January 16, 2008

Immigration

Twelve construction occupations join temporary foreign worker pilot project

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

A federal government initiative designed to address the labour shortage in B.C. and Alberta has added 12 new construction trades to the list of high-demand occupations eligible to be fast tracked through the immigration process.

The Expedited Labour Market Opinion (ELMO) is a one-year pilot project launched by the federal government in September under the Temporary Foreign Worker program.

The pilot project allows eligible employers in B.C. and Alberta to follow shorter, simpler and less costly advertising requirements to fill empty jobs with temporary foreign workers.

A Labour Market Opinion assesses the potential impact that hiring a foreign worker will have on Canada’s labour market.

Initially, the ELMO aimed to fast track the entry of foreign workers in 12 high demand occupations.

Only two of these occupations, carpenters and crane operators, were in the construction industry.

Federal Human Resources Minister Monte Solberg announced improvements to the TFW program on Jan. 14, which expands the number of high demand occupations.

“We are announcing additional improvements to the Temporary Foreign Worker program that will make it faster for employers in British Columbia and Alberta to hire foreign workers when no Canadian citizens or permanent residents can be found to do those jobs” Solberg said.

“The number of occupations covered by the pilot project announced in September has been increased from 12 to 33.” The construction sector represents the largest share (12) of the 21 new occupations covered by the pilot project.

These construction occupations are construction labourers, steam fitters and pipefitters, ironworkers, roofers, industrial electricians, welders, surveyor helpers, mechanical engineers, civil engineers, electrical and electronics engineers, petroleum engineers and mechanical engineering technologists.

“All 33 occupations in the pilot have been identified as high demand. They represent half of the regular labour market opinion requests received from employers in B.C. and Alberta,” he said.

Figures from the federal department of Citizenship and Immigration state that there were 36,210 temporary foreign workers in B.C. in 2006, which is double the 18,951 in the province in 2002.

“We anticipate needing to attract 30,000 workers with specific skills to British Columbia each year to help meet our labour and skills shortage challenges,” said Colin Hansen, B.C. minister of economic development. “By expanding the number of occupations in this pilot, more employers will now benefit from having better and faster access to the temporary foreign workers they need.”

A study by the Construction Sector Council states that B.C. will need 20,636 new workers to replace retirees between 2006 and 2014 and requires 14,793 new workers to meet construction demand between 2006-2009.

The head of the British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) said the solution to the labour shortage can not be solved with a single fix and requires co-operation with all levels of government.

“Accessing workers from offshore is one element of our available solution. Expediting the process to assist employers to bring those workers on stream is critical,” said Manley McLachlan, president of the BCCA. “Expanding the project to include so many more construction occupations is just more good news for the industry.

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