Alberta refuses to Process 29 Skilled Occupations in Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Alberta government has initiated an Employer Liaison Service with the approval of the federal government. Employer Liaison Service is a two years pilot program that prohibits companies from using Temporary Foreign Worker Program for 29 skilled occupations.

The aim behind this move is to fill the open job positions with available local skilled workers before calling foreign workers. These 29 occupations are moved to the “refusal to process” list. If any company tries to hire people using Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), they will be directed to available local workers by the Alberta department of Labour.

During 2016, 10,000 workers came to Alberta, Canada under TFWP and only 400 of them come in the now “refusal to process” list.

The two-year pilot program was announced by Patty Hajdu, the federal Minister of Employment along with Christina Gray, the Alberta Labour Minister. During the launch of this initiative, Patty Hajdu highlighted the purpose behind this move.

Hajdu said,

“Our first preference is Albertans and we will make sure they have best possible job opportunities. If more Albertans are working, it will improve the provincial economy. It’s a proud moment to announce this joint initiative of Alberta’s and Canada’s governments.

Both governments have agreed to work together to improve the provincial economy while providing more opportunities to the locals. This initiative will make sure that locals find their desired jobs easily rather than competing with foreign skilled workers.

Here is the Alberta’s “refusal to process” list: