The Economic Development Commission has been honoured for its Skills Recruitment/Foreign Attraction Program.

The Commission recently received the Community Project Award for the program from the Economic Development Association of B.C.

“The skilled worker shortage in the valley is a serious challenge for companies in most sectors and business owners have expressed widespread interest in hiring foreign workers as one solution to this issue,” says EDC Chair Bob Monaghan.

“Based on information gathered in our Business Visitation program, the EDC created recruitment strategies and utilized partnerships to facilitate the recruitment to support local businesses."

Monaghan says it's an honour to be recognized for the work the Commission has undertaken and grateful to see the impact it is having on keeping Central Okanagan Business flourishing.

The Foreign Attraction Program was cited for its success, including:

• 120 provincial nominees have arrived in the Okanagan working to shortly become permanent residents - a 300% increase since 2005.
  
• Facilitating the “Caricom Initiative”, conducted in partnership with Okanagan College and businesses in the region. This initiative, which began in April of 2007, has resulted in students and workers moving to the community to attend Okanagan College, a number of job placements, and the creation of the Jamaican Liaison Office for immigrant workers and businesses employing them in the region.
  
• The Central Okanagan Settlement Committee which will ensure the experience for the working landed immigrant is smooth and the relocation process is as easy as possible and the landed immigrants and their families remain in the region.
  
• A Foreign Skilled Worker Program Coordinator began work in April 2007 to deal with the high volume of inquiries from local employers wanting to access immigration programs as one potential solution to the skilled labour shortage in the region. The Foreign Skilled Worker Coordinator has since worked as a liaison between emigrate workers and approximately 100 local companies.
  
• The Economic Development Commission developed Business in the Park sessions on “How to Hire a Foreign Worker”. The Commission has used the information from site visits to not only provide assistance to individual businesses, but also to identify issues common to a number of businesses and address these issues through group information programs and workshops.

Link: Jamaicans help with bridge