With persistent labour shortages in certain industries across Canada, more and more Canadian employers are looking to recruit workers from overseas.

Alberta, whose booming economy has left it especially strapped for skilled workers, has recently led important recruitment drives to India, the United Kingdom, and South Africa.

"I believe with the shortage of labour in Canada, more and more companies will be going abroad not only to India, China and the Philippines, but also Eastern Europe," states Kirk White, a recruitment coordinator in Fort McMurray with OPTI Canada Inc.

His company is currently in the process of hiring up to 28 short-listed candidates found at career fairs across India in May.

In June, the first-ever Opportunities Canada Expo was held in the United Kingdom, organized by the City of Calgary, Calgary Economic Development, and the Alberta government’s Employment and Immigration officers. According to the Alberta companies who took part, it was a great success and yielded a large pool of qualified candidates.

Canadian employers are looking to tap into global workforce as much as possible. It has proved competitive, with other nations such as Australian and New Zealand recruiting in India very strongly as well, among other countries.

"There are 3.7 billion workers in the Middle East (and Asia) as temporary workers migrating back and forth," says Deepak Brahmbhatt, a spokesperson with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. "If we get those kinds of workers . . . they are able to fit into the Alberta market."