Minding the skills gap in British Columbia
VANCOUVER, April 11, 2014 /CNW/ - The Immigrant Employment Council of BC (IEC-BC) launched a new campaign at MindTheGapBC.com to introduce employers and hiring mangers across British Columbia to an online library of employer tools and resources that assist with hiring immigrant talent.
With an aging workforce, low birth rates and economic growth in emerging sectors and major projects, BC is facing a major shortage of talent in some regions of the province, many industry sectors and most major occupations according to the BC Labour Market Outlook.
"Recruitment tools like this are vital to employers preparing for widening labour and skills gaps now and in the coming years," says Kelly Pollack, Executive Director of IEC-BC. "As countries vie for the best workers, skilled immigrants are a sought after talent pool. We must be more strategic in BC about closing the skills and labour gap by seeing skilled immigrants as a key to the solution."
IEC-BC's resources have been developed, in part or entirely, by partners or key organizations throughout Canada to help employers attract, hire, and retain international talent. These best practices have been compiled into a series of five Tip Sheets to help employers get started with hiring skilled immigrants. Resource topics range from creating barrier-free job descriptions, where to post job vacancies and how to conduct culturally sensitive job interviews, to how to assess skills and negotiate competencies.
Visit MindTheGapBC.com to sign-up for free and receive the tip sheets in your email on a weekly basis. Employers can also dig deeper into IEC-BC's Employer Tools & Resources Library for a broader collection of information and resources. Visit www.iecbc.ca to read more.
IEC-BC is a provincial non-government governmental organization that stimulates the integration of skilled immigrant talent into BC's workplaces by fostering solutions, building connections and being a champion to help employers attract and retain skilled immigrant talent. Visit www.iecbc.ca for more information or follow IEC-BC on Twitter.com/iec_bc.
SOURCE: Immigrant Employment Council of BC
Media contact:Karen Zukas, Manager, Communications, Immigrant Employment Council of BC, [email protected], Office: 604-630-5018, Cell: 604-218-3487
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