The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has welcomed an announcement by the Minister of Citizen, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, concerning a new Federal Skilled Trades Program to help address labour shortages in skilled trades. Source: The Sacramento Bee
The forest products sector in Canada has been struggling to find skilled workers including millwrights, engineers, pipe fitters, truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, technologists and more.
To address this shortage, FPAC has set an ambitious goal under Vision2020 to recruit an additional 60,000 workers by the end of the decade with the emphasis on women, Aboriginals and new Canadians.
“This is excellent news for our sector considering the shortage of qualified labour in many parts of Canada that is expected to only get worse,” said the president and CEO of FPAC, David Lindsay.
“The changes announced today may help many of our member companies fill critical job openings so that their mills can operate at an optimum level and contribute to further job creation and economic growth for Canada.”
Lindsay said that the forest products industry will be launching a new human resources campaign in 2013 called “the Greenest Workforce” to try to attract more skilled workers to the sector.
FPAC is also working with Aboriginal groups to increase their participation in the industry.
“Right now we are competing with other industries, especially in the resource sector, to fill essential positions. We need to work together with other industries and governments on a comprehensive national strategy to address the acute labour and skills shortage,” said Lindsay.
FPAC also believes the announcement builds on the work being done by governments on foreign credential recognition. That includes the need to ensure foreign trade worker skills are assessed in a timely fashion.
