Governments move to ease job shortages

Governments move to ease job shortages: "Susan Lazaruk, The Province
Published: Wednesday, August 02, 2006

The local construction industry is welcoming moves from Ottawa and Victoria to make it easier for foreign workers to fill jobs in B.C.

B.C. Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen announced yesterday it was expanding the provincial nominee program designed to fast-track immigrant workers by adding six new staff members.

Since 2001, the program has helped 1,750 skilled workers and business people immigrate to B.C., 750 of them last year alone. The program targets those in nursing, high technology, post-secondary education, skilled trades and others, all of which are facing worker shortages.

Also this week, Ottawa announced the hiring of special workers in B.C. and Alberta to help facilitate the immigration of temporary foreign workers on one-to-two-year visas.

"This is good news for the industry," said Keith Sashaw of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association. "The provincial and federal governments are listening to the concerns of the construction industry and are taking steps to address those concerns."

He said half of last year's immigrants through the provincial program work in construction, where the building boom has led to a shortage of workers in every category.

Sashaw said the provincial program will help an offshore worker with a valid job offer move to B.C. in as little as three months and get landed immigrant status within a year, compared with the almost four years sit takes going through the federal route.

He estimated over the next five to eight years in B.C. up to 40,000 construction workers will be needed to fill new positions and replace those retiring. The province has estimated that one million workers will be needed over the next several years and schools will graduate only 650,000.