The province will spend $1.53 million through the Workforce Partnerships Program to support 16 projects aimed at supporting job development, including in the oil and gas industry, said Tyler Shandro, minister of Labour and Immigration.
Speaking during a press conference on Monday, Feb. 7, Shandro said the new funding will spur job growth and provide opportunities for unemployed and under-employed Alberta workers.
“We continue to face a dual challenge of long-term unemployment and labour shortage,” said Shandro. “To address these challenges Alberta’s government has partnered with opportunities to fund industry-led projects through the Workforce Partnerships Program. These grants support economic growth and response to skills shortages through industry and community partnerships.
“Albertans from all walks of life will be encouraged to develop new skills with initiatives that focus on diverse employees.”
Projects being funded are in several sectors, including biotechnology, energy, aviation, forestry, retail and commercial trucking, and will focus on hiring women, Indigenous peoples, new workers, mature workers, the young and people living with disability, he said.
For example, the $98,800 Diversity and Inclusion in the Energy Workforce project, through a division of Energy Safety Canada, will support employer efforts to expand the composition and number of its workforce through attraction and retention initiatives with a focus on diversity and inclusion.
Murray Elliott, president and chief executive officer of Energy Safety Canada, called the new grant funding welcomed.
“It is an important opportunity to find, train, up-skill, and re-skill the best and the brightest our country has to offer,” said Elliott. “In doing so industry will benefit tremendously by building a diverse workforce. Industry needs a workforce that brings new ideas, new approaches and different competency to support both our traditional oil and gas as well as emerging sectors.
“We are seeing growing and emerging sectors in the province, petrochemicals, renewables, and a strong momentum being the development of carbon capture and storage.”
Other initiatives being funded include $100,000 for the Labour Market Intelligence Study project through the Alberta Biotechnology Association, $100,000 for the Return Training Investment for Alberta Employers project through Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, $98,800 for the Peer Learning Hub project through Electricity Human Resources Canada, and the $96,950 for the Driving Innovation and Growth in Rural Alberta project through the Information and Communications Technology Council.
The $92,000 Beyond Licensing: Pathways to Commercial Truck Driving for Inexperienced Drivers through the Alberta Motor Transport Association grant will encourage awareness of employment opportunity in trucking and help employers hire newly licensed, inexperienced drivers.
Projects will begin by March 31 and will run a maximum of two years.
