|
Canada eyes US labor pool
Canada’s Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is working closely with employer groups and labor unions to head off a projected shortage of 77,000 skilled workers in the energy sector within a decade.
The federal strategy includes cooperative efforts with unions in Canada and the United States to recruit American tradespeople who are facing unemployment of up to 25 percent in some regions.
Bob Blakely, director of Canadian affairs for the Building and Construction unit of the AFL-CIO, said there is an “enormous pool of people” looking for work in the U.S. who share the same training as Canadians and who have worked for the same oil and gas companies.
Retirement an issue He said Canada’s construction sector, especially in the rapidly expanding oil sands sector, needs access to that talent given that 25 percent of the current labor force is due to retire in the next five or six years.
David Collyer, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said industry and government need to take urgent steps to deal with an increasing gap between the proposed growth projects and the available work force.
Kennedy has promised to make changes to Canada’s immigration system to open the door to skilled workers, starting with an increase in the number of visas for temporary workers to 57,000 in 2012 from 47,000 in 2011.
Provincial governments will also be able to nominate individuals, such as engineers or ironworkers, for permanent residence if they meet specific local labor market needs.
For Alberta, the number of nominations is expected to double to 10,000 once the details are released.
—Gary Park
| 