Workforce Profiles look at the people behind Workforce WindsorEssex’s 120+ In-Demand Jobs. Each week, we talk to a different professional for an inside look into their work.
This week, we are beyond honoured to have interviewed the man of the season: Santa Claus.
He’s one of the most high profile guys around, and he has one of the most important jobs of the year. With his famous red suit and team of reindeer who help him deliver his gifts on Christmas Eve, Santa makes millions of dreams come true across the world.
His job involves a lot more than having rosy cheeks, a twinkle in the eye, and being chubby and jolly. We learned the behind the scenes of this iconic visitor, and explored the many hats he has to wear on the job (not just the fluffy white one).
What are the Attributes, Skills and Abilities Required for your job?
- Able to persuade individuals in all walks of life that Christmas magic is real
- Be compassionate about childhood dreams and wishes
- Ability to be magical, quick and nimble
- Demonstrate Christmas knowledge around the world
- Able to project a robust and heartfelt HO-HO- HO Christmas greeting
- Tolerate glare from flashing lights
- Proven track record to demonstrate who has been naughty or nice
- Being able to enter in/out of homes unnoticed every Christmas Eve
What Education, Training, and Experience do you have for this career?
- North Pole Masters’ Degree in Christmas Business Administration
- Toy Manufacturing
- Posing for photos
- Working with Elves of all levels
- Design, Development, assembly and packaging of all Toys in workshop as required
- Security upkeep of all North Pole buildings and grounds
- Care of reindeer and sleighs
- Fully trained to work in confined environments such as chimneys, window ledges, and rooftops.
- Trained to eat loads of milk and cookies
- Several thousands of years of experience
What other soft skills do you use in this career?
To be the best Santa I can be, I need to have fantastic listening skills to listen to all of the toy requests from the good girls and boys who sit and tell me what they want for Christmas. I receive a lot of letters to read as well, which means I also have to practice my reading and comprehension skills.
At my workshop at the North Pole, I have a fantastic production and distribution facility, with many elves working away at making toys. I need to practice great leadership qualities to lead the elves, and this often includes inspiring them with my passion and commitment for the job. I’ve had this job for thousands of years, and I am very thankful to have many hardworking elves on my team.
When delivering the toys on Christmas Eve, other skills I need to have are: determination, resilience and energy. This is a big job for one night, but I know how much it means to the children of the world, and it brings me joy to deliver a Happy Christmas to the good boys and girls. I spend all year training for this Delivery, and I look forward to the many cookies I get to eat when visiting the houses.
After I get back to the North Pole on Christmas Day, I always thank the reindeer and elves for their hard work. What keeps us all motivated, are the people all over the world believing in the magic of Christmas!
List checker, Toy Manufacturer, Delivery Person, Cookie Consumer, Spirit Brightener… this big guy really does do it all.
Merry Christmas Santa! Thank you for telling us all about your job. Enjoy your vacation, you’ve definitely earned it!
To read about other in-demand careers in Windsor Essex, please read our Workforce Wednesday Blog Series.
