More than 120,000 immigrants have settled in Alberta over the past five years. 85 per cent of those immigrants stay in Alberta once they arrive and immigrants accounted for more than 20 per cent of Alberta’s work force in 2010.

Alberta is welcoming increasing numbers of immigrants to the province, thanks to many of its government’s initiatives. Some of the initiatives introduced by the province in the past five years include:

•A Foreign Qualification Recognition Plan (FQR) introduced in 2008 that includes online facts sheets for 31 regulated occupations and compulsory trades and provides funding for professional regulatory organizations to increase their capacity to assess and recognize foreign qualifications.

•The launch of the online tool Working in Alberta that helps newcomers find the jobs they are trained to do and helps Alberta employers find the labour they need manage their businesses.

•Completed international education guides for the Philippines, China, United Kingdom, Russia, India, South Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan and Columbia. The guides provide comprehensive profiles of the educational systems in other countries and show how they compare to educational standards in Canada.

•The International Qualifications Assessment Services (IQAS) issued 6,234 assessment certificates to immigrants. Since 2005, 25,559 assessments have been completed. IQAS issues certificates to immigrants in Alberta to indicate how foreign education compares to Canadian educational standards for entry into the labour market.

• Temporary foreign worker information booklets, available in 14 languages, were developed for both employers and foreign workers to ensure they have a better understanding of their workplace rights and responsibilities.*

Learn if you qualify for Alberta’s Provincial Nominee Program by taking our free immigration assessment!

*Source: Canadian HRReporter