re particularly interested in those seniors and their family members who are looking at the full range of options when it comes to lifestyle and personal wellness. Families are an important part of that target audience as we know they often play a big role in advising their elderly loved ones on housing and care options.”
For more than 40 years, BC Care Providers Association has been the leading voice of non-government seniors’ care in British Columbia. Every year, BCCPA’s 350 members across the province provide some 30,000 seniors with long-term care, assisted living and home care and home support.
EngAge BC, an operating arm of BCCPA, develops and operates programs and marketing initiatives that promote privately-owned independent living, assisted living, long-term and home care operators. In addition to producing the Seniors Living Expo and Job Fair, EngAge BC operates Route 65, an online service that matches interested seniors with wellness and seniors living options, and Assurity, a province-wide quality assurance and certification program launching in 2020.
-30-
Media contacts:
Trevor Pancoust
tpancoust@pacegroup.com
604.646.3567
Rumana D’Souza
Digital Media and Communications Specialist
BC Care Providers
(778) 681-4859
rumana@bccare.ca
