COURT HOUSE – Nearly 2,800 international students have applied for summer work in Cape May County, hopefully helping to end a seasonal shortage of workers that worsened during the past two years because of the Covid pandemic.
According to a U.S. Department of State official, there are 4,872 applicants in initial status for the 2022 Summer Work Travel Program for New Jersey and 2,767 of those are in Cape May County. At present, there are “no plans to curtail participation from any country at this time,” including Russia.
There is a hitch, however, because the “U.S. Mission in Russia no longer offers non-diplomatic visa services due to the Russian government’s April 23 notification prohibiting the U.S. Embassy Russia from employing foreign nationals in any capacity,” according to the Embassy’s website. “Russian nationals may continue applying for non-immigrant visas at any U.S. embassy or consulate where they can obtain an appointment.”
The U.S. Department of State has designated the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw to process immigrant visas for residents of Russia.
Russia is typically one of the top 10 countries with students participating in the Summer Work Travel Program, according to the U.S. Department of State. In pre-pandemic 2019, Russia sent 4,828 students as part of the Summer Work Travel Program, the eighth highest-sending country. Ukraine sent 849 that year.
According to a U.S. Department of State official, “U.S. Embassy Moscow has been unable to process most visas in Moscow for several months due to the Russian government’s forced reduction of our workforce. Non-immigrant visa applications, including J-1s, may be processed wherever an applicant is physically located, and appointments are available.”
The department has continually informed and updated program sponsors about visa appointment capacity, so that sponsors can make appropriate recruiting decisions, according to the U.S. Department of State official.
This has resulted in some businesses rethinking how they recruit students. According to a previous Herald report, Vicki Clark, president, Cape May County Chamber of Commerce, told the Cape May County League of Municipalities March 24 that she spoke with one employer who recruited 31 students from Jamaica and another who recruited 90 students from a variety of different countries.
She also mentioned a conversation with an employer who recruited two students from Ukraine, who said they can go to Poland and then travel to the U.S. Likewise, another employer said he has students coming from Russia, and they will go to Istanbul and then to the U.S.
A major employer of international students is Morey’s Piers, in Wildwood. Denise Beckson, vice president of human resources, Morey’s Piers, said, “Our first concern is for the safety and well-being of the people in war-torn regions. Sponsors and employers have been aware that Russian students would have great difficulties participating this season, as they would need to travel to a U.S. Consular Office outside of Russia to obtain a visa. Our hiring allocations were largely shifted to other markets to better enable us to hit our goals.”
The U.S. Department of State’s Exchange Visitor Program fosters global understanding through educational and cultural exchanges. All exchange visitors are expected to return to their home country upon completion of their program to share their exchange experiences.
“The Summer Work Travel application process is ongoing,” the U.S. Department of State official said. “Once the application process has closed, and we have a total number of participants for this year, then we can provide a more accurate number.”
The BridgeUSA Summer Work/Travel program had an average of 106,000 exchange visitors each year in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In 2020, due to restrictions related to the pandemic, there were approximately 5,000 participants. In 2021, that number increased to 39,647.
Summer Work Program by the Numbers:
Year | New Jersey | Cape May County |
2017 | 4,855 | 2,668 |
2018 | 4,532 | 2,438 |
2019 | 5,098 | 2,516 |
2020 | 236 | 179 |
2021 | 1,958 | 1,082 |
“We are cautiously optimistic we will have adequate-to-good staffing this year, enabling us to open as planned and operate according to our published schedule,” noted Beckson.
“Our applications have increased compared to this time last year,” she said. “Our hiring forecast is cautiously optimistic. Even prior to the pandemic, hiring in shore towns was difficult, as the local, year-round population is too low to support the tourism industry and the influx of visitors in the summer. The pandemic and its effects magnified the workforce shortages we have experienced for decades.”
Morey’s Piers traditionally had 1,500 available seasonal positions each summer, about one-third of that J-1 students, so between 500–600 annually, some arriving in spring and some working through early fall, not all at once, according to Beckson.
“For our locals and other U.S. employees, we have broadened our acceptable work hours commitment,” she pointed out. “We no longer require a full-time work week, but now hire people part-time, flexible time, etc. This requires us to have more employees to fill the same number of positions. We are cautiously optimistic about staffing this season, but it is too soon to tell exactly how we will fare.”
Morey’s has tiered pay rates again this year, Beckson said, referring to their website for complete pay details.
However, housing and transportation are “barriers to having a robust workforce able to fill all local, seasonal jobs,” Beckson said. “It is a topic that has been discussed on various county business committees I serve. As an independent business, we have worked to secure additional housing this summer and continue to look for solutions to this problem.”
“Housing and transportation is the number one problem for employment in Cape May County,” Clark told the Cape May County League of Municipalities March 24.
“If we don’t address this issue countywide, this will be the biggest detriment to the future of our tourism industry and the future of all the other industry developments in Cape May County,” she said, adding that the Chamber wants to work with the League of Municipalities to find solutions to the problem.
Clark was on vacation and not available for further comment on the topic by press time.
Cape May County Commissioner Director Gerald Thornton agreed that housing and transportation were “very difficult situations” in the county, noting they were a “serious problem” facing the area. While some businesses have increased their wages, “which should help,” he said, he did not foresee any resolution to the housing and transportation issues for this summer season.
County Commissioner Will Morey agreed. He is involved in several efforts looking at affordable housing for both seasonal and year-round residents.
“As part of the Pacific Avenue (Wildwood) redevelopment effort, we have plans for seasonal housing, along with apartments and low- and moderate-income housing,” Morey said. “The first item is to have the zoning to facilitate and anticipate those plans, and then next is for tax incentives.”
“As part of a county resiliency study, one of our focuses is affordable housing to attract year-round residents,” he added. “I am not yet certain how high the level of the problem is, but I know that if we have affordable housing, we will be able to attract start-up companies, or companies looking to relocate to the beautiful shore area with employees who can work remote in this post-pandemic environment.”
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.
