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| English: Saint Joseph's College on the north campus of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
CALGARY — Labour-starved employers should take a short look south to American workers, according to a new study by The Conference Board of Canada released on Friday.
The report said Alberta, which faces the most severe skills shortage in Canada, launched a pilot project last year that brought nearly 1,000 highly-skilled U.S. workers into the province.
“Alberta has been at the forefront of a strategy to recruit U.S. workers, particularly for resource projects, but Saskatchewan and Manitoba are also increasingly facing labour shortages,” said the conference board’s Global Commerce Centre.
The study said: there is no simple mechanism to bring in U.S. workers; resource projects require different approaches to workforce planning because they involve short, intense bursts of activity in geographically dispersed regions; and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is a band-aid for skills shortages, but it is not a panacea or a long-term solution.
“With 50,000 unfilled vacancies and more than double that number expected within a decade, the labour and skills shortage has a direct impact on Alberta’s ability to develop its resource and energy sector. That is not just a regional problem, it affects our national economic prospects as well,” said Laura Dawson, author of Skills in Motion: U.S. Workers May Hold the Key to Canada’s Skills Shortage.
“Alberta has been a real role model in finding innovative ways to solve or to mitigate the short-term labour crunch. I think that there is no doubt that in certain regions and certain sectors of Canada there is a skills shortage.”
Education and training programs to grow those skills is a good idea but that takes time, she added.
“In the meantime, Alberta has this short-term demand and workers from the United States are particularly well-suited for filling demand in certain sectors,” said Dawson. “I’m impressed with the fact that both the government of Alberta as well as the employers and the unions have actually pulled together to find some innovative solutions. I think Alberta’s much further ahead than other provinces in tackling this issue.”
The report said many Alberta employers consider U.S. workers to be ideal to fill Canadian vacancies because they have comparable training and experience. They also understand the language and work culture, can enter Canada without a visa, and live nearby.
But the report said there is no simple mechanism for Canada to bring in U.S. workers in skilled trades. For example, the North American Free Trade Agreement does not allow mutual recognition between Canada and U.S. for regulated trades and professions.
The Alberta Occupation-Specific Pilot was launched in 2012, and has already allowed nearly 1,000 highly-skilled U.S. workers to enter the province, said the conference board report. It allows employers to hire foreign workers certified in certain occupations without needing a Labour Market Opinion from the federal government.
“Alberta’s Department of Apprenticeship and Industry Training has stepped in to provide its own evaluation of workers’ foreign credentials and experience. The province has launched a recruitment campaign in the United States. Alberta employers are also targeting Canadian and American veterans of the armed forces,” it said.
The report said Alberta, which faces the most severe skills shortage in Canada, launched a pilot project last year that brought nearly 1,000 highly-skilled U.S. workers into the province.
“Alberta has been at the forefront of a strategy to recruit U.S. workers, particularly for resource projects, but Saskatchewan and Manitoba are also increasingly facing labour shortages,” said the conference board’s Global Commerce Centre.
The study said: there is no simple mechanism to bring in U.S. workers; resource projects require different approaches to workforce planning because they involve short, intense bursts of activity in geographically dispersed regions; and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is a band-aid for skills shortages, but it is not a panacea or a long-term solution.
“With 50,000 unfilled vacancies and more than double that number expected within a decade, the labour and skills shortage has a direct impact on Alberta’s ability to develop its resource and energy sector. That is not just a regional problem, it affects our national economic prospects as well,” said Laura Dawson, author of Skills in Motion: U.S. Workers May Hold the Key to Canada’s Skills Shortage.
“Alberta has been a real role model in finding innovative ways to solve or to mitigate the short-term labour crunch. I think that there is no doubt that in certain regions and certain sectors of Canada there is a skills shortage.”
Education and training programs to grow those skills is a good idea but that takes time, she added.
“In the meantime, Alberta has this short-term demand and workers from the United States are particularly well-suited for filling demand in certain sectors,” said Dawson. “I’m impressed with the fact that both the government of Alberta as well as the employers and the unions have actually pulled together to find some innovative solutions. I think Alberta’s much further ahead than other provinces in tackling this issue.”
