THUNDER BAY – More than 900 skilled workers have been recruited to the city during the last five years through the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot program.
The program’s success and completion was celebrated Tuesday evening at the Delta Hotel at an event hosted by the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission.
Jamie Lee Kostecki, community development manager with the CEDC, said the program saw 500 eligible employers participate and more than 900 skilled workers have been retained.
More than 1,200 newcomers have come to the area overall. When workers receive their permanent residency, their family members can as well.
“It’s been a great way to grow our population and really address a couple of those major labour shortages we’re seeing within the community,” said Kostecki, adding the top three industries that used the program were health care, food services and retail.
“It it's been a great avenue to allow them, our employers, the opportunity to find a different pathway to address those labour shortages, specifically in those areas,” said Kostecki. “Every year, we looked at our labour market, looked at essentially the labour shortage we're seeing in certain areas and pivot the program so it's specifically supporting those industries, which is really unique and I think it provided a very efficient way to support our community.”
Although the Rural and Northern Immigration program is done, Kostecki said another iteration of the program has been announced and the CEDC has applied to be a delivery agent of that program.
Even if that falls through, there are still several different immigration pathways for employers, said Kostecki.
“We still continue to educate employers in our community of the different pathways they can take when looking to hire skilled foreign workers,” she said.
Tuesday’s celebration also included an Indigenous cultural workshop presented by Superior Strategies.
