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Westman communities
unite to attract skilled workers
Boissevain, Virden join Brandon and Neepawa in immigration initiative
By Eoin Devereux
Photo info: Officials from Brandon, Neepawa, Virden and Boissevain all gathered at the Town of Neepawa Office on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The get-together was to celebrate the expansion of the Southwestern Manitoba Immigration Initative.
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An immigration initiative already established in Brandon and Neepawa is extending its’ reach within Westman. Representatives with the Southwestern Manitoba Immigration Initiative (SWMII) announced on Tuesday, Sept. 22, its’ regional expansion into the communities of Boissevain and Virden.
The initiative was created and is administered by Economic Development Brandon. It was soft launched in Neepawa back in February, with the intention of connecting local employers with skilled workers and business investors from outside Canada. At its core, it’s designed to find skilled applicants for hard-to-fill positions that cannot be filled through the local employee options.
The SWMII operates under the Provincial Nominee Program’s Skilled Workers Overseas program. Eligible applicants can receive a community endorsement through the initiative, after which the province assesses candidates for nomination.
For communities such as Brandon and Neepawa, the program has already proven to be a valuable tool in addressing workforce needs, while encouraging newcomers to make the community their long-term home. Boissevain and Virden are hoping to see those same positives as participating communities.
Economic Development Brandon Immigration and Workforce Development Specialist Samuel Solomon said the regional approach is important because communities, no matter their size, are all facing the same fundamental challenge.
“So the reason we are partnering is that we are able to work together instead of working against it,” Solomon said. “We are at a time where labour force is scarce. We don’t want to have a situation where one community is taking labour from a neighbouring community where we both or all of us can share, so that’s where the core value comes in.”
Solomon added that this type of cooperation is going to allow the participating communities to share information, while showcasing a larger regional opportunity to prospective newcomers. He added that it also ensure communities are not competing for the same workers.
“One of the benefit of the initiative is that communities are able to pick jobs that fit the community,” Solomon said. “So it’s not like Brandon is making a decision for Neepawa or Brandon is making a decision for Boissevain. Every community works with us to make those decisions.”
Find this story and much more in this week's edition of the Neepawa Banner & Press!
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