Canada’s new Minister of Employment says that the best bet to solving the labour challenges faced by employers today is skilled trade worker immigration.
Minister Jason Kenney, who was recently transferred over from his post as Minister of Immigration, spoke in Calgary recently about the potential of the new skilled trade worker immigration, particularly in assisting employers in the booming Western provinces who are having trouble finding the labour they need.
“”We see some of the most acute labour shortages in the construction trades in the Athabasca oilsands region because we’re talking about multibillion dollar mega construction projects there,” said Kenney. “We simply do not have enough qualified trades people in Canada to fill those labour needs.”
Kenney pointed to the relatively low enrolment in training programs for the skilled trades, saying that Canadians alone will not be able to make up the necessary workforce in the coming years, particularly as the baby-boomer generation retires.
“We need to make sure we have an immigration system that instead of bringing medical doctors here to drive cabs brings electricians to work as electricians,” Kenney said.
Source: Ottawa Citizen