The report said many Alberta employers consider U.S. workers to be ideal to fill Canadian vacancies because they have comparable training and experience. They also understand the language and work culture, can enter Canada without a visa, and live nearby.
But the report said there is no simple mechanism for Canada to bring in U.S. workers in skilled trades. For example, the North American Free Trade Agreement does not allow mutual recognition between Canada and U.S. for regulated trades and professions.
The Alberta Occupation-Specific Pilot was launched in 2012, and has already allowed nearly 1,000 highly-skilled U.S. workers to enter the province, said the conference board report. It allows employers to hire foreign workers certified in certain occupations without needing a Labour Market Opinion from the federal government.
“Alberta’s Department of Apprenticeship and Industry Training has stepped in to provide its own evaluation of workers’ foreign credentials and experience. The province has launched a recruitment campaign in the United States. Alberta employers are also targeting Canadian and American veterans of the armed forces,” it said.
“Alberta’s experience with U.S. worker recruitment provides a number of lessons for employers and policy-makers elsewhere in Canada.”
Geraldine Anderson, spokesperson for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said the industry is generally supportive of this initiative.
She said the industry believes in hiring Canadians first and building that workforce.
“However, there is a shortage of skilled labour in the industry and this is an important tool to sort of fill a gap in the labour market.”
Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk said the Alberta response to the skilled labour shortage is a practical one for the situation.
“We know in Alberta right now that our government and our employers are doing what they possibly can to hire local, Canadian workers because it simply makes sense. It’s cheaper to do so and it’s more practical to do so and frankly most importantly it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
“But the fact is that at a time right now where we have about 4.6 per cent unemployment rate and we have 70,000 temporary foreign workers, that speaks to the fact that there’s simply a shortage of labour and it will continue to grow. We expect that we will have a shortage of somewhere around 120,000 workers within the next 10 years.”
He said that for the last 10 years or so the province has on an ongoing basis about 70,000 to 75,000 temporary workers.
Lukaszuk said the Alberta response makes sense and it allows employers to get workers here faster “because they need these workers now. Not in six months or nine months.”
According to the Alberta government, total work permits issued under the Occupation-Specific Pilot program between July 2012 and August 2013 were: Steamfitter-pipefitter, 721 (320 from U.S.); Welder, 967 (U.S. 177); Ironworker, 453 (U.S. 355); Carpenter, 154 (U.S. 12); Estimator, 81 (U.S. 22); and Heavy-duty equipment mechanic, 92 (U.S. 8).
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
Twitter.com/MTone123
Geraldine Anderson, spokesperson for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said the industry is generally supportive of this initiative.
She said the industry believes in hiring Canadians first and building that workforce.
“However, there is a shortage of skilled labour in the industry and this is an important tool to sort of fill a gap in the labour market.”
Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk said the Alberta response to the skilled labour shortage is a practical one for the situation.
“We know in Alberta right now that our government and our employers are doing what they possibly can to hire local, Canadian workers because it simply makes sense. It’s cheaper to do so and it’s more practical to do so and frankly most importantly it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
“But the fact is that at a time right now where we have about 4.6 per cent unemployment rate and we have 70,000 temporary foreign workers, that speaks to the fact that there’s simply a shortage of labour and it will continue to grow. We expect that we will have a shortage of somewhere around 120,000 workers within the next 10 years.”
He said that for the last 10 years or so the province has on an ongoing basis about 70,000 to 75,000 temporary workers.
Lukaszuk said the Alberta response makes sense and it allows employers to get workers here faster “because they need these workers now. Not in six months or nine months.”
According to the Alberta government, total work permits issued under the Occupation-Specific Pilot program between July 2012 and August 2013 were: Steamfitter-pipefitter, 721 (320 from U.S.); Welder, 967 (U.S. 177); Ironworker, 453 (U.S. 355); Carpenter, 154 (U.S. 12); Estimator, 81 (U.S. 22); and Heavy-duty equipment mechanic, 92 (U.S. 8).
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
Twitter.com/MTone123
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