Skilled labour shortage a focal point for Stelmach

Tory leadership hopeful Ed Stelmach says he will personally lead the hunt for the skilled labour Alberta needs.

If elected Alberta’s new premier, Stelmach said he would immediately meet with private sector members and within six months lead recruitment missions in Canada and the United States.

The missions could reach further away if required, he said.

“It’s to a point where some operators, especially small businesses, are quite frustrated because they put huge efforts into recruiting people all the time,” said Stelmach at a press conference at GenTex Oilfield Manufacturing Inc. in Belich Business Park on Monday.

Recruitment missions are one of the five components to Stelmach’s labour strategy.

Implementing a new immigration agreement for Alberta, with a focus on the need for skilled labour, is also part of his plan.

Stelmach said governments across Canada know how critical that skilled labour is for the country’s economic growth and how they benefit from Alberta’s growth, “especially those with steel industry and manufacturing.”

GenTex president Garett Cupples said he’s been short about eight workers since June.

“We can’t find qualified people to fill them right now. Immigration would help a lot,” said Cupples, who has 36 welders and mechanics in his shops.

He said some businesses in the industry have been hiring on the spot, just glancing at resumes. But Cupples said he found that approach caused turnover to go “through the roof.”

He’s now gone back to a more thorough hiring process with two or three interviews with prospective employees, and taking on fewer projects or extending deadlines to ensure quality work.

Cupples said the economy will get hotter in the coming months as work picks up for the oil industry.

“As soon as it gets cold, things are going to go crazy again.”

He rounded out his labour platform with strategies to reach out to Metis and First Nation people with training in their communities.

He also proposed expanding post secondary programs to increase the number of skilled workers and satellite campuses in rural areas.

Stelmach previously proposed a plan to form a group with various representatives and give them 45 days to come up with cost effective solutions to the acute shortage of affordable housing in Alberta.

He has one idea for the group to ponder: reducing the GST on new construction. Stelmach said GST hinders the construction of rental properties where demand is high because the tax is bases on the assessed value of the building and not the actual cost of material to build it.

“That’s one area where all three levels of government can work together.” The leadership hopeful said.

-Written by Susan Zielinski