Attracting New Residents and Employees
On March 22nd, Three Points Economic Partnership hosted our first ever interactive panel in Abbey, Sk titled “Attracting New Residents and Employees”.
We were excited to have seven panelists join us and talk to us about the struggles our region is facing including labor shortages, retention of residents and employees, and the opportunities that are available to our communities with immigration and newcomers.
We started the evening off with an introduction to our panelists and had them share what opportunities they see for New Residents and Immigration in this area and what support they can offer.
Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre
The Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and maintaining a hospitable atmosphere for newcomers who have decided to reside here. We were joined by:
Deanna Baje(Acting Executive Director and Southwest Sask Immigration Partnership Coordinator
Viju Vijayan(Settlement worker for Career and Employment)
Grace Dimayuga (Settlement Worker)
Tatiana Makguigan - Settlement worker in schools
This group of people are helping newcomers settle and create quality of life in our communities.
Beyond Borders Immigration: Kara Dyer
Kara Dyer is the owner of Beyond Borders Immigration Consulting based in Gull Lake, Sk. Kara is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant providing guidance and representing individuals, families and businesses using the Canadian Immigration system. Kara has a variety of expertise in applications for both employers and employees through federal and provincial programs.
Experienced Newcomers and Newcomer Employer: Callum Sullivan and Jess Russel
Callum and Jess are newcomers in our community - Jess is the Kindergarten to Grade Two teacher in Hazlet School and Callum is a farmer near Cabri, SK. They continuously work with local farmers to find permanent and temporary foreign workers. They are familiar faces to newcomers in the Three Points region as they have experienced building a new life in a rural community and share extensive support to others settling in here.
After everyones introduction we moved into a list of questions we had for our panelists. At this point any panelist who had an information they would like to provide could do so.
Opportunities & Challenges in the South West (Kara Dyer)
It was agreed upon that employment is our biggest barrier in South West Saskatchewan. Kara talked about two programs individuals can utilize when looking to hire including SIMP (Sask Immigrant Nominee Program) This is where the province opens a certain number of positions they can support, these individuals can then recieve a work permit, as well as apply for their permanent residency. LMIA (Labour market impact assessment) enables individuals to seek federal approval to hire foreign workers. Kara can help you with this process, however she is not a recruiter by any means more so a support system. LMIA’s can be applied for beforehand, however it needs to be used within 18 months. Kara encourages anyone in agriculture who are looking to do an LMIA to begin the process now. Until June 2023 there are no advertising requirements and are fee exempt.
Job Postings (Callum & Jess)
When creating a job post, make it exciting and add pictures if you can. Majority of large farming operations have their own website or social media platform that individuals can reference when looking at job postings. It allows them to see a glimpse inside your farm before applying. Lots of individuals coming over do not know about Saskatchewan, however as we know Saskatchewan does have a lot to offer, you need to sell it and make it attractive to your target audience.
If you list your posting on Kijiji or Sask Jobs you can get anyone applying from anywhere in the world. If you really want skilled workers, they suggest having a page in your advertisement with pictures and breakdown exactly what you are looking for in an employee. Always do your due diligence, look into their references. Wording can easily deter the individuals you do not want to apply, for example rather than putting “hired man wanted” reword it to “Skilled agriculture operator wanted”.
Callum and Jess suggested a few different places to post your job postings outside of the traditional streams including Agriculture university in England, Farmers Weekly UK, and Ski Hills in Canada as lots want to work the ski season in winter but need a better paying job in spring-fall.
Retaining Newcomers (All Panelists)
Pay is a big factor in retainment. You have a permanent job in place therefore your employees need to be paid. These people need to support themselves and their families. If the pay is not consistent you will end up losing your employee
Individuals coming over to Canada don't just want to work, employers need to remember this. They also want to love, grow and experience this new place they are in. As an employer you need to have empathy for your employees. For example, if they are on the phone in the middle of the day you need to realize the time difference and it may be the only chance they have to talk to their family. This job isn't their entire life, help them feel welcome here. Refer them to your community, give them that pathway. Communities can set up opportunities to help newcomers feel welcome here, a simple “hello” can go a long way when you see someone new in the community. The Newcomer Welcome Centre is here to help, this is their purpose. The Newcomer Welcome Centre will help connect them to others in their area.
If you are putting in all the effort to get someone here to work, you misewell make it attractive for them to stay.
Employee Incentives (Callum & Jess)
A bonus is a common incentive among many employers. Employers could use their air miles to offer a flight for them to go home and see their families at christmas or offer a profit share, FCC has more information on this online, but have them know the time they put it is going to be rewarded.
Other common incentives include housing, vehicles, and meals during busy seasons. Employers need to realize if they are working long hours they won’t have time to get to a grocery store to get themselves food, especially if they come over on their own.
Cost of Hiring Foreign Employees (Kara)
Depending on the situation and route taking to hire, employers may need to provide adequate housing that needs an inspection with public health, flights to get them to Canada, and extended health benefits until they are eligible for the provincial ones which can take three months.
One needs to keep in mind that wage needs to be more that $22-$24/hr and provide a minimum of 30hrs a week. However please keep in mind the cost of an immigrant to move here is their whole life. They could just come with one suitcase and they need to go buy everything, this could be a huge cost that employers need to take into consideration .
Ukrainian Immigrants (Newcomer Welcome Centre)
Employers or community members who want to help contact the United Ukrainian Congress of Saskatchewan.
We want to thank our panelists again for their time and knowledge. For more information you can watch the full panel linked below or contact Three Points Economic Partnership and we can connect you with the right individual to answer the questions you have.