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Alberta Employment and Immigration: Web Content/ Messaging Strategies for the Alberta Regional Economic Development Alliances Prepared by: Twist Marketing March 2009 Employment and Immigration

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Page 1: Employment and Immigration Alberta Employment and ...€¦ · Alliances Prepared by: Twist Marketing March 2009 . March 2009 AEI/REDA - Web Content/Messaging Strategy - FINAL Page

Alberta Employment and Immigration: Web Content/ Messaging Strategies for the Alberta Regional Economic Development Alliances

Prepared by:

Twist Marketing

March 2009

Employment and Immigration

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PROJECT SUMMARY

The world is changing, and an aging Canadian population is shifting the ground on which we stand. Competition

for labour force, particularly skilled labour force, will increase for the next generation as Western nations

experience rapid population aging and more people exit than enter the labour force without offsetting,

substantive temporary or permanent immigration. Migration of labour is not a long-term solution in the

Canadian context, as it simply moves the shortage of labour from one region to another. In Alberta, which has

been successful in attracting migrants in a robust economy, migration has only masked the rapid pace of

demographic aging by borrowing a more youthful workforce from elsewhere in Canada and has perhaps created

complacency in the province about future labour supply. In 2011, when the first baby boomers reach 65 and

start to leave the labour force en masse, the expected economic recovery from the current slump will expose

the true severity of Alberta’s labour force supply challenge, and the ensuing shortage of labour could threaten

the sustainability of prosperity for a generation.

This issue is not currently on the agendas of most of the organizations that will end up dealing with it - from

economic developers, to communities, to corporations, to media. This makes Alberta’s (and Canada's) economic

pause a good time to address the challenge to come.

From Twist Marketing's perspective, education and awareness around the broader context of labour force

attraction strategy (including immigration/migration) has been the most significant benefit of this project. For

the majority of REDAs, labour force attraction strategy is not yet on the strategic or tactical agenda, as reflected

in published business plans and labour force-related website content. A minority of REDAs are active in this area,

with CAEP and PEP leading the way. Others (e.g. REDI) are just in the process of adding newcomer-focused

content to their websites. Some (e.g. PREDA) have expressed strategic interest in labour force attraction in their

business plans, which are beginning to be reflected in their websites. Many REDAs (e.g. CRP) do not readily

incorporate labour force attraction content.

The lack of web content targeted at 'newcomers' is understandable given Alberta’s high-growth environment

over the last several years. This type of growth tends to result in reactive activity and investment facilitation as

opposed to proactive activity and labour force focus. Other contributing factors include the relative youth of

REDAs, and the natural inclination of an entire generation of economic developers to think of labour supply as a

given (the domain of more senior levels of government) and to focus on investment attraction. As a result,

communities have generally performed well at operationalizing economic development as an investment

attraction vehicle, generating "economic development" web content, and working with three investment pillars

(inputs to production; market access; and cost of business). Given the demographic situation Canada must

address, we suggest that a fourth pillar needs to be added to regional and community economic development

effort - labour.

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Collectively, Alberta and its regions are good at representing investment and prosperity in dollar terms. We need

to collectively transition our economic development strategy, tactics, and marketing messaging to the person,

and the capital that the person represents. This need corresponds directly with the degree to which we require a

skilled labour force to achieve prosperity in future. As the Canadian economy continues to evolve from "brute

force labour" (primarily to support resource extraction) to "thinking labour" (witnessed by the rapid growth of

knowledge-based, high value-add and high multiplier effect sectors such as information and communications

technology, biotechnology, professional services, and environmental products and services), the community,

regional, provincial, national, and international competition for labour force supply dramatically rises. We ignore

this dynamic at the peril of our economic future.

Reflecting this, "readiness" is a significant element of the resulting strategy reflected in this report.

This "readiness" required a discussion with each REDA about systemic challenges and opportunities that are

much broader than web content/messaging strategy. Though this dialogue, and some of the resulting strategy, is

out of scope vis a vis web content/messaging strategy, inclusion of it is critical to having labour force attraction

emerge on various strategic agendas. REDA stakeholders see labour force attraction, along with immigration and

migration challenges and opportunities, as a system (federal, provincial and municipal governments, employers,

social and public infrastructure, etc.) that requires a comprehensive approach. Website content targeted at

newcomers is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Building an enabling foundation will support more effective

marketing to newcomers via the web and other channels.

The phrase "labour force attraction" is carefully selected in this report. Couched purely in immigration/migration

terms, broader labour force challenges can quickly become clouded by community concern about an influx of

newcomers. This concern is due to infrastructure limitations (particularly in more rural and remote

communities) and, to be blunt, bias focused on serving "Albertan" or "Canadian" needs first. That this is a fact of

life that must be acknowledged and constructively addressed is evidenced by the increasing presence of

"Welcoming Communities" initiatives targeted at creating an enabling environment for newcomers.

Twist Marketing's core activity in this project was to get into the decision-making mind of the newcomer (labour

supply), and to marry it with the demand side of the labour force equation - Alberta's REDAs and the

stakeholders, employers, and communities they represent. Universal conclusions regarding the potential

newcomer decision-making process and what information/marketing does or doesn't work have been

generated. The demand side of the equation has many more variables that impact the ability to attract and

retain labour force, and the type of labour force (locals, immigrants, migrants, students, old/young,

families/non-families, etc.). Capacity variability (e.g. ESL, housing, public transit) across REDAs—which are seen

as potential barriers by newcomers—suggests a niche rather than "Statue of Liberty" strategy for all but the

most urban (Calgary/Edmonton) locations. REDAs should therefore play to their strengths, and transparently (for

the benefit of newcomers in the form of a “reality check”) recognize community capacity/infrastructure

limitations. Attraction should also align with the community "brand" - that is, its uniqueness, its values, its

distinctive activities and offerings, and the spirit of the residents. Labour force attraction strategies

recommended in this report reflect this.

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The Newcomers Survey illustrates the importance of the Internet to the relocation decision-making process. It is

by far the number one tool used in the decision-making process. This report comes to an understanding of

newcomer psychology and their decision-making process, and reflects it with a general website marketing

strategy for all REDAs that is directly attuned to it. The resulting core web content strategy is simple in its

representation, but powerful because it directly aligns with newcomer thought flow (i.e., it is designed to

connect with THE audience).

Potential newcomers need REDA (and community) websites to operationalize their decision-making process so

they can more effectively find a job, determine cost of living, determine if support infrastructure (e.g. ESL, public

transit) suits their requirements, and determine whether specific quality-of-life factors meet their aspirations.

Recommended architecture is in direct alignment with a hierarchy of needs—an information utility curve that

rank orders the importance of certain types of decision-making information (jobs, cost of living, community

infrastructure, etc).

Where there is no labour force attraction presence, this recommended structure can be "dropped" into a new

"Newcomer" tab on REDA websites. Clutter it up and the effective delivery of information that the survey

determined to be critical will be diminished along with the success of marketing overall. Where there is labour

force attraction web content on the part of REDAs, content strategy recommendations have been tweaked to

work with existing content and approach. Consistency of messaging and approach is important to building the

Alberta brand in the minds of potential newcomers (a deficiency noted in the Stakeholder survey).

REDAs are a brand challenge - their geography is and will not be well understood by a potential newcomer

because it doesn't mirror a "dot on a map." Potential newcomers (namely immigrants) first rely on federal and

provincial immigration websites for the "legal" aspects of movement, then (both immigrants and migrants)

search for community websites that are helpful in "operationalizing” their decision-making process. It is

therefore critical that REDAs work with their constituent communities to establish a Newcomers tab on their

website, or reference (link) to their relevant REDA. It is also critical that the entire information chain - from

federal to provincial to REDA to community to helpful resource sites - feels like a seamless "story" for the

potential newcomer, depending on where they originate, as opposed to a collection of inconsistent or

conflicting vignettes. Our collective ability to do this quickly and seamlessly for the newcomer can become a

critical competitive advantage in the global labour force marketplace.

What we hope isn't missed in tactical execution that REDAs and communities pursue is a required messaging

and content transition from investment and dollars to the person. This applies not only to web content strategy,

but to marketing materials used by REDAs and Alberta communities. "The person" is an emotional creature by

nature. Relationship marketing becomes important. The "coldness" of data and numbers traditionally used in

investment attraction needs to find "warmth" in the building of brand messaging (the sales pitch). When they

read websites, potential newcomers must feel that we understand them and their needs, that their biggest fears

are addressed, and that their highest hopes and aspirations are nurtured.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Project Summary .................................................................................................................................................. i

Project Workplan Summary ................................................................................................................................. 2

Moving Labour Force Attraction onto the REDA Strategic and Tactical Agenda .................................................... 7

Labour Force Supply – A Defining Issue of our Time ..................................................................................... 7

Why Is The Population Aging? ...................................................................................................................... 9

Immigration in Profile ................................................................................................................................ 10

What is the Significance of an Aging Population to our Common Future? ................................................... 11

Are There Options Other Than Immigration for Labour Force Attraction Strategy? ..................................... 12

Enabling Strategy – REDA Foundation/Capacity Building ............................................................................ 14

General Labour Force Attraction Strategy .......................................................................................................... 18

Strategy 1 – Pursue Specific Type(s) of Strategies ............................................................................................... 20

Strategy 2 - Market Segmentation ..................................................................................................................... 22

Working with market segmentation to target a fit with REDA dynamic. ...................................................... 22

Strategy 3 – Build from the Backyard ................................................................................................................. 26

Skills Training Locally - Libraries, Post-Secondary Institutions ..................................................................... 29

English as a Second Language (ESL): ........................................................................................................... 30

"Quarterbacking:" ...................................................................................................................................... 30

Credentialing: ............................................................................................................................................ 31

Temporary Foreign Workers:...................................................................................................................... 32

Welcoming Communities Initiative: ............................................................................................................ 33

Strategy 5 - Build the Seamless Newcomer Research/Decision-making Experience ............................................ 34

Strategy 6 - Building the Alberta/REDA Brand .................................................................................................... 37

6A. Developing the Alberta/REDA Sales Pitch ............................................................................................. 37

6B. Building the Rural Alberta Brand – the Second Wave Strategy .............................................................. 39

Strategy 7 - Tourism is a Labour Force Attraction Strategy ................................................................................. 43

Communications Messaging Pillars: ............................................................................................................ 44

Fulfill The Newcomer's Hierarchy of Need: ................................................................................................. 45

Improving the Newcomer Experience:........................................................................................................ 46

New Tab on REDA Websites – "Newcomers" .............................................................................................. 50

Footnote References ......................................................................................................................................... 58

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PROJECT WORKPLAN SUMMARY

Alberta Employment and Immigration contracted Twist Marketing to assess each Regional Economic Development Alliance’s (REDA) current web-based immigration presence and to develop a website strategy that both puts Alberta on the radar screen of newcomers, and meets each region’s individual needs/circumstances. To accomplish this task, Twist Marketing technically reviewed all REDA websites, surveyed recent immigrants and migrants to Alberta, surveyed stakeholders across the province, and held focus groups/workshops in each of the participating REDAs to better understand respective REDA needs and shape immigration/migration strategy.

Goal:

To provide each REDA with a useful and executable website content/messaging strategy that can be carried forward into a plan to incorporate immigration-related strategy and tactics.

Objectives:

1) To promote each REDA region as an attractive immigration option for newcomers.

2) To build consistent and symbiotic messaging between REDA websites and the Immigrate to Alberta Web Portal (http://www.albertacanada.com/immigration/).

3) To establish both consistent and customized strategy that a REDA can use to promote niche or broad-based immigration as an economic development tool.

Central Project Principles:

To address critical success factors, the following project principles were central to the project plan:

Obtain a solid grasp on the “pull” factors that lead immigrants/migrants to consider, and attract them to, both Alberta and a particular region (e.g. from a service, uniqueness of environment, career offering and community resources perspective).

Understand the "newcomers” in terms of multiple dimensions of the immigration/migration relocation experience – from the relocation decision-making process and the utility of certain types of information, to immigrant/migrant need (e.g. students/ESL programs, temporary foreign workers, family relocation and matching employment gaps with career aspirations).

Understand the "stakeholders" (employers, REDA operational contacts, communities) and support infrastructure (or lack thereof) of the region given local people, resources, and infrastructure play a key role in the degree to which immigration/migration is enabled, promoted, accepted, embraced, and/or targeted.

A gap analysis that identifies differences in perception/understanding between stakeholders and newcomers, and immigrants and migrants, helps shape the effectiveness of strategic response.

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Critical Success Factors:

Messaging - alignment and tailoring of macro-level messaging between the province and the REDAs; development of powerful, value-proposition-based messaging that aligns with the strategic aspirations of the individual REDA and is “attractive” to the target audience (newcomers)..

REDA buy-in – information, education and awareness, understanding, and strategic alignment, strengthening of linkage between immigration and economic development, and articulation of gaps in immigration readiness will be critical to building capacity (within the project) for REDAs to serve as immigration initiative champions.

Market segmentation

o Supply (immigrants/migrants) + demand (employers, REDAs, province) = success.

o Both sides of this equation need to be understood within the context of Alberta and the individual REDA in order to develop effective customization and messaging.

o Students, migrants, and immigrants are three distinct markets that strategy should be responsive to.

Customization – the ability to align a REDA's strategic plan and the role of labour force attraction strategy (including immigration/migration) in achieving strategic objectives.

Simplicity - a straightforward approach that can be implemented and managed by REDAs (or the contracted web team).

Outputs:

Global recommendations for alignment of immigration-related content between REDA sites and the Immigrate To Alberta web portal.

Individual newcomer-related web content strategies for each REDA (13), with recommendations for implementation.

Activities:

REDA Website Audits

A technical and usability audit of each REDA covering: immigration/migration content, functional and technical review, site usability, site performance, site traffic analysis, operational readiness, search engine optimization (SEO) review.

The review covered three general areas:

1) The ability of the user to find information about moving to Canada and the REDA along with how well the REDA “sells” itself to potential newcomers. The review takes into account minimum user systems, including having images turned off (for low bandwidth and mobile connections) and having JavaScript turned off.

2) The technical attributes of the site and how well new information can be integrated into the existing site structure.

3) The search engine optimization of the site; how easily the site can be found on the Internet.

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SURVEYS

o Stakeholders (154 responses)

o Newcomers (315 responses)

Surveys were a critical research component used to identify perceptions, needs and image, match demand (REDA stakeholders) and supply (potential newcomers), inform content and messaging strategy, build a nucleus for content messaging central to the output of the project, and serve as a key tool to work toward REDA buy-in through a post-project implementation phase.

Newcomer Survey Stakeholder Survey

Motivations to move to Alberta;

Information sources used to research and support decision to move to Alberta;

Websites used to research and support decision to move to Alberta;

Utility of website content that is valuable to newcomers;

Motivations to move to/benefits of living outside of Alberta’s two (2) main cities (Calgary and Edmonton);

An image assessment of Alberta; and

Feedback on the newcomer experience.

Image perceptions of Alberta (from an economic development perspective);

Regional economic priorities;

Labour force supply assessment;

Role of Newcomers in addressing labour force concerns;

Immigrant attraction strategies;

Potential challenges faced by immigrants moving to regions across Alberta;

Websites used by Newcomers to research and support decision to move to Alberta;

Perceived utility of website content that is valuable to newcomers; and

Feedback on the newcomer experience.

The newcomer survey was undertaken to better understand the challenges faced by newcomers to Alberta and the process of how they plan their move and search for information on the Internet, and to identify “demand” drivers among newcomers searching for information to support their move to and settlement in Alberta. The survey was conducted via an online poll of adult respondents who have moved to Alberta within the past ten years. Feedback was obtained from 315 respondents that comprised 158 immigrants and 157 migrants. The survey was fielded over the period of January 8 to 26, 2009.

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The stakeholder survey was undertaken to grasp the labour force challenges faced by regions across Alberta in understanding their labour force demands and attracting newcomers – immigrants and migrants. “Demand” drivers for labour across the province, and stakeholder perceptions of "supply" of information that newcomers may be seeking to support their move to Alberta, were identified. Feedback was obtained from 154 stakeholders over the period of January 9 to 29, 2009.

A full exploration of data from both surveys can be found in the attached PowerPoint report decks and data tables for both these surveys.

REDA/FOCUS GROUP WORKSHOPS

Ten Focus Groups/Workshops were conducted by Twist Marketing staff with 11 REDAs (two REDAs participated in one workshop) across Alberta in February, 2009. These sessions were designed to obtain feedback on local labour market conditions and immigration/migration and related Internet-based initiatives, access opportunities to build implementation champions for a labour force attraction initiative, and translate analysis and perspective obtained from previous project phases into tangible strategic direction.

General Framework for Focus Groups/Workshop:

a) How desirable is immigration/migration as a labour supply development strategy for your region? What factors specific to your region limit or enable the ability to attract more immigrants/migrants to your region?

The nature of response to this question determines how aggressive (or not) an immigration/migration strategy is for a particular region.

b) What kind of immigration/migration would work well with the region's economic interests? For example, and without limiting possibilities:

It could be general (one and all welcomed).

It could be specific to certain sectors.

It could be specific to immigrants/migrants who have been resident in Alberta for a specified period of time.

It could be specific to geographic areas in the world with specific skill sets required in the Region.

It could be specific to nationalities that have an established presence in the Region (i.e. they provide a support structure).

It could be specific to large employer requirements in the region.

It may be variable depending on the needs/desires of specific communities in the region.

c) What does your REDA have to do specifically to better position itself to be attractive to immigrants/migrants?

For example, what kind of marketing do you need to do? What kind of support structure do you need to establish/enhance immigration/migration to your region? What specific types of information relevant to your context do you need to place on a website to more effectively attract immigrants/migrants?

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Definitions of Newcomers:

For purposes of this project, the following definitions are used:

Immigrant: A person who migrates to another country, usually for permanent residence.

Migrant: A person who moves from one region to another within the same country, by chance, instinct, or plan, or a temporary worker who travels from one area to another in search of work. (It should be noted that some organizations define a migrant to include mobile workers, including temporary foreign workers. For purposes of this project, which is labour force attraction in the context of economic development, an alternative definition is used)

Foreign Student: A person who has come from another country to attend a secondary, post-secondary, professional or technical institution.

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MOVING LABOUR FORCE ATTRACTION ONTO THE REDA STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL AGENDA

There's a common gut reaction to discussion of an immigration/migration attraction agenda in the Winter of 2009’s economic environment. Why attract newcomers? We have our own challenges. The economy isn't great right now. People are idle. Underemployment in segments of our population such as First Nations should be addressed before we look offshore for our solutions.

But as Twist Marketing's interaction with 150 people (REDA stakeholders) around the province from all walks of life attests to, a looming labour force supply challenge will affect all regions of Alberta. The perception of the need "to do something" varies considerably across the province as manifested in REDA business plans and strategic agendas. Tactical action in the labor force space ranges from aggressive (e.g. CAEP) to modest (e.g. PEP) to inactive (e.g. CRP and others). Based on web presence related to labour force attraction (including immigration/migration), in general communities are:

Not positioning their message or action for labour force attraction.

More active in labour force attraction in larger regional urban centres (e.g. Red Deer, Fort McMurray), and less so the greater the distance from large urban corridors (e.g. Battle River region).

Twist Marketing endeavoured to work with Alberta's REDAs in a workshop format to re-position immigration/migration as a significant component of a broader labour force supply issue, and to position the need to put labour force attraction on the strategic and tactical agenda for REDAs (and for the communities they represent).

To establish the context for the increasing need for strategic and tactical labour force attraction activity (to both put the issue on the radar screen and build toward consensus to act – including web content messaging contained in this report), the following is a summary of the PowerPoint presentation (significant contextual material sourced from Wikipedia) delivered to REDAs as a component of the workshops held in February, 2009. It should be noted that the presentation focused on immigration (subject matter REDAs can have most direct influence on) while briefly touching on migration (dynamics tend to move with economic ups and downs and REDAs therefore have only a modest ability to influence) and students (a market segment of immigration):

LABOUR FORCE SUPPLY – A DEFINING ISSUE OF OUR TIME

It's been said that Canada has never been a melting pot; its multicultural approach has been more like a mosaic.

"The economic impact of immigration is an important topic in Canada. Throughout its history Canada has depended on a large stream of immigrants for its economic success. While the immigration rate has declined sharply from its peak early in the 20th century, Canada still accepts more immigrants per capita than any other major Westernized nation. Canada's unusually high immigration rates, and the equally unusual general popular support for a high rate of immigration, can be traced to the nation's unique economy. One factor is that Canada has one of the world's largest supplies of natural resources. It also has a sparse population spread over a vast landscape. Throughout its history Canada has thus faced acute labour shortages and has responded by actively recruiting immigrants. In the late 19th century this included bringing Chinese migrants to build the Canadian Pacific Railway and actively advertising in Europe to find farmers with the Last Best West campaign. Today similar recruitment efforts are needed to staff the oil sands projects in Albertai."

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Despite Canada's immigration prowess, a new phenomenon suggests the immigration path Canada has been on will only accelerate moving forward. The rapid aging of Canada's population as the baby boomer population (born 1946-1965) enters retirement will make labour supply a defining issue of our time.

The Labour Supply Challenge:

“In 2011, the first baby-boom cohorts will reach age 65, and the growth of the working age population will slow and might possibly become negative during the following decade unless there are fairly high levels of immigration. At the same time, the number and proportion of persons aged 65 years and over will increase at an accelerated rate, thus exerting increased pressure on the public pension and health care systems. Canada is one of the countries where the baby-boom was the most pronounced. Today, this is leading to a rapid aging of its working age population, and it will greatly increase the number and proportion of persons withdrawing from the labour market after 2010. Increased productivity, an extension of the retirement age, or a rise in the participation rate could reduce some of the effects of the expected aging and stagnation of the labour forceii.”

Between 2005 and 2010, the number of Albertans aged 45 and over will grow more than twice as fast as those under 45 years of ageiii.

Almost half the farm workers in Alberta are 55 years and olderiv.

By 2016, six employees will reach the retirement age for every one individual entering the labour forcev.

It is probably more accurate to speak of labour market imbalances rather than shortages, considering shortages occur:

o In some occupations (e.g., health; trades, transport, equipment operators and related occupations; Management occupations) and not in others (e.g., art, culture, recreation and sport; some sales and service occupations); and

o More likely in specific regions (e.g.,Wood Buffalo/Cold Lake, Calgary region) and less likely in others (e.g., Edmonton region).

o In the 12 months ending in June 2005, 28 of 53 occupational groups tracked by Alberta Human Resources and Employment showed an unemployment rate of less then three per cent, significantly below the five per cent level that is often used to indicate a balanced labour market (i.e., NAIRU).

The Government of Alberta (2005) indicates that "the labour market is entering a period in which shortages in selected occupations are expected. The fundamental reason for this is a combination of slow labour force expansion and high economic growth."

Around the province, REDA stakeholders are readily aware of an acute labour force shortage in healthcare because they are witnessing it in their own backyard. This situation will be aggravated by an aging population. For example, in a survey (2007) conducted by the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta of its Licensed Practical Nurse membership, 30% of Licensed Practical Nurses indicated they will be retiring within the next five years.

It will come as a shock to some that healthcare is a window to the future of almost all economic sectors. The Canada West Foundation’s Toward A Bright Future (2005) indicates 73 of 76 major industry associations in Western Canada expect moderate to severe worker shortages within the next five years. Poor economic conditions, delaying of retirement age, or increased productivity will only modestly delay or blunt the impact of demographic aging.

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WHY IS THE POPULATION AGING?

Whether a population increases or decreases is the function of a simple equation:

Births - Deaths +/- Migration + Immigration - Emigration

Canada's natural population has not been in “regenerative” mode since 1971.

As a result, while provincial or community populations can rise due to inter-provincial and provincial migration, even sustaining Canada's population involves substantial immigration rates. It's therefore not surprising to see increasing immigration numbers moving in direct proportion to a decline in the birth rate from its peak in 1960. Since 1990, an average of 225,000 immigrants has arrived annually. The per capita immigration rate to Canada has been relatively constant since the 1950s. Less than 3% of the world's population lives outside the country where they were born, yet 18% of Canadians are foreign bornvi.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Canada

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Of note is Statistics Canada modeling of future population in Canada (Population Projections for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2005-2031). All population scenarios include significant future immigration rates. While per capita immigration rates are projected to remain stable, in absolute numbers all scenarios imply immigration increases from base levels of 225,000/year currently. .

IMMIGRATION IN PROFILE

Canada is a "cherry picker" for newcomers in the international arena – seeking the best and the brightest. This runs counter to any public perception that immigration is the domain of unskilled labour. It also runs counter to a dominant subject of conversation in REDA workshops – temporary foreign worker issues.

Recent years have seen a steady increase in the education and skill level of immigrants to Canada. On average, immigrants are better educated than Canadians as a whole, have a long-term (10 year) unemployment rate that matches the Canadian average, and contribute more to government revenues than the Canadian averagevii:

The Canadian system puts great emphasis on finding skilled immigrants. Within the Canadian economy, immigrants are most found at the highest education levels. In Canada, 38% of male workers with a post-graduate degree are immigrants to the country. 23% of Canadians are foreign born, but 49% of doctorate holders and 40% of those with a master’s degree were born outside Canada. A persistent problem for skilled immigrants is the recognition of foreign credentials. While Canada recruits people based on their degrees, many newcomers arrive to find that employers and professional organizations do not recognize their foreign education. As the percentage of skilled newcomers as a share of total migrants has increased, so has this problem. From 2001 to 2006, 56% of immigrants who arrived in Canada held a university degree, a sharp increase over the 28% who arrived prior to 2001.

In 2006, the unemployment rate of recently arrived immigrants was 11.5%, considerably above the native Canadian average of 4.9%. For more established immigrants who had been in Canada between 5 and 10 years, the rate fell to 7.3%.

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Analysis of census data as of 2000 shows that immigrant incomes were at 80% of the national average after 10 years of residing in Canada.

Immigrants on average contribute more to government revenues than the overall Canadian average. A 1990 study found that an average immigrant household paid $22,528 in all forms of taxes and on average each household directly consumed $10,558 in government services. By contrast an average native Canadian household paid $20,259 in tax and consumed $10,102 dollars in servicesviii. A 1996 study found that over a lifetime a typical immigrant family will pay some forty thousand dollars more to the treasury than they will consume in servicesix. Explanations for this include that immigrant households tend to be larger, and have more wage earners, increasing taxes. Newcomers are also less likely to make use of many social services. Immigrants are less likely than native Canadians to receive employment insurance, social assistance, and subsidized housing (and in part due to their terms of entry into Canada).

Immigrants to Canada are much more likely to be skilled than immigrants to the United States. George J. Borjas found that immigrants to Canada were better educated and received higher wages once settled than immigrants to the United States. He accredits this to Canada's points-based immigration system, and argues for the United States to more closely emulate the Canadian methodx.

While the well-being of immigrants has declined in recent years, this has not affected second generation immigrants, or those who came to Canada as a child. This group is one of the most successful in Canada, with education and earning levels well above that of their parents and also above the Canadian averagexi.

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF AN AGING POPULATION TO OUR COMMON FUTURE?

As the Government of Alberta report (2005) entitled "Understanding Alberta's Labour Force: Looking to the Future” states:

"Unleashing Innovation is one of the four pillars in the Province of Alberta’s 20-year strategic business plan. Its goal is for Alberta to become a world leader in innovation, research, development and commercialization of new ideas. There are concerns, however, about the potential supply of highly qualified people – often people in scientific and technical professions – to drive the innovation required to create the envisaged value-added economy, including:

A projected decline in the absolute number of 18- to 24-year-olds in the province in about five years (2010) and a corresponding decline in post-secondary enrolments if participation rates remain at current levels.

Increasing global competition for graduate students, related in part to economic growth in India and China, which have historically been important sources of international students in Canada, and the development of the post-secondary systems in these countries.

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The group of highly qualified people includes more than people with advanced academic credentials.

Other examples include certain older workers and immigrants with a particular combination of education and on-the-job experience. Lack of recognition of (foreign) work experience and, in the case of older workers, retirement are also affecting the supply of highly qualified workers."

ARE THERE OPTIONS OTHER THAN IMMIGRATION FOR LABOUR FORCE ATTRACTION STRATEGY?

Migration

Migration has been a dynamic contributor to the Alberta economy – increasing in economic up-cycles, and declining in economic downturns. Over shorter terms it can relocate Canadian population to economic growth areas, and can re-distribute wealth (to families back home). Over the long term, migration is a natural, economically cyclical phenomenon (i.e. it can't be controlled by a REDA or a community, only influenced with general newcomer programs, services and marketing) that will be driven by the magnitude of demographic aging. Further, as aging affects regions of origin for many migrants, there will be increased pressure to return to take on responsibilities related to care for aging relatives. Migration therefore doesn't resolve Canada and Alberta's broader labour force challenge to come.

Source: Alberta Advanced Education. Profile of Alberta’s Advanced Education System, 2005, p. 105.

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Alberta's recent levels of migration are also disguising the rate of demographic aging by borrowing working age population from elsewhere in Canada. This has the potential to create complacency, or mask the need to address broader labour force attraction strategy until the situation becomes acute.

Labour Variables

Economic prosperity is a function of three labour variables: GDP growth, productivity, and demographics. The economy can grow its GDP with the same labour pool (e.g. better trade agreements), can increase productivity per unit of work, or can increase its total labour pool. While not discounting the other two variables and their ability to mitigate the expected aging and stagnation of the labour force, demographic aging is the proverbial "elephant in the room" in terms of the magnitude of its significance and its impact on Alberta’s future economic prosperity. In other words, the pace of demographic aging in Alberta and Canada will dwarf the ability to compensate in the other two areas (note: an extension of the retirement age or a rise in the participation rate can also soften the impact of an aging workforce).

Population Projections

Statistics Canada has modeled Canada's future population with scenarios that range from population maintenance to aggressive growth. Each scenario requires more immigration, raising the question: what if we just let population naturally decline and didn't worry so much about immigration?

There is debate about the social and economic significance of population decline if declining fertility rates and aging population were not compensated for via immigration rates. On the pro-immigration side are those such as a 2005 report by the Royal Bank of Canada that called for boosting Canada's immigration rate by 30% to 400,000 per year to ensure continued economic growthxii. In 1995, economic research firm DRI-McGraw Hill Inc. reacted with alarm to proposed reductions in immigration levels. They acknowledged that immigration comes with short-term costs, but argued that in the long run immigration boosts employment and economic outputxiii. Yet others argue new residents can assist in meeting future government obligations relating to pay-as-you-go liabilities. For example, healthcare accounts for 11% of Canadian GDPxiv; with today's per capita health expenditure held constant, health spending is expected to increase by 30% in the next 30 years from the effect of aging alonexv.

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"The economic dangers of population decline are not universally accepted. Organizations like the Fraser Institute, a conservative think tank, question whether a declining population would reduce or increase per capita income, noting that in the short term, with a stable economy, fewer people would increase the per capita income simply because you divide the income among fewer people. They conducted a study that claims that the tax revenue received from immigrants does not exceed the government expenses relating to them. A study by the C. D. Howe Institute, another conservative think tank, suggests that immigration cannot keep Canada's population young and could possibly contribute to population ageing in the near term. Employment statistics also bring into question whether skilled worker immigrants, with a 34% unemployment rate are successfully meeting existing labour market needs in Canada. Many developed nations have much lower fertility rates than Canada but have not embraced immigrationxvi."

ENABLING STRATEGY – REDA FOUNDATION/CAPACITY BUILDING

A published cartoon shows a newcomer sitting down. Behind the desk sits a man reviewing the newcomer's resume, who says: "I'm sorry Mr. Naheed. We have no openings for you. All those jobs were outsourced to your home country." It's facetious, but it illustrates the strong international competition for labour force, particularly skilled labour force. In a world of globalization, companies and labour are free to choose where and how economic activity takes place.

Canada's current demographic profile has been profoundly influenced by the end of the baby boom, decline in the fertility rate, aging of the population, and prospects for an absolute decline in population. Canada's situation is fairly typical of developed economies. As a result, countries, regions, and communities seeking sustained prosperity in the face of demographic aging, and rapidly developing economies such as China, India, and the Middle East, will compete against Canada for new labour and work to take away Canadian labour.

This dynamic necessitates an enhanced role for immigration and the need for a more proactive immigration policy in order to deal with the social and economic challenges and opportunities of the next few decades. Canada and Alberta need a plan to compete in the labour force marketplace. And REDAs and communities will play an increasingly important role in their own right as labour force challenges affect the competitiveness of local companies and organizations.

It’s important to consider and generate strategy that reflects priorities, demand (e.g. major employers/sector employment) and limitations (e.g. support infrastructure) within a particular region and/or community.

It's not easy in the community (REDA) context.

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Marketing is Like….a Singer's Success

Marketing success can be compared to a singer’s….all four elements are typically required to engender success.

In the Alberta context, “looks” is physical beauty and quality of life. Hard work is a given. Take out one of these elements and economic success is compromised. Labour force attraction strategy in this project focuses on the left side of the pie chart, ensuring talent (labour force feedstock) is abundant and skilled enough to feed next generation prosperity, and that marketing is attuned to target markets and their needs (in this case the decision-making process involved in coming to Canada and Alberta).

Working

Sleeping

Eating

Looking for Things I Had Just a Minute Ago

Marketing Hard Work

Talent "Looks"

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Most Community Marketing is Ineffective

The average consumer receives 6,000 marketing messages per day (CBC Oct 25, 2007, Doc Zone). Communities compete for attention in a 24/7, always-on world with a mind-boggling range of media and mediums. Rising above the sheer volume of marketing and advertising “noise” in the marketplace to reach a target audience is increasingly challenging, and requires a distinct visual/thematic marketing approach, creativity, frequency, and consistency.

Most community marketing is forgettable, providing information to "everyone" but marketing to "no one" as a result. Only a small portion of it can be considered to be "working." It’s a natural result of the community tradition of working to appeal to everyone. Communities are trained and politically wise to do so. Risk is typically not rewarded. This fact of life locks most communities in the status quo, as efforts to take responsible risk and incorporate the creativity required to break through today's marketing noise tend to be curtailed by opponents (who are more vocal but less numerous than the majority). The result? Marketing is watered down to a lowest common denominator, becomes lost in the noise, and results in a waste of marketing investment.

By comparison, the private sector consistently seeks niche markets and competitive advantage within those markets. The “more risk = less consensus” equation that waters down community marketing has far less application in the private sector, where accountability rests with fewer people and its consumers buy products as opposed to pay taxes.

In the increasingly competitive labour force attraction market to come, it’s important for REDAs and communities to think like companies, targeting niche markets and finding a brand voice and articulating a competitive distinction that is distinct from other communities and regions. Within labour force attraction, this translates to understanding the newcomer mindset and decision-making process, aligning strategy and messaging with that decision-making process, and performing a refinement check and balance against REDA/community competitive advantage and infrastructure limitations specific to labour force attraction. In other words, one can't assume that a potential newcomer will eventually find information in a REDA or a community website. They will be attracted to places better attuned to their thought process and information need.

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Web Content Strategy - The Newcomers’ Online Challenge

Is the web important?

How do potential newcomers navigate electronic space?

Information Sources – Researched Prior to Move & Supporting Decision to Move

Overall, the Internet (46%) was the top research source identified by respondents. 3 in 5 immigrants cited the Internet as their top source for researching Alberta. Migrants, compared to immigrants, were less inclined to use the Internet to research their move to Alberta. Nonetheless, the Internet (31%), family (30%) and prior/previous visit here were the top research resource identified by migrants.

Overall, two-thirds (68%) of respondents used the Internet to support their move and settle in Alberta.

Immigrants (86% of these respondents) were significantly more inclined to use the Internet compared to migrants (49%) in the decision phase.

(Newcomers Survey, ZINC Research, 2009)

Based on survey results, the Internet is a critical decision-making tool that is used to research and motivate a decision to relocate.

From the perspective of a potential newcomer to Canada, navigating the relocation decision-making process is daunting. Different types of information are available on a large number of sites, the information is not necessarily in a format that helps the decision-making process, and websites often refer back to each other, creating a navigation pattern that circles back on itself.

This project's task is to streamline the decision-making process. Potential newcomers have a defined utility of information curve of priority information need, and they work through an identifiable hierarchy of websites to reach a decision. In the world of marketing, an effective value proposition, a quick sales pitch, and information finely tuned to a target audience's identified needs are strong competitive differentiators that can make a difference in a newcomer’s choice of location.

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GENERAL LABOUR FORCE ATTRACTION STRATEGY

Where immigrant and migrant information wants and needs converge with REDA and community capacity and labour force attraction aspiration.

Labour force attraction strategy-building for Alberta's REDAs should pursue the following thrust:

Moving labour force attraction onto the strategic and tactical agenda of REDAs and communities where there is little or no labour force attraction agenda (business plan/website).

Determining the strategy portfolio to be pursued.

Continuing the momentum of REDAs with ongoing labour attraction initiatives. These REDAs are:

o Palliser Economic Partnership Ltd. (PEP)

o Central Alberta Economic Partnership (CAEP)

o Regional Economic Development Initiative for North West Alberta (REDI)

o (And to a lesser extent) Peace River Economic Development Alliance (PREDA)

The strategies identified in this report have been generated from survey results, statistical trends, and a synthesis of workshops with REDAs that have identified labour force attraction issues, opportunities, and barriers.

General strategy reflects the following approach:

The more rural (away from the Calgary/Edmonton urban corridor) the region, the more narrowly focused the labour force attraction strategy needs to be.

Labour force attraction should be seen as an economic development strategy rather than the domain of social services. And where applicable, social services should be connected with economic development. This permits the welcoming of newcomers to be addressed more holistically, encompassing jobs, settlement services, housing, and public infrastructure gap identification and infilling.

Strategy, content and messaging needs to be personalized – targeted at "people" rather than dollars. Existing tactical initiatives focused on investment or land need to include messaging that speaks to "the person" (i.e., "one on one" marketing approaches).

The best return on investment in the context of limited resources and the need to focus on areas that have infrastructure limitations is to leverage existing networks in a region/community (friends, family, nationality clusters), treating the network as a business development and marketing tool.

The REDA website needs to operationalize the newcomer decision-making process. This includes information, but more powerfully, presentation approach, content and messaging that is attuned to the newcomer decision-making process, with the soft sell (language) is attuned to Alberta's (and a REDA's) positive image attributes.

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Social and infrastructure challenges are created when newcomers have no connection to the community (friends/family), or transience is such that there is a constant rotation of newcomers through the community. There's strong return on investment in promoting an "anchor tenant" strategy to retain newcomers for longer periods of time in a community (employing a common economic development principle that 80% of effort should be focused on retention, 20% attraction) to reflect the propensity of local people to be sold on their community's value proposition, and to be more passionate about contribution to and investment in their community. This is done by:

o Building a good fit between newcomer and the community by ensuring website and marketing content messaging is realistic, honest, and conveys an accurate value proposition regarding work, life and play aspects of community life.

o Building a good, staged support system for newcomers (to hasten the transition of "feeling welcome and at home"). Initially, newcomers will require heavier investment of social services effort and settlement services activity. Later on, building bonds (e.g. a number of REDA communities have get-together nights for nationality clusters) becomes more important.

o Ensuring information and direct (face-to-face) or indirect (website) contact with newcomers continues to be relevant to longevity of stay (jobs, housing, and social and public infrastructure supports).

Ultimately, REDAs should target those audiences that align with their overall economic development strategy, but also connect with what the region can deliver in terms of a value proposition for newcomers..

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STRATEGY 1 – PURSUE SPECIFIC TYPE(S) OF STRATEGIES

Based on Stakeholder Survey results, a "Coordinated Labour Force Strategy” entails:

Housing/affordable housing;

Labour force attraction;

Skills development/training;

Inter-provincial initiatives; and

Youth employment attraction and retention.

While discussions with REDAs around the province touched on all of these strategic issues, this project narrows strategy formation to a high priority component of Labour Force Attraction – the REDA website. Newcomers rank the Internet as the most important source of information in their decision-making process. That being said, website marketing represents the wrapper around a broader strategic and tactical game plan for labour force attraction. Specific strategies identified in this plan touch on broader strategy given an overarching need for most REDAs to make inroads in this area.

There are a series of strategies a REDA can consider when developing a labour force attraction strategy:

General (welcome one and all)

OR

One or more niche strategies specific to:

Target economic sectors that are or will be important to the economy within a REDA.

Profession(s) that are experiencing or will experience labour force shortage (this could be general across the province, or it could be based on the dynamic within a REDA or one or more of its constituent communities).

Immigrants/migrants who have been resident in Alberta for a specified period of time and who therefore may have a higher comfort level with venturing outward from larger urban centres (Calgary/Edmonton) that are the primary point of landing in Alberta.

Specified newcomer market segments (migrants vs. immigrants vs. students) that have different dynamics depending on infrastructure and industry profile within a REDA .

Geographic areas in the world with specific skill sets required within a REDA. For example:

o The Philippines is well used around the province as a feedstock for the hospitality and healthcare sectors.

o Meat cutters at Lakeside Packers in Brooks have tended to come from Africa, where this skill set has strong presence.

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o Oil and gas industry expertise is located in specific oil and gas producing nations such as the Middle East, Trinidad and Tobago, Nigeria and Venezuela.

Nationalities that have an established presence within a REDA.

o Depending on nationality, newcomers exhibit varying degrees of geographic clustering, typically to smooth transition to a new country by providing some familiarity.

o The Newcomer Survey indicates that the presence of friends and family in a country/community of relocation is an important decision-making factor.

Large employer requirements within a REDA.

o Larger employers typically have their own in-house labour force attraction expertise and have been addressing labour force shortage and international labour force search for some time.

o Where there is clustering of larger employers (e.g. Fort McMurray), there may be opportunity for employers to work together to market identified, chronic skill set shortages (i.e. to attract by common interest) while maintaining their own in-house competitive position (i.e. to compete with other companies by working together).

Needs/desires of specific communities within a REDA.

o Communities are not homogenous, and many have specific labour force attraction needs depending on their economic profile and demographic.

In general, all but the most urban CMAs in Alberta (Calgary/Edmonton) have some compromise of the support infrastructure (ESL, housing availability, affordable housing, public transit, social supports, etc) required to support a "Statue of Liberty" strategy. That suggests a selection of one or more niche strategies that respond to capacities and limitations specific to a region and its communities, and selection of strategies that are directly tied (tactics and operationalization) to economic development strategy as opposed to social services provision.

Actions:

Identify and pursue a specific/niche labour force attraction strategy.

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STRATEGY 2 - MARKET SEGMENTATION

Immigration/migration is a very important component of labour force attraction strategy. But immigrants and migrants are not a homogenous group, which requires the challenge of newcomer attraction to be addressed with market segmentation.

"Don’t be everything to everyone, be something to someone" is a first rule of marketing.

Understand the target market's psychology and decision-making process and match it with information provision and sales pitch:

Newcomer Survey results show modest differentiation between an immigrant (who views the Internet as more important to decision making and will require more in-depth information) and a migrant (who views the Internet as less important to decision making and requires less in-depth information, because they are familiar with Canada).

Immigrants require stronger, more seamless linkage between federal and provincial websites, REDA websites, and community websites.

Migrants rely more on community websites.

As REDAs are not "a dot on the map," they are a brand challenge and require strong linkages to federal and provincial websites, and community websites.

REDAs in this context can view themselves as an initiator of labour force attraction web presence, serving as a bridge between federal and provincial immigration websites and community websites until such time as communities (the more intuitive geography in the mind of the newcomer) can operationalize the newcomer decision-making process on their own sites. At that time, REDA websites can transition to being "holders of the labour force attraction vision" and aggregators of key decision-making elements such as a job bank, business directory or comparative community cost of living statistics within the REDA's constituent communities.

WORKING WITH MARKET SEGMENTATION TO TARGET A FIT WITH REDA DYNAMIC.

In Canada there are three key categories of immigrants:

1) Family class (closely related persons) – family reunification

This strategy (see Strategy 3) works by targeting nationalities resident with a Region, and working with those nationalities (information provision, international ambassador program, business development) to make friend and family contacts in the international community.

In 2006 Canada assigned 55% of its immigrant processing capacity to the Economic Classes, and 45% to the other classes including the Family Class (28%) and Refugees (13%).

In 2005, Provincial Nominee Programs (provinces enter into agreement with the federal government about specific immigration programming) increased 29%, resulting in more than 8,000 newcomers to Canada.

(Source: Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: A Toolbox of Ideas for Smaller Centres, 2007)

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2) Economic classes (Skilled Workers, Business categories)

Economic classes are admitted on the basis of skill, capital, and labour-market requirements. It includes those processed under the Provincial Nominee Program. They are selected based on a point system. Strategically, economic classes (entrepreneurs, investors, self-employed) can be a key source of business start-up activity in a community, farm succession, and retail succession. They can also be a feedstock for key target sectors, and professions facing acute labour shortages. For REDAs, a key strategy is to identify target sectors, professions, and strategic interests (e.g. farm succession), create a strong (emotive) value proposition around quality of life distinction within a REDA, and to ensure a seamless routing of potential newcomers through the legal process (links) of immigration through to the operational part of "living" within a REDA/community.

There's a critical difference between independent investor newcomers, and those who follow a job. While those requiring work will respond best to a hierarchy of needs (job, cost of living, community infrastructure) web approach, the newcomer investor will "shop" communities for business/investment opportunities and cross-reference to total quality of life. The commonality of website messaging is the need to elegantly and profoundly encapsulate the beating heart of region/community life, and to draw distinctions vis a vis other regions, communities, provinces, and countries based on non-work opportunity/facilities (education, recreation, healthcare, etc.). This represents the "sales pitch" that layers over the hierarchy of needs data that is required to facilitate the decision-making process.

3) Refugees

This class of immigration reflects Canada's humanitarian aspiration. From an economic development perspective, and in the context of REDAs that often lack key infrastructure that refugees require (in all but the most urban CMAs), the economic and business classes offer better return on investment for labour force attraction strategy. However, this group can provide the necessary support for sectors or regions seeking primarily "unskilled" labour (enabling newcomers to get a footing into Canadian Society).

In Nova Scotia, regional economic development agencies have been empowered to nominate a limited number of Provincial Nominees.

(Source: Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: A Toolbox of Ideas for Smaller Centres, 2007)

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Students

Although not classified as immigrants, REDAs should not overlook the potential for international students to boost population and contribute to labour force and economic development objectives. Students represent one of the fastest growing trends across Canada, not only in relation to post-secondary education but also with regards to students enrolled in classes from K to 12 (Source: Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: A Toolbox of Ideas for Smaller Centres, 2007).

Strategically from a labour force attraction perspective, REDAs that have post-secondary institutions within their region could establish a triangular relationship between the REDA, post-secondary institutions, and major employers (capacity will limit depth of contact with industry) to match students with prospective local employment post-graduation. A REDA website could indicate what skill-sets major employers in the region look for in graduates of local post-secondary institutions.

Skilled vs. Unskilled Labour

"2000 people are employed at Cargill's meat processing facility in Aldersyde. 475 are temporary foreign workers."

Source: Cargill

The Canadian system puts great emphasis on finding skilled immigrants. It's no surprise that the Canada West Foundation's Looking West 2004 Survey found that issues around skilled labour are important to western Canadians. When asked to rate the importance of ensuring a skilled labour force for the coming years, nearly 71% of westerners rated this issue as a "high priority." Also, 59% indicated that improving their province's post-secondary education system was a “high priority." Clearly, there is a need to connect immigration with skills need, and training and skills development.

That being said, REDA workshops were dominated by discussion about unskilled labour in the form of temporary foreign workers, perhaps because of acknowledged issues around provision/availability of support infrastructure. Anecdotally, use of temporary foreign workers tends to be highly sectoral, focusing on hospitality, retail, and manufacturing/food processing. Temporary foreign workers also tend to predominantly come from a few countries, particularly the Philippines and Mexico. Based on REDA workshop discussions, use of

Some regions in Canada are working to facilitate the entry of international students into permanent resident status by adapting their Provincial Nominee Programs for this purpose.

(Source: Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: A Toolbox of Ideas for Smaller Centres)

The Government of Canada presently has three studies of foreign students underway, with the objective of developing a better system to pre-qualify students to remain in Canada after graduation.

(Source: ZINC Research, in conversation with government officials related to issue of Newcomer Survey)

Temporary foreign workers are growing in significance, with approximately 100,000 workers entering Canada each year. At any given time, there are estimated to be over 150,000 temporary foreign workers throughout the country (Alberta receives approx. 12% of this total)

(Source: Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: A Toolbox of Ideas for Smaller Centres)

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temporary foreign workers is prevalent across Alberta, in numbers that might surprise the average Albertan (and exceeding the 12% figure quoted above).

From a labour force attraction perspective, a key strategic issue identified in workshops is small and medium sized enterprise (SME) navigation of the legal process of hiring temporary foreign workers (i.e. Labour Market Opinions (LMOs), advertising, and often direct involvement in search for housing or, in the case of a hotel in Fort MacLeod, the construction of new multi-family housing). Larger enterprises tend to have internal capacity to effectively manage this process.

One key trend noted in the workshops is the desire for transition of temporary foreign workers to landed immigrant status, particularly through the Provincial Nominee Program. This addresses an acknowledged issue in Alberta, particularly in rural and northern communities, which is a desire to reduce community transience for all the economic and social benefits that brings.

Actions:

Survey local businesses with measured frequency to assess temporary foreign worker use.

Assist SMEs with the temporary foreign worker legal process.

Work directly with businesses to reduce transience by transitioning temporary foreign workers to landed immigrant status, or matching seasonal use of temporary foreign work with symbiotic seasonal use that can extend temporary foreign worker stays and build local community bonds.

In Southwest Alberta, Castle Mountain employs Australian temporary foreign workers on the ski hill in winter months. An opportunity exists to retain those same workers through the summer season by matching them with temporary summer employment (e.g. hospitality, agriculture).

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STRATEGY 3 – BUILD FROM THE BACKYARD

Leverage Newcomer Friends and Family, along with Nationality Clusters Already Present in a Region:

Information Sources – Researched Prior to Move & Supporting Decision to Move

Among newcomers ...

Referrals from family or friends who live, lived or travelled in Alberta was the top reason that superseded the Internet to support their decision to move to the province.

While the Internet (46%) was the top research source identified by respondents, friends (27%) and family (25%) were also popular information sources.

When it was time to move, friends and family (both 31%), followed by the Internet (28%), were most helpful in supporting their decision.

Migrants are much more inclined to tap into their social networks (family and friends) and personal experience (prior/previous visit) to support their decision to move to Alberta.

(Newcomers Survey, ZINC Research, 2009)

The power of social connectivity is evidenced by Canada's trade relationships. Canada’s strongest trade relationships mirror countries with the highest immigration numbers to Canada.

Canada's economy is heavily centered on international trade, which accounted for 36% of GDP in 2006. The presence within Canada of people representative of many different

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Canada

Canada's merchandise exports by area ($ billions)

Country 2006 2007 2007

share

2007 annual

growth

World 440.3 450.3 100.0 2.3

U.S. 359.3 356.0 79.1 -0.9

U.K. 10.1 12.8 2.8 26.3

China 7.7 9.3 2.1 21.3

Japan 9.4 9.2 2.0 -2.5

Mexico 4.4 5.0 1.1 13.2

Netherlands 3.1 4.0 0.9 32.0

Germany 4 3.9 0.9 -1.8

Norway 1.9 3.7 0.8 95.0

France 2.9 3.1 0.7 8.5

Korea 3.3 3.0 0.7 -7.9

EU 29.2 34.8 7.7 19.4

Canada's merchandise imports by area ($ billions)

Country 2006 2007 2007 share

2007 annual growth

World 396.6 406.6 100.0 2.5

U.S. 217.6 220.4 54.2 1.3

China 34.5 38.3 9.4 11.0

Mexico 16.0 17.2 4.2 7.2

Japan 15.3 15.4 3.8 0.8

Germany 11.1 11.5 2.8 3.7

U.K. 10.9 11.5 2.8 5.6

Korea 5.8 5.4 1.3 -6.9

Norway 5.4 5.3 1.3 -2.1

France 5.2 5.1 1.3 -1.9

Italy 4.9 5.1 1.3 3.3

EU 49.3 49.4 12.1 0.2

Source: Statistics Canada

http://www.international.gc.ca/economist-economiste/performance/state-point/2008.aspx?lang=eng

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Some Information to Get The Nationality Data Collection Ball Rolling

Canada has 34 ethnic groups with at least one hundred thousand members each, of which 10 have over 1,000,000 people and numerous others represented in smaller amounts.

'Visible' minorities (16.2% of population):

South Asian (4.0%) Chinese (3.9%)

Black (2.5%) Filipino (1.1%)

'Invisible' minorities:

Irish (13.94%) German (10.18%)

Italian (4.63%) Ukrainian (3.87%)

Dutch (3.87%) Polish (3.15%)

Russian (1.60%) Norwegian (1.38%)

Portuguese (1.32%) Swedish (1.07%)

Source: Statistics Canada, 2001

In 2007, Canada received 236,760 immigrants. The top ten sending countries, by state of origin, were People's Republic of China (28,896), India (28,520), Philippines (19,718), Pakistan (9,808), United States (8,750), United Kingdom (7,324), Iran (7,195), South Korea (5,909), Colombia (5,382), and Sri Lanka (4,068). These were followed closely by France (4,026), Morocco (4,025), and Romania, Russia and Algeria each contributing over 3,500 immigrants.

cultures and nations is an important boost to Canada's international trade. Immigrants will often have expertise, linguistic skills, and personal connections with their country of origin that can help forge international trade ties; studies have found that Canada has greater trade relations with those nations that have provided large numbers of immigrants (Source: Keith Head, John Ries "Immigration and Trade Creation: Econometric Evidence from Canada." The Canadian Journal of Economics Vol. 31, No. 1 (Feb., 1998), pp. 47-6).

There's a well-known, anecdotal economic rule – that 80% of investment is locally generated, with the remaining 20% coming from outside the community. Newcomer Survey results point to a similar dynamic. Newcomers use the experience of friends and family ("trust") living in a country of interest to guide their decision-making process. This is significant, given family sponsorship accounted for 28% of all immigration in Canada in 2006 (Source: Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: A Toolbox of Ideas for Smaller Centres, 2007).

To maximize return on investment and efficiency of limited REDA resources, regions (and communities) can employ an onshore rather than offshore newcomer-related labour force attraction strategy by leveraging clusters of nationalities and individuals with active social and/or business links in their home country. This strategy has key advantages, particularly in more rural regions with identified transience and social and public infrastructure limitations; a newcomer will likely stay longer in a community where friends or family are already present. Friends and family can also ease transition into communities (requiring less reliance on community infrastructure).

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Window to the Future…A Newcomer Investment Attraction Strategy

In Southwest Alberta, a local resident from the Netherlands returns to his homeland frequently. Interested in attracting investment to Southwest Alberta, he set up Canada nights in the Netherlands on a return visit in 2008. He generated a list of people interested in moving to Canada and starting or purchasing businesses (a possible investment of $21 million). He returned to the Netherlands in 2009, attending an immigration show where several countries vie for the attention of people willing to leave their home country… and also taking the opportunity to try to convert his investment leads.

Peace River Economic Development Alliance -A Friends and Family Strategy for Farm Succession-

In Whitelaw, Alberta, farmers are retiring and there's concern that young Canadians don't want to enter the business or take over the family farm. An agricultural college in Sweden requires working farm practicum experience. As a result, Swedish students have been coming to Canada to acquire that experience…and in some cases they're staying. With the ability to buy much more land for the same dollar value in Alberta, a local farmer talks about his neighbour who moved from Sweden. The neighbour's links to home have resulted in another family moving from Sweden to Whitelaw. Six additional families from Sweden have also visited, exploring opportunities for a new life, breathing new life into increasingly silent rural community halls, and Alberta's aging agricultural workforce.

Actions:

Document clusters of nationalities present in communities/the region. Start with Census Canada, 2006 searched by community. It's also possible to use a REDA website or contact databases to document nationality clusters and establish working relationships.

Identify key "champions" (recruiters, business people, residents active with their homeland) and work with them in a business development fashion.

Translate marketing material for key clusters of nationalities.

Translate website (Google Translate for expediency where formal translation is prohibitive) for identified ethnic concentrations.

Put sales material in hands of nationalities (e.g. initiate an international ambassador program).

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STRATEGY 4 – MANAGE/BREAK BARRIERS

Social support and public infrastructure in rural parts of Alberta is limiting based on REDA workshop conversations. The most critical barriers are identified as follows:

English as a Second Language.

Social services.

Settlement services (provincial program or coordinated community program – variability of service or no service depending on location).

Affordable housing.

Public transit.

Lack of post-secondary educational institution.

Mentorship/quarterbacking (personal relationship with newcomers to help them adjust to new life and location).

Some barriers can be overcome, but many simply can't in the short term. These barriers are the product of financial resources, community size, or community location. While this suggests that a market segmented and niche strategy approach to labour force attraction should be pursued, regions and communities can enhance their ability to attract and retain newcomers by enhancing key community foundations (identified as barriers above) that are important to newcomers.

SKILLS TRAINING LOCALLY - LIBRARIES, POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS

In the Newcomer Survey, the presence of local educational institutions/opportunities is 5th ranked (70% somewhat or very motivating) for Calgary/Edmontonian newcomer (and by extension the broader newcomer community) consideration of a move to rural Alberta. Educational programming is an economic development anchor in communities. It's therefore important for REDA and community websites to not just link to public/catholic school board websites and post-secondary websites, but to briefly describe a value proposition related to the strength of local education. This could come in the form of descriptions of specialized programs (arts, technology, science, etc), school/teacher/program awards, student/teacher ratios compared to elsewhere, modernity of facilities, success stories (graduates), etc. Specific to post-secondary institutions, it could come in the form of programs directly aligned with local employer skill set requirements.

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Not only is the presence of quality local education important to newcomers, local skills development (post-secondary education) was identified as a critical issue by most REDAs. This stems from a number of issues, including local skills shortages, First Nations employment, reduction of transience, and retention of grade 12 graduates. A number of education infrastructure deficiencies were noted in REDA workshops, ranging from lack of presence of post-secondary education, to lack of technology to create "virtual education" for more remote locations, to difficulty finding qualified instructors (particularly in a broader environment of labour shortage during economic up-cycles). Improvements in this area will have a bottom line benefit for labour force attraction, retention, and local skills training.

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL):

Based on REDA workshop discussion, ESL is a critical foundation service for newcomers (immigrants). It is deemed to be critical for the seamless transition of newcomers into a community fabric, with the potential negative social and economic ramifications well understood if ESL capability is lacking.

However, ESL is provided by different organizations around Alberta and is considered hit and miss depending on location. It's also challenging to access ESL the more "rural" the community is. There is room for the Government of Alberta to unify a program offering across all Alberta communities.

ESL is traditionally considered a service offering involving a teacher. Internet language training opportunities are emerging, and offer significant potential, particularly in rural communities with less established ESL programs. Auralog software – introduced in Alberta in 2008 via the Alberta Public Library Electronic network (one-year license purchased by Government of Alberta) and offered through libraries around the province – offers access to language training in multiple languages (English, German, French, Spanish and Dutch). The software works best with speakers and a microphone. Patrons can access the software 24/7 from home or at the library using their library barcode and pin number. Learning is self-paced, with a range of skill levels from beginner to advanced. A 24/7 online advisor is available to answer questions. For more information - http://www.thealbertalibrary.ca/TellMeMore.html

Libraries should be cross-linked to REDA websites, with a particular focus on how libraries can help newcomers transition into a community (language training, other multimedia resources that are educational regarding Canadian culture/customs and "how to's" regarding tax, legal, home, etc.).

"QUARTERBACKING:"

Local contacts are instrumental in attracting international labour force. But in the world of relationship management, where face-to-face contacts and personal relationships are important to labour force attraction and seamless integration in a community, a "quarterbacking" or shepherding of people through the processes, organizations, resources and systems required to transition into a community (e.g. education, housing, jobs, temporary foreign labour, credentials, legal process) is the responsibility of no single organization. Across Alberta, immigration and migration is being taken under the wing of individuals from myriad organizations (they vary substantially by community and by region) spanning mandates as broad as investment attraction, social services, and recruitment. This hampers labour force attraction initiatives. Some regions work to cover this gap on an ad hoc basis, such as Grande Prairie (PREDA) where two people who take on some of this responsibility not out of mandate, but from a caring heart.

In Hinton, there is an "ESL Café." Volunteer-based and partnered with a local church, those enhancing their English language skills can drop by informally to participate in conversational English.

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There is room to create a quarterbacking mechanism within each REDA to establish a single point of entry for newcomers and potential newcomers. This would require:

The mapping of organizational newcomer service provision in each REDA;

A vision of ideal service provision based on capacities and resources in a region;

The streamlining of service provision where there is overlap and the creation of service provision where there are gaps;

Region-based agreement to a plan for newcomer service provision;

The assignment of a quarterbacking function; and

The identification of monetary resources to provide the function.

In the context of the acute labour shortage to come and the increasing importance labour force attraction will assume within economic development programs, regions and municipalities should consider a quarterbacking function in regional and community economic development programs. REDAs are well positioned to offer this service on behalf of a number of communities in their regions.

If this function is adopted, it should be placed front and centre in a Newcomer tab in REDA websites, and provide a personal face/contact for the potential newcomer.

CREDENTIALING:

While Canada recruits immigrants based on their degrees, many newcomers arrive to find employers and professional organizations will not recognize their foreign education. As the percentage of skilled newcomers as a share of total migrants has increased, so has this problem. In 2006, 56% of immigrants who arrived in Canada held a university degree, a sharp increase over the 28% who arrived prior to 2001. Within the trades, there are provincial and international barriers. This was well documented in REDA workshops; people with advanced degrees are presently cleaning hotel rooms and driving taxis.

Identified challenges include requirements to write accreditation exams in Canada (there is potential to generate online training resources to prepare for certification exams and/or offer them overseas), with exam failure resulting in a return to the home country. It must be noted that failure rates in part relate to semantics (e.g. a British "spanner" is a wrench in Canada). REDA workshop participants noted that English exams would be difficult for Canadians to pass.

The setting of standards for, or recognition of, almost all professional credentials does not fall within the federal government's control and are therefore not determined by either federal laws or Citizenship and Immigration Canada policies. However, Citizenship and Immigration Canada established the Foreign Credentials Referral Office to provide a directory assistance service for immigrants. In 2007, the Government of Alberta signed an agreement with federal government that will accelerate the process of foreign credential recognition for new immigrants by provincial licensing bodies.

This issue is one that neither REDAs nor communities can address in labour force attraction or web content strategy, but it was perhaps the most frequently discussed REDA workshop issue in terms of a challenge that needs to be overcome. It was specifically noted that there is a perception that some provinces are ahead of Alberta on this issue.

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TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKERS:

The time involved in any immigration/temporary foreign worker process is lengthy. REDA workshop participants noted the process may not be as fluid as the on the ground economic situation, and it is a challenging for SMEs to navigate. Larger enterprises have internal mechanisms to tap temporary foreign worker supply. More specifically, the Labour Market Opinion (LMO) process is slow and cumbersome (up to five months), requires an advertising period (to prove Canadians don't want the job), and typically requires a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) for every employee hired.

A blanket Labour Market Opinion (LMO) for sectors with chronic, acute shortage (e.g. hospitality, food services, retail, healthcare) would be helpful. The removal of specific restrictions would also be helpful (e.g. an LMO can't be processed for part-time work (less than 30 hours/week) in the healthcare sector despite the fact that many positions by nature are part-time positions).

REDAs websites should incorporate a temporary foreign worker link in the Newcomers tab, and should include linkage to specific applicable programs (e.g. the agriculture seasonal foreign workers program, the

federal Working Vacation program).

REDA workshop participants also noted that Alberta might want to consider having broker contacts or identify an accredited broker network both in Canada and in foreign countries, perhaps operated through trade offices, to ensure fairness of the process of coming to Canada (it's observed that in foreign countries fees to brokers can make it almost feel like slavery to work offshore).

REDAs can work to shorten the process by educating SMEs and working with SMEs on specific processes and challenges to help them anticipate and manage the temporary foreign worker process more effectively. REDAs could also potentially work with groups of employers in key sectors with chronic, acute labour shortages (e.g. hotels) to fast track the process.

Temporary Foreign Worker Challenges and Possibilities Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre, Slave Lake It employs 128 people when fully staffed, but there are currently only 78 employed. Nineteen temporary foreign workers are employed – all from the Philippines. Three more will soon be arriving, while six will be returning to the Philippines in the next six months. However, the process is laborious. The facility works through an agent, applying for individual LMOs for every new employee to address a chronic staff shortage. It takes a lengthy 8-11 months to process each new employee. Challenges aside, newcomer hard work and dedication has led to the transition of two temporary foreign workers to permanent residency status, with the Sawridge Inn & Conference centre nominating them through the Provincial Nominee Program. The temporary foreign worker program offers the potential for regions and communities to move temporary residency to permanent residency.

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WELCOMING COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE:

CAEP – A Best Practice Worth Repeating

The phrase "labour force attraction" is carefully selected in this report. Couched purely in immigration/migration terms, broader labour force challenges can quickly become clouded by community concern about an influx of newcomers. This concern is due to infrastructure limitations (particularly in rural and remote communities) and local interest in serving Albertan or Canadian interests first, particularly in challenging economic conditions.

A "Welcoming Communities" initiative targets the creating of an enabling environment for newcomers:

General awareness of strategic labour force environment and need for newcomers (described in this document).

Community readiness to accept newcomers.

Community acceptance and tolerance.

Employer awareness of legal and pragmatic issues related to immigration/migration/temporary foreign workers.

The Central Alberta Economic Partnership (CAEP) has been a leader in this regard.

Rather than re-invent the wheel, CAEP can be used as a best practices example of a process to follow and materials to use:

CAEP Welcoming Communities Employer Guide - http://www.centralalberta.ab.ca/index.cfm?page=WelcomingCommunitiesEmployerGuide

CAEP Welcoming Communities 2008 Forum Resource Materials - http://www.centralalberta.ab.ca/index.cfm?page=March2008WCForum

The National Working Group on Small Centre Strategies (supported by the Government of Canada) has produced a general strategic guide to formation of strategy and creation of an immigration-related, enabling labour force attraction environment:

Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: A Toolbox of Ideas for Smaller Centres, 2007

National Working Group on Small Centre Strategies

http://www.auma.ca/live/AUMA/Toolkits/Welcoming+and+Inclusive+Committees

Actions:

Document and categorize local resources that could be used to support newcomers to the region. This "inventory" can be placed on the Internet and used for a "personalized welcome" to a region.

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STRATEGY 5 - BUILD THE SEAMLESS NEWCOMER RESEARCH/DECISION-MAKING EXPERIENCE

Among newcomers:

Top websites used to research a move to Alberta were: city/town websites (30%), Government of Canada immigration (25%), government employment (24%), commercial employment (23%), and Province of Alberta immigration websites (23%). The mean number of sites used in researching their move to Alberta was 3.3 websites.

Lower rankings – private/corporate employment sites (20%), Housing - real estate sites (18%), post-secondary institutions (15%), healthcare information (15%), local immigration websites (15%), government – social services (11%), immigration experience/help websites (10%), tourism/travel-related (10%), community profiles/information (10%), school websites (9%), Alberta-based economic development websites (8%), employment – temporary/guest worker programs (8%), transportation (6%), education and training (5%), recreational activities (5%), church/religion-based websites (5%)

Websites that were helpful in supporting respondent's decision to move were: city/town websites (23%), Government of Canada immigration (20%), commercial employment (19%), rental housing (15%) and Province of Alberta immigration websites (15%).

(Newcomer Survey, ZINC Research, 2009)

Websites Used to Research Province and Support

Decision - All Respondents (1 of 2)

“Q8a. You indicated that you used the Internet as a resource prior to moving here. What types of websites did you use to research your move to

Alberta? And when you decided to move, which websites were most helpful in supporting your decision to move to Alberta?

7%

8%

12%

13%

11%

15%

11%

13%

15%

19%

12%

20%

23%

10%

11%

15%

15%

15%

18%

18%

20%

23%

23%

24%

25%

30%

Research Province

Helpful in Decision

City/Town Website(s)

Employment - Government

Housing – Real Estate/Purchase Home

Government of Canada Immigration Website(s)

Province of Alberta Immigration Website(s)

Government – Social Services

Healthcare Information

Employment – Commercial

Post Secondary Institutions

Employment – Private/Corporate

Local Immigration Website(s)

Housing – Rental Properties

Immigration Experience/Help Website(s)

Base: Respondents who used the internet to research move to Alberta (n=213)

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Given the additional step of having to enter Canada, immigrant respondents were the primary users of immigration websites (Canada and Alberta) to research their move. After this, employment sites and city/town websites were valuable online research resources for this group. Helpful websites supporting immigrant respondents’ move were immigration websites, city/town and rental housing websites.

Migrant respondents, without the challenge of having to cross an international boundary, were inclined to research their move using city/town websites (37%), followed by employment (all sources) and rental housing and real estate websites. These same sites were the most cited as being helpful to migrants in supporting their decision to move to Alberta.

(Newcomer Survey, ZINC Research, 2009)

Survey results indicate that:

Newcomers use multiple websites to make a decision regarding relocation.

Municipal websites are the single most important source for information.

A grouping at the top of the information that newcomers seek shows a strong linkage between municipal (cost of living, quality of life), government (legal process of immigration, eligibility, requirements), employment, and housing–related information.

The sheer number of sites being used indicates that a measure of aggregation of content in the range of sites would be helpful to the decision maker (the formation of competitive advantage vis a vis other regions, provinces, and countries).

“Q8a. You indicated that you used the Internet as a resource prior to moving here. What types of websites did you use to research your move to

Alberta?”

2%

3%

5%

2%

7%

7%

5%

8%

5%

6%

9%

10%

1%

3%

3%

5%

5%

5%

6%

8%

8%

9%

10%

10%

Research Province

Helpful in Decision

Websites Used to Research Province and Support

Decision - All Respondents (2 of 2)

“Q8a. You indicated that you used the Internet as a resource prior to moving here. What types of websites did you use to research your move to

Alberta? And when you decided to move, which websites were most helpful in supporting your decision to move to Alberta?

Tourism/Travel Related

School Websites

Education and Training

Community Profiles/Information

None of These

Employment – Temporary/Guest Worker Programs

Social Networking Sites

Other

Alberta-Based Economic Development Website(s)

Church/Religion Based Website(s)

Transportation

Recreational Activities

Mentions < 5%:

Banking & personal investment, government-starting a business

information, church/religion based

website(s), investment-business,

utilities

Base: Respondents who used the internet to research move to Alberta (n=213)

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Actions:

REDAs are a brand challenge - the geography will not be well understood by a potential newcomer because it doesn't mirror a "dot on a map." It is therefore critical that REDAs work with their constituent communities to establish a Newcomers tab on community websites, or have the community websites link to their relevant REDA under a tab called "Newcomers." It is also critical that the entire information chain — from federal to provincial to REDA to employment websites to community websites, to additional helpful resource sites – be present within a REDA website. This will create a seamless "story" for the potential newcomer as opposed to a collection of inconsistent or conflicting vignettes. A single REDA website can serve as a comprehensive portal that provides enough information from highest ranked website sources of information to push the decision-making process forward (i.e. not just simple links to other sites but a measure of description of what information the links provide) without requiring the visiting of 20 websites to get a complete picture of a region or community for initial decision-making purposes. Speed and seamlessness of experience across all categories of information required to reach a relocation decision are a critical competitive advantage in the global labour force marketplace.

Where the interest in increasing immigration is driven by specific labour market needs, employers often do their own marketing and promotion. It is therefore important for REDAs to work with major employers in the region to identify acute skills shortages and job postings, perhaps serving as a central repository for skills needs and employment postings in a region.

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STRATEGY 6 - BUILDING THE ALBERTA/REDA BRAND

6A. DEVELOPING THE ALBERTA/REDA SALES PITCH

Q. Where Do Immigrants Go?

A. Not to Alberta:

In an increasingly competitive economy that will pit nation against nation, province against province, and community against community, Alberta is not faring particularly well in attracting a proportionate or higher share of immigration. On an annual basis, Alberta receives approximately seven per cent of all immigrants to Canada, while it constitutes about 10 per cent of the Canadian population and has consistently been among the strongest provincial economies in the country. Even with the recent economic boom, these shares have not increased. Canada's largest cities - Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver – remain the primary first ports of call for immigrants.

Clearly, Alberta brand building requires some work.

To work to shift this ratio in favour of Alberta, its regions, and its communities, REDA websites can develop messaging content attuned to newcomer motivations to move to Alberta, and newcomer image of Alberta:

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Motivation to Move To/Choose Alberta

45% of Newcomer Survey respondents were motivated to move to Alberta for the economic opportunities offered by the province. This was followed by motivations to build a future for children/new beginning (30%), a chance to experience something different (29%), having immediate family in Alberta (28%), a change in social environment/needed change (28%), and looking for work or got a job (both 27%). Lower rankings – personal freedom/independence (25%), spouse/family moved for work (25%), have relatives in Alberta (23%), educational opportunities (22%), province was best place for me/my values (20%), excitement to move to Alberta (19%), personal relationship/marriage (12%), presence/influence of friends from home count/region (7%), temporary worker (6%), open new business/business opportunity (5%)

(Newcomer Survey, ZINC Research, 2009)

Alberta: Image Assessment

Respondents were asked to assess 11 statements about Alberta. Overall:

o Highest rated statements: “Alberta has a bright future” (77% agreement); “Alberta has great cities” (73%); “I feel free to express myself” (69%) and “Immigrants are welcome here” (66%).

o Lowest rated statements: “Rural regions offer a quality of life equal to Alberta cities” (46%), “I feel safe everywhere I travel in Alberta” (54%), and “My cultural background is respected in Alberta” (55%).

Immigrants were generally more positive about Alberta’s image compared to migrants.

o Higher ratings by immigrants: “I feel safe everywhere I travel in Alberta,” “My cultural background is respected in Alberta,” “Alberta has a bright future” and “Immigrants are welcome here.”

o Higher ratings by migrants: “Alberta’s smaller cities and towns have a great quality of life.”When factor analyzed, these 11 statements grouped into two “mind sets:” “quality of life, culture and opportunity” and “safety, diversity and optimism.”

(Newcomer Survey, ZINC Research, 2009)

Together, motivations and image statements represent personal motivation and Alberta appeal. The highest ranked motivations and image statements should be reflected in the introductory sales pitch (main landing page) of a Newcomers section of REDA websites. Conversely, lowest ranked motivations and image statements, and the spirit they represent, should only be considered if and when they support a niche strategy.

Actions:

Suggested Newcomer landing page content messaging as follows:

In Alberta you don’t have to just imagine a life of new beginning. You can make it happen. Alberta is one of the most dynamic economies in the world. Alberta's spirit of place and people is culturally diverse, welcoming, and safe and offers you and your family the opportunity to realize your highest hopes and aspirations. Great communities. Freedom to express and explore. A bright future. Join us.

In Alberta, healthcare authorities are actively recruiting overseas. With healthcare serving as a window to a future of multi-sectoral, acute labour shortage, there is opportunity to create a sum greater than the parts by employing multi-sectoral, multi-employer, multi-community overseas recruiting under the Alberta brand banner.

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6B. BUILDING THE RURAL ALBERTA BRAND – THE SECOND WAVE STRATEGY

Q. Where Do Immigrants Go?

A. Not to Rural Alberta

Immigrants overwhelmingly settle in big cities, with almost three-quarters settling in Toronto, and Vancouver. Between 2001 and 2006, Edmonton and Calgary captured 84% per cent of all new immigrants, and 62% of new migrants, to Alberta.

Source: Census Canada Immigration/Mobility statistics, 2001-2006

In addition to statistical preference for large urban centres, rural Alberta has a brand challenge embedded in Newcomer Survey results (Alberta Image Assessment): the lowest rated image statement is "Rural regions offer a quality of life equal to Alberta cities” (46%).

However, a newcomer labour force attraction brand direction for rural Alberta is established by the following Newcomer Survey results:

Motivations for Residing Outside of Calgary/Edmonton:

Of the two-thirds of respondents who lived in Edmonton and Calgary, almost 3 in 10 (28%) considered moving to or living in other parts of Alberta. A slightly higher share of immigrants (32%) compared to migrants (24%) made this consideration.

Approximately three (3) in ten (10) of these respondents would consider moving to/living/going to school in other parts of Alberta. (Top motivators: Job opportunities, quality of life, personal safety, and lower cost of housing/real estate).

Of the 14 motivators considered with respect to living outside of Alberta’s two main cities, quality of life, job opportunities, lower cost of housing/real estate and personal safety were the most motivating. Compared to migrants, immigrants would also be motivated by educational institutions/opportunities. When factor analyzed, these 14 motivators grouped into three “mindsets": Residing in a “healthy/advanced community,” where there are “economic benefits” and there is a “welcoming/diverse community."

Category Alberta Calgary CMA Edmonton CMA Rest of Alberta

Population 3,290,350 1,079,310 1,034,945 1,176,095

Migrants (within last 5 years) 226,865 80,405 60,400 86,060

Immigrants (within last 5 years) 117,885 62,830 35,600 19,455

Total Migrant/Immigrants in last 5 years 344,750 143,235 96,000 105,515

Incidence 10.48% 13.27% 9.28% 8.97%

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“Q12c. Which of the following would you consider, by level of motivation, to live outside of Alberta’s two main cities (Calgary or Edmonton)?”

Edmonton/Calgary Dwellers

Motivation to Live Outside Calgary or Edmonton (1 of 2)

Base: Respondents who live in Edmonton/Calgary area (n=208)

40%

35%

31%

29%

30%

17%

23%

22%

29%

39%

47%

49%

65%

60%

Amenities/Community Services

Lower Cost of Housing/Real Estate

Less Traffic Congestion

Quality of Life

Personal Safety

Job Opportunities

Education Institutions/Opportunities

83%

82%

79%

76%

70%

64%

62%

Somewhat Motivating

Very Motivating

“Q12c. Which of the following would you consider, by level of motivation, to live outside of Alberta’s two main cities (Calgary or Edmonton)?”

Established Immigrant Community

Quality of Shopping/Retail Services

Diverse Community

Business Opportunity

Technology Amenities similar

to Calgary/Edmonton

Recreational Opportunities

Welcoming Community to Immigrants

Base: Respondents who live in Edmonton/Calgary area (n=208)

20%

31%

23%

36%

38%

39%

29%

10%

10%

19%

19%

20%

20%

32% 61%

59%

58%

55%

42%

41%

30%

Somewhat Motivating

Very Motivating

Edmonton/Calgary Dwellers

Motivation to Live Outside Calgary or Edmonton (2 of 2)

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Among the one-third of respondents who reside outside Alberta’s two main cities, 4 in 5 (82%) were satisfied with their decision. Migrants were relatively more satisfied than immigrants with this residential choice.

Of the 14 motivators assessed, quality of life, less traffic congestion, personal safety and job opportunities were identified as the top benefits of living outside Alberta's two major cities.

When factor analyzed, these 14 benefits grouped into three “mind sets:” Residing where there is “diverse economy,” in a “healthy/affordable community” and a “welcoming/diverse community.”

NOTE: There is a switch in the top two motivations and benefits – While Calgary/Edmonton dwellers cited the top motivation as developed community, residents from outside these cities identified being in a diverse economy as the greatest benefit. (Thus indicating that community health is an aspect that needs to be considered in any “local Alberta attraction” strategy that may be considered). A higher proportion of migrants, relative to immigrants, chose to live in regions outside AB’s main cities. Benefits cited: Less traffic/congestion, quality of life, personal safety and job opportunities.

(Newcomer Survey, ZINC Research, 2009)

The highest ranked motivations to move out of Calgary and Edmonton to more rural areas should be reflected in the introductory sales pitch (main landing page) on a Newcomers section of REDA websites (for all but CRP and ACRA). Conversely, lowest ranked motivations should be avoided. The perceived advantages of more rural areas of Alberta represent motivations that can readily apply to newcomers already resident in Alberta, and potential offshore newcomers.

Actions:

REDAs and communities could consider a "Second Wave Strategy" that targets movement of immigrants/migrants who first moved to Calgary or Edmonton CMAs and would consider moving to more rural parts of Alberta (one in three based on survey results). For the 2001-2006 period this calculates to a target market of 79,000 people. This can be an advantageous strategy with good return on investment given this target market is already resident in Alberta, likely has established social and family support mechanisms, has a comfort level with exploration of opportunities beyond Calgary and Edmonton, and would therefore more readily transition into relatively more rural parts of Alberta than a "First Wave" newcomer would.

The Reality Check – Wood Buffalo

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (including Fort McMurray) has experienced rapid growth related to oilsands development. Economic opportunity has attracted many migrants and immigrants. Transience and temporary workers have become important issues in terms of community cohesion. The pace of growth creates opportunities to be sure, but also social and housing challenges. As Wood Buffalo indicates, it's important to transparently communicate and market a region's attractiveness for investment and relocation (including advantages and challenges) – to ensure that what is promised in a sales pitch can in fact be delivered on the ground. No nonsense marketing can work to create a better match between the spirit of the newcomer and the welcoming community, nurturing building of roots in a community and diminishing transience over time.

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Enhancement of suggested Newcomer landing page content (a second paragraph added to Strategy 6A content) as follows:

A life of adventure awaits away from the hustle and bustle of Alberta's large cities. Newcomers to Alberta living outside Edmonton and Calgary are motivated by job opportunities and lower cost of housing in rural Alberta. They are also inspired by the presence of all the comforts of larger urban centres, but at a human scale readily accessible just minutes away. Safe communities with good schools, quality healthcare, and small town atmosphere where you know your neighbour dot Alberta's picturesque landscape. Spread your wings. There's room in rural Alberta.

The Sales Pitch Hierarchy – Building Below Alberta's New Brand

Alberta unveiled a new brand in March, 2009. It includes the following, new value proposition (brand experience) in the "Immigrate to Alberta" portion of the albertacanada.com web portal:

"Freedom To Create. Spirit To Achieve."

Visitors to Alberta are often struck by the wide-open space—the mountains, pristine lakes and sweeping prairie. That space, perhaps, shapes how we live—with plenty of room to reach for our dreams. Albertans enjoy a stable economy, no provincial sales tax, a world-class education system and excellent public health care. The air and water are clean, parks and green spaces are abundant; in addition to plenty of sports and recreation opportunities, there are many arts and culture activities to enjoy.

Visitors will find that the awareness of space is accompanied by an awareness of community. Albertans have built their communities with institutions and organizations often uniquely Albertan, often through volunteer commitment. Communities are valued by the provincial government, which provides a considerable standard of service for communities throughout the province.

Keywords (banner) – Caring, Friendly, Welcoming, Open, Dynamic.

(http://www.albertacanada.com/immigration/about/index.html)

The proposed Newcomer landing page content messaging effectively works to operationalize the broader Alberta brand experience (mirroring the newcomer decision-making process) as one moves down the operational decision-making chain from provincial government site to REDAs (and the communities they represent).

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STRATEGY 7 - TOURISM IS A LABOUR FORCE ATTRACTION STRATEGY

Among newcomers:

Information Sources – Researched Prior to Move & Supporting Decision to Move

17% of surveyed newcomers indicated a previous visit to Alberta was used to research the province when they considered relocating (behind only the Internet — 46%), friends — 27%, and family — 25%). 19% of surveyed newcomers indicated a previous visit to Alberta was helpful in supporting their decision to move (behind only family — 31%), friends — 31%), Internet — 28%).

(Newcomer Survey ZINC Research, 2009)

Given previous visits are linked (in a positive way) to the decision to relocate, strategic mechanisms can be employed to establish relationship marketing at the time of visitation to connect tourism with labour force attraction.

Actions:

Establish contact database (email) from tourism information centre visitation logs, major tourist attraction visitation logs, and special tourism promotion contacts (postcard campaigns, prize promotions, etc.).

Use contact database to communicate around significant news, events and promotions.

Place request for relocation package information signage in tourism information centres, and on tourist-related websites (whether operated by the municipality, as a region, or a chamber of commerce).

Place request for relocation package links on chamber of commerce websites (who often run tourist information booths).

Leverage any sister city relationships and visitation to promote relocation.

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GENERAL WEB CONTENT STRATEGY

Potential newcomers need REDA (and community) websites to operationalize their decision-making process so they can better find a job, determine cost of living, determine if support infrastructure (e.g. ESL, public transit) suits their requirements, and determine whether specific quality-of-life factors meet their specific aspirations. Recommended architecture is in direct alignment with a hierarchy of needs - an information utility curve that rank orders the importance of certain types of decision-making information.

Where there is no labour force attraction presence, this recommended structure can be "dropped" into a new "Newcomer" tab on REDA websites. Clutter it up and the effective delivery of information that the survey determined to be critical will be diminished along with the success of marketing overall. Where there is labour force attraction web content on the part of REDAs, content strategy recommendations have been tweaked to work with existing content and approach. Consistency of messaging and approach across REDAs is important to building the Alberta brand in the minds of potential newcomers (a deficiency noted in the Stakeholder survey).

In serving as a resource that aggregates a series of websites potential newcomers use while routing potential newcomers to multiple websites, it's important to develop a local flavour for vision, desires, job availability, cost of living, support infrastructure (immigration process and settlement related), and quality of life infrastructure (churches, food, health, education, etc) that operationalizes the decision-making process – as opposed to merely routing potential newcomers to a series of websites they are already using, likely with a measure of frustration.

Given the challenge of a REDA brand ("it's not a dot on a map"), it's critical that REDAs work with their constituent communities to establish a Newcomers tab on their website, or reference (link) to their relevant REDA. It is also critical that the entire information chain — from federal to provincial to REDA to community to helpful resource sites — feels like a seamless "story" for the potential newcomer as opposed to a collection of inconsistent or conflicting vignettes. Our collective ability to do this quickly and seamlessly for the newcomer (aligned with their decision-making process) can become a critical competitive advantage in the global labour force marketplace.

It is recommended that this general framework be consistently applied to REDAs with no existing labour force attraction presence, and be tweaked (recommendations to this effect contained in individual REDA reports) for those with existing presence.

COMMUNICATIONS MESSAGING PILLARS:

Motivated person (newcomer).

Motivated business (seeking labour supply).

Make it less complicated to move (sales pitch, information, linkage).

Put a human face on the process (to generate competitive advantage).

Match demand and supply (labour matched to economic development objectives and employer needs).

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FULFILL THE NEWCOMER'S HIERARCHY OF NEED:

Maslow's well-known "hierarchy of needs” describes the psychology of an innate, predetermined order of importance of human need. It is typically depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels (from bottom to top): Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. Lower level physiological needs must be met first. Once these are met, seeking to satisfy psychological needs drives personal growth.

The Newcomer Survey measured utility of website content (a hierarchy of need), with the following results:

Respondents were asked, via assessment using relative preferences, to identify what content was the most and least important of 22 types of information typically sought when moving to a new location.

Overall, respondents identified jobs, cost of living, healthcare resources, housing listings, training opportunities and education opportunities (including ESL) as the information with the high levels of utility.

Between migrant and immigrant respondents, significant information utilities were:

o Higher for migrants: cost of living, healthcare resources, housing listings, interactive maps and food options.

o Higher for immigrants: education opportunities (including ESL), immigrant stories and immigrant dialogue.

Among immigrants, the information that had the highest levels of utility included: jobs, cost of living, education opportunities (including ESL), healthcare resources, training opportunities, and housing listings.

Some noted differences include:

o Education opportunities (including ESL) are more important outside Calgary and Edmonton, while credential recognition is relatively less important compared to Calgary and Edmonton.

o Education opportunities (including ESL) are more important to the most recently arrived immigrants.

o To respondents who speak languages other than English at home, education opportunities (including ESL), immigrant stories and dialogue have the highest utility.

o Those with a difficult transition had relatively higher utility on information related to training opportunities and listing of companies/corporations operating in specific regions/cities.

For migrants, jobs, cost of living, housing listings and healthcare resources had the highest online information utility.

Noted differences include:

o Food options, weather information and credential recognition were more important to residents of Other AB.

o Like immigrant respondents, those with a difficult transition had relatively higher utility on information related to training opportunities and listing of companies/corporations operating in specific regions/cities.

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The Newcomer Survey translates this hierarchy of needs as follows:

Need a job.

Need an affordable place to live.

Need a group of community features that allows a newcomer to take care of family and have them grow and prosper as successful people.

IMPROVING THE NEWCOMER EXPERIENCE:

Providing guidance on the refinement of a content/messaging approach is the following generated from the Newcomer Survey:

About half of respondents (52%) had feedback on improving newcomers’ experiences of settling in Alberta. The top things that required change include:

o Lower cost of living/affordable housing/lower taxes;

o Provide more support/outreach/resources/information to newcomers, and

o Change immigration laws/quicker processing times.

o Immigrants further identified recognition of international education and experience as a means of improving the newcomer experience.

Utility of Information Available to Newcomers when Moving/Researching Move to Alberta (Total)Profile: Immigrants & Migrants

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

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Co

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of

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alt

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TOTAL

Immigrants

Migrants

Highest Utility Lowest Utility

Base: All respondents (n=315); Immigrants (n=158); Migrants (n=157)

Significantly higher for Migrants Significantly higher for Immigrants

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When the general stakeholder perceptions of content are compared to those specifically of immigrants, the higher levels of utility related to credential recognition, immigrant stories and dialogue, and content in different languages remain intact among stakeholders. However, the following were identified to be significantly higher (based on the aforementioned z-test) for immigrants.

• Social services

• Food options

• Tax information

• Weather information

• Recreational resources

• Tourism/travel information

This indicates that with the higher utility allocated to information on social services, some immigrants may be using such content to address concerns related to immigrant stories and dialogue and access to language services through this outlet. Information content related to food options could potentially be connected to a matter of community diversity. Interest in recreational resources and tourism/travel information suggests that newcomers may be interested in determining if the communities they are moving to are interesting places to explore beyond working and family life.

COMPARISON: Utility of Information Available to

Newcomers when Moving/Researching Move to Alberta

Profile: Immigrants vs Stakeholders

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Jo

bs

Co

st

of

liv

ing

He

alt

hc

are

re

so

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es

Ho

us

ing

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gs

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uc

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on

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s

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Imm

igra

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s

To

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/Tra

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l

info

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n

Imm

igra

nt

dia

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ue

Lo

ca

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ult

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&

tra

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s

Re

lig

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s

org

an

iza

tio

ns

Co

nte

nt/

Dif

fere

nt

lan

gu

ag

es

IMMIGRANTS

STAKEHOLDERS (Total)

Highest Utility Lowest Utility

Base: All Immigrants (n=158); All Stakeholders (n=154)

Significantly higher for Immigrants Significantly higher for Stakeholders

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There were more dramatic differences between migrants and the perception of useful content identified by stakeholders. This is likely as a result of stakeholders being more inclined to consider content more so from an immigrant's perspective rather than a migrant.

Significantly Higher for Migrants Significantly Higher for Stakeholders

Cost of Living

Healthcare Resources

Housing Listings

Social Services

Interactive Maps with Regional Information

Food Options

Tax Information

Weather Information

Recreational Resources

Tourism/Travel Information

Job Opportunities

Education Opportunities (including ESL)

Credential Recognition

Stories/Experiences of Other Immigrants

Dialogue with Other Immigrants

Churches/Religious Organizations

Content in Different Languages

COMPARISON: Utility of Information Available to

Newcomers when Moving/Researching Move to Alberta

Profile: Migrants vs Stakeholders

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Jo

bs

Co

st

of

liv

ing

He

alt

hc

are

re

so

urc

es

Ho

us

ing

lis

tin

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on

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MIGRANTS

STAKEHOLDERