Coaldale will join Taber in the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program, which aims to attract new residents to address labour shortages. The program is run by the provincial and federal governments and is split into three streams, including the rural renewal stream. It allows people to be nominated for permanent residence in Alberta through the program if they have skills to fill job shortages or plan on buying or starting a new business in the province.
Taber joined the program last year to address businesses having trouble finding qualified employees. Members of the Coaldale business community expressed interest in participating in the program, which led to town council deciding to partner with Taber on the program at its Feb. 13 meeting.
BACKGROUND: Taber looking to attract immigrants to become permanent residents through labour program
“As a council, we welcomed the idea of partnering with Taber under this program,” said Mayor Jack Van Rijn. “In our 2021-2025 strategic plan, we identify community growth and economic prosperity as a major priority, and so participating in a program that will help shore up Coaldale’s labour pool and drive investment in the community was a no brainer.”
Coaldale town staff reached out to their Taber counterparts to learn about the program and how the two communities could team up, rather than creating a stand-alone program in Coaldale.
“From our perspective this just made sense. Often businesses in both communities tap into the same labour pool to fill positions and so hopefully by teaming up with Taber, we can help out Coaldale’s business community find qualified employees,” said Cameron Mills, director of growth and investment for the Town of Coaldale.