Ottawa, July 16, 2012 — Alberta employers looking to hire highly skilled foreign workers in certain in-demand occupations will benefit thanks to the expansion of a Temporary Foreign Worker pilot project, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and Alberta Minister of Enterprise and Advanced Education Stephen Khan announced today.
“Alberta is facing some of the most acute labour shortages in the country,” said Minister Kenney. “The expansion of this pilot project will enable more employers in Alberta to hire foreign workers on a temporary basis to fill short-term skills and labour needs when Canadians or permanent residents are unavailable.”
Originally launched June 1, 2011, under the Temporary Foreign Worker Annex to the Agreement for Canada-Alberta Cooperation on Immigration, this pilot project allows eligible foreign nationals to come to Alberta to work temporarily in a specific occupation. This program enables them to be issued a work permit that allows them to move freely between Alberta employers, without requiring authorization from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada/Service Canada in the form of a Labour Market Opinion, or LMO.
Effective today, the Alberta pilot is expanding beyond the steamfitter/pipefitter occupation to include the following additional occupations:
Welder
Heavy duty equipment mechanic
Ironworker
Millwright and industrial mechanic
Carpenter
Estimator
“Our consultations with Alberta employers and our own labour forecasts show there is a need to expand the pilot to include these high-demand occupations,” said Minister Khan. “We appreciate the cooperation and support of our federal colleagues in working with us to help employers get the workers they need sooner.”
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