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Today, the Workforce Expansion Initiative team along with its wide network of partners is focused on providing an integrated strategy which:
- Re-trains workers who are exiting declining industries;
- Attracts non-traditional members of the workforce, including women and Aboriginal groups;
- Retains our existing skilled workers;
- Attracts repatriate workers;
- Positions us as a “preferred working environment” for the mobile workforce;
- Employs temporary foreign workers to meet peak demand areas during construction phases;
- Identifies gaps in existing immigration practices and works with stakeholders to provide solutions;
- Trains New Brunswickers through a larger and more effective apprenticeship program;
- Develops and administers community focused recruitment and retention tools such as the Life on Your Terms website;
- Makes us the ‘common link’ among community stakeholders such as organized labour, public and private training institutions, agencies, the general public and all 3 levels of government to enhance coordination of existing workforce solution based programs and avoid duplication.
The team is achieving this mandate by concentrating on four pillars: Enhanced Participation, Immigration, Repatriation and Retention.
Enhanced Participation:
The transitional workforce represents citizens who lack the necessary skills or face barriers that limit or prohibit them from entering or reentering the workforce. The objective of enhanced participation is to tap into this segment of the labour pool and successfully integrate them into the labour market. The WEI will assist this objective by connecting these citizens to a network of Partner Resources and linking employers to this untapped labour opportunity.
Workforce Expansion Initiative Partners offer a wide variety of employment services such as job search techniques, training/retraining opportunities, resume preparation and interview coaching, job data bank access, career planning, education enhancement programs, apprenticeship opportunities, and up to date labour forecast information.
Retention:
A longstanding trend in New Brunswick is the out-migration of our skilled labour talent and our ‘best & brightest‘ to other provinces or countries due to the inability to secure a long term job or the educational training they require at home. Newcomers have also experienced the same challenges. As a result of the potential energy projects on the horizon; it is essential that strategies to reverse this trend be employed.
The Retention pillar focuses on delivering programs and services which ensure that the citizens within our province are aware of the current & projected employment opportunities, training & retraining opportunities, innovative educational programs, alternative work environments and enhanced employer supports that exist within NB. This awareness allow help people make informed decisions about the life long career opportunities which will allow them to live life on their terms in NB.
Repatriation:
Not only do we as a province need to look internally to provide workforce expansion solutions, we must also look outwardly; by developing approaches which target the countless expatriate New Brunswickers who are spread across Canada and the globe.
The key to a successful repatriation strategy involves recruitment missions that are armed with current employment openings from NB employers as well as testamonials supporting the quality of life in NB. This meaningful value proposition along with access to timely and relevant transition information is crucial for positive outcomes.
Immigration:
Growing our provincial population through immigration is essesstial to meet New Brunswick's long-term labour force needs. Immigration has long played an important role in NB's growth; it has contributed to our province's diverse, mulitcultural landscape; brought a unique flavour to our communities and broadened our horizons for economic growth.
By working with partners, the Workforce Expansion Initiative will strive to provide ongoing education and information sessions regarding the immigration employment process and identify community focused solutions that will enhance our newcomer retation rates.
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