Edmonton Construction Association promises to hire Ukrainian refugees

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The Association for Canadian Construction Companies has promised jobs for Ukrainian refugees and is calling on governments in Alberta and other jurisdictions to help them settle in Canada.

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On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would urgently apply for Ukrainian refugees to flee to Canada. Within a week of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said one million Ukrainians had already fled their homeland.

Paul De Jong, chairman of the Edmonton-based Canadian Progressive Contractors Association (PCA), represents the interests of more than 100 construction companies across the country, praising Ottawa’s move and industry. He wants governments at other levels to act as well.

“We also call on the state to take all available steps to promote entry, settlement and employment,” De John told Post Media in a telephone interview. “With the support of the federal and state governments, our construction companies want to hire skilled construction workers to meet our needs, but to support their families (refugees). ) We are also aware of our ongoing needs. “

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PCA Constructors Inc., a member of the PCA, said it is in line with the association’s commitment and is open to working with governments at both levels to help refugees fill their positions in construction projects across the country. I did.

“Currently, our industry needs a great deal of skilled workers, and for those who have been expelled by the current conflict in Ukraine who are interested in joining us, we support them in this regard. I am very happy to do what I can to do, “said PCL spokesman Shane Jones.

In an email statement, Joseph Dow, a spokesman for Alberta’s Minister of Labor Casey Madu, said refugee proceedings are under federal jurisdiction, but the state works with Ottawa and organizations that serve newcomers. He said Alberta is playing a role in welcoming refugee Ukrainians.

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On Friday, the state announced that it would accelerate permanent residence applications from Ukrainian citizens through the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program, in addition to temporarily exempting applicants from post-determined service fees. The program nominates people who have the skills to make up for a shortage of work, or who plan to purchase or start a business to live permanently in Alberta.

According to De Jong, the Canadian industry is facing a chronic labor shortage, and many of the association’s member companies report hundreds of positions that need to be filled.

“We have too much work and not enough workers,” he said. “”This situation is a unique opportunity to reach out to those in need while our industry is in desperate need of more trained professionals. “

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According to de Jong, part of the shortage is due to demographics, few young people graduate from high school and join the industry, and a significant cohort is aging. But over the past few years, he added, the industry could have done a better job with the diversification of recruitment.

According to the 2020 Alberta construction industry profile, 84% of the state’s construction industry was male and the remaining 16% were female. In addition, Alberta between the ages of 15 and 25 accounted for only 8% of construction workers in Alberta, the group between the ages of 25 and 54 accounted for 73%, and those over the age of 55 accounted for 19%.

To streamline the reconciliation process, de Jong finds ways to work with the state to speed up the qualification process so that skilled Ukrainian construction workers can trade in Canada sooner or later. He said he wanted that.

“You can’t change that requirement, but comparing these qualifications can take months or months, and there’s no such luxury, so you can ask the government to rationalize it.” He said.

hissawi@postmedia.com

@hamdiissawi