New immigration pilot aims to fill labour gaps

Thunder Bay - Eligible local businesses will soon get some help recruiting skilled workers looking to immigrate to Canada.

The city has been selected as the host for a new immigration pilot project.

The Rural Community Immigration Pilot aims to connect employers with newcomers to address labour shortages and help local businesses find skilled workers.

Jamie Taylor, CEO of the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC), said the program will focus primarily on the health care sector, followed by retail, accommodation and the skilled trades.

Taylor said the CEDC is leading the program, but it will still take some time to work out the details, though she noted the program will be employer-driven.

"We will be reaching out to employers to educate them on what the program is all about so that they can become eligible employers, and then they will work to find candidates to fill some of their labour gaps," Taylor said.

She explained that the CEDC and the business community will look at candidates' education levels and match them with jobs that best suit their fields of expertise.

Taylor said the CEDC will be responsible for issuing a reference letter for each candidate to help them obtain permanent residency.

She said the CEDC has already received applications from about 200 candidates, and expects that number to grow as the pilot progresses.

The program will serve the Thunder Bay census metropolitan area, which includes the city itself as well as Oliver Paipoonge, Neebing, Shuniah, Conmee, O'Connor, Gillies and Fort William First Nation.

When asked how smaller communities around Thunder Bay will benefit from the program, Thunder Bay-Superior North MP Patty Hajdu said some newcomers may choose to live in those outlying areas, while others may only work there.

"If you think about health care and mobile health services, rural communities often need people to provide them with a variety of different services. This is a real opportunity for our region," Hajdu said.

The CEDC helped more than 1,200 newcomers through its previous Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, which ended on August 31, 2024.

The program "was extraordinarily successful in Thunder Bay. It helped employers recruit the talent they needed across all sectors, from health care to small business employers, and we need these people to continue to serve our communities and grow our local economy."

The CEDC is also responsible for the provincial immigration pilot announced earlier this month, which also aims to attract workers.

Source: https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/new-immigration-pilot-aims-to-fill-gaps-in-workforce-10137526