P.E.I. lags in immigrant retention

P.E.I. has one of the worst records in the country for retaining immigrants from the provincial nominee program, says a report from Canada Immigration.

Just 37 per cent of PNP immigrants who arrived on P.E.I. before 2008 were still living on the Island at the end of that year. Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province with a worse record: 23 per cent. Retention rates in Alberta and British Columbia were over 95 per cent.

The retention issue for PNP immigrants was particularly problematic for P.E.I., which relied on the program for 95 per cent of its immigrants. Nationally immigrants arrived through a broad range of programs, with PNP making up just 17 per cent of immigrants.

The report concludes employment may be a factor in immigrant retention.

Just over half of P.E.I.'s nominees were earning a wage in their first year on the Island, and those who were earning were averaging just over $20,000 a year.

In Alberta and British Columbia, more than 80 per cent of PNP immigrants had been employed in Canada on work permits before being accepted to the provincial nominee program. On P.E.I., that number started at a high of 10 per cent in 2005 and had fallen to five per cent by 2009.

Province's workforce continues to shrink

MLA says retirements will see B.C. lose one million workers; only 650,000 on hand to fill the need

 

BY WALTER CORDERY, DAILY NEWS JANUARY 27, 2012

 

 

As the baby boomers retire and leave the workforce, British Columbia will need hundreds of thousands of skilled immigrants to replace them.

That need is one of the reasons why the provincial government has established an immigration task force that is travelling throughout the province to determine the needs of individual communities, said RichmondSteveston MLA John Yap, who leads the task force.

"There's no doubt B.C. needs more economic immigrants," Yap said, following a presentation at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre on Thursday.

"Our workforce is shrinking right now because people are retiring. We are losing one million people from the workforce in the near future due to retirement and we only have 650,000 people to fill the need," Yap said.

He leads a 10-member task force that recently started to criss-cross the province, seeking input from employers and others who are worried about the dwindling work force.

He started his consultation with local business and political leaders as well as other interested stakeholders in Fort St. John. "The immigration task force is part of the B.C. Jobs Plan. A strategy aimed at preparing for the expected economic boom," Yap said.

He has until March to consult with communities across the province and then submit his

report to Premier Christy Clark. "Based on the findings we have found so far, we realize that this is a growing problem," Yap said.

"What appears to be happening is businesses that hire new immigrants are seeing a high turnover rate because the immigrants take entry-level jobs when they first arrive and then look around for better work."

B.C. appears to be leading the other provinces in attracting immigrants but it still needs to do more, he said.

Yap praised the provincial nominee program because it accelerates the permanent resident application process for skilled workers, experienced business persons and their family members who want to settle in B.C. permanently. It allows nominees to apply for permanent resident status through Citizenship and Immigration Canada under the fast-tracked program.

Hilde Schlosar, executive director of the Central Island Multicultural Society, was at the meeting, which was closed to the public. Schlosar applauded B.C.'s plan to assist new immigrants and develop the workforce.

"This kind of thinking has worked well in other provinces, like Alberta. They have been able to maintain their workforce through immigration and there's no reason that I can think of why B.C. should be any different."

WCordery@nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4237

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