The Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership (SLEP) will work with area businesses over the next year to help fill labour gaps as part of a provincial pilot project.
The Regional Economic Development through Immigration (REDI) program was recently launched in four communities (Sarnia-Lambton, Lanark, Leeds and Grenville, and Thunder Bay) as part of the Ontario Immigration Nominee Program (OINP), which works in collaboration with the federal government.
Through the OINP process, the provincial government nominates people (such as foreign workers and international students) with the skills and experience the Ontario economy needs, and the federal government decides whether to approve applications for permanent residence.
The program is meant to help accelerate skilled immigration to meet labour needs, outside the Greater Toronto Area, that are not currently being met.
SLEP CEO Matthew Slotwinski said Sarnia-Lambton has been allocated 200 nominations through OINP's Employer Job Offer streams to help local employers attract workers who are newcomers or recent immigrants.
"What the program does is provide pathways to permanent residency for individuals who can fill hard-to-fill job vacancies within the community," Slotwinski said. "This offers a way of both bringing in individuals to fill those gaps, but also to bring new individuals into the community who can create a life here, really grow the tax base locally, and bring in a new diverse community to the Sarnia-Lambton area."
Sectors identified as having labour gaps include health care, child care services, construction, manufacturing, and transportation.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to provide targeted support for some sectors where there is great demand for labour, where in some cases, the current local labour supply isn't able to fill those gaps," Slotwinski said.
Slotwinski said SLEP will drive the local initiative by submitting potential applicants and employers into the REDI pilot program.
"We are one of the resources to inform on the program, to assist in providing access to the program, and ultimately, to be in an avenue between ourselves and the provincial government in ensuring successful outcomes," he said.
During the pilot, SLEP will coordinate with community partners such as Lambton College, the Chamber of Commerce, and settlement agencies. SLEP will also host a series of information sessions about the pilot program, however, dates have yet to be determined.
The one-year pilot project will be administered through the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.