Last week, a few Airdrie Regional Chamber of Commerce members attended the Premier’s Summit on Fairness for Newcomers.
On behalf of the chamber, Executive Director Marilyne Aalhus and Board Director Jay Raymundo went to learn about government assistance for newcomers and how to help them in the community.
Aalhus shared more information on the event.
"This is the first year our chamber was invited to attend and there were several ministers there in attendance to speak, there were a few keynote speakers, and of course, Premier Danielle Smith was in attendance to speak."
Aalhus said one large message they heard was that immigration to Canada and Alberta is not slowing down.
"We noticed that the numbers showed that by 2041, 50 per cent of the Canadian workforce will be immigrants to Canada. So within the next under 20 years, our population is changing dramatically, and there's still a lot of work that needs to be done to support this immigration into our communities."
She also mentioned the workforce in the trades industry could see a large change soon.
"We all know that Albertans are aging out of many career paths, so trades, including a lot of different apprenticeship programs and things of that nature, our province is turning to newcomers to hopefully fill a lot of those roles in the next decade."
Aalhus also talked about how she believes Alberta is a top spot for not only newcomers but also other Canadians.
"Our province seems to be taking it very seriously and wanting to provide support for agencies that work with newcomers and work with making some dramatic changes around opportunities for those who already have foreign credentials."
She shared that the Alberta Chamber is currently on a task force trying to expedite how foreign credentials can be recognized in Alberta, making sure that if people are coming here with expertise, they aren't put on hold for years before they can work in their industry sector.
"I do believe there's progress being made. We know that they are fully aware of the challenges and are making inroads into getting a lot of that work done."
Aalhus finished off by saying she is excited to see the different programs the province will provide and how they will help our province.
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