Rural recruitment project needs to consider incentives

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

© AgMedia Inc.

by GEOFF DALE

A recently launched pilot project to attract skilled workers to rural communities has potential but needs to consider relocation incentives, says one farm labour representative.

Mark Wales says the idea behind the Community Immigration Retention in Rural Ontario program sounds promising, but needs incentives to attract people to the communities, “whether it’s housing assistance, upgrading skills or a speedier certification process for those trained outside of Canada.” Wales is the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s representative on the Labour Issues Coordinating Committee, which represents the interests of Ontario employers in agriculture and horticulture.

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs developed the 18-month pilot to create a list of best practices for small communities looking for qualified immigrants. It’s running in Chatham-Kent and the city of Brockville. North Bay climbs onboard within weeks.

Magdy El Dakiky, who is leading the pilot, says it supports community recruitment efforts by providing information and expertise.

There is no funding. “We supply keynote speakers, and data from other provinces like Manitoba and British Columbia where similar programs have been done with success,” he says. “This is all about building their capacity in terms of planning and approach.”

For Teresa Fysh, executive director of the Cultural Coalition of Chatham-Kent, the program is a perfect fit. The municipality’s corporate strategic direction calls for attracting 1,000 new residents by 2010.

“We are looking for doctors, nurses, health practitioners and other professionals, just like a lot of other small communities,” she says. Entrepreneurs are also on the wish list.

The question for Wales – who is also an executive member of a national council involved in recruiting skilled workers to agriculture – is how the program will address specific needs of the agricultural community.

“We certainly want doctors and nurses but the farming sector also needs skilled labour on farm,” he says, noting there is a need for those with good mechanical skills or who can work with livestock.

The program doesn’t target specific skills but El Dakiky says the agricultural community can benefit. “Our work is to build that capacity to attract and retain these new people and it’s up to the communities which sector or sectors they target.”

Fysh estimates the agricultural and agribusiness communities account for more 30 per cent of the local economy in Chatham-Kent. Representatives from those sectors have already been invited to participate in pilot-supported events and workshops. “There will definitely be input from agriculture over the course of this program,” she says.

To develop their best practices list, Chatham-Kent organizers will look at successes of other smaller communities in Canada. BF