Calgary Economic Development will be heading to Ireland for a recruiting mission next week -- just two weeks after the Canadian government announced it would increase the number of work visas for Irish citizens from 6,500 to 10,700.
The agency hopes to recruit Irish workers to fill the city鈥檚 labour shortage through the Working Abroad job expo, which will be held between Mar. 22 and 30 in Dublin, Cork and Manchester.
Jeanette Sutherland, manager of workforce and productivity with the CED, said a delegation of about 20 individuals from six different companies in Calgary will be heading to Ireland for the job fair.
The energy industry, energy services and construction companies will be embarking on the recruiting mission next week.
鈥淲e鈥檙e also looking for business analysts, and we鈥檙e looking for anything from carpenters, electricians, insulators, welders and land surveyors, so this is quite a broad list of occupations we鈥檙e looking for that are in shorter supply in Calgary,鈥� Sutherland told CTVNews.ca
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e hearing is that if (companies) don鈥檛 get the talent that they need now, they risk not being able to compete on international projects,鈥� she said.
The unemployment rate in Calgary is currently at 4.7 per cent, with demand exceeding supply. In contrast, Dublin is facing an unemployment rate of about 14 per cent.
鈥淭hey have a lot of similar skills and credentials that we require here that are in short supply, so that鈥檚 one of the reasons why we鈥檙e going over there,鈥� said Sutherland.
The CED鈥檚 role in Ireland will be to 鈥渟hare the story of Calgary and the opportunities.鈥�
鈥淲e want to talk about the culture and we want to talk about the diverse opportunities here,鈥� said Sutherland.
The International Experience Canada program -- an agreement between the Canadian and Irish governments -- allows Irish citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 to work in Canada for up to three years.
On Thursday, 3,850 working holiday visas were made available for people who intend to find temporary work in Canada for up to two years. Irish newspapers reported that the visas had been snapped up in just 10 minutes.
Applicants who weren鈥檛 able to obtain a visa will be able to apply for a second round of 3,850 visas at a later date.
In addition to the working holiday visas, the IEC made 2,500 visas available on Tuesday for young professionals who have an employment contract in Canada, but only 44 visas had been taken up by Friday.
Meanwhile, 495 out of 500 visas are still available for students looking to complete internship or co-op programs in Canada.
The number of temporary foreign workers from Ireland to Canada increased from 1,102 in 2003 to 6,693 in 2012.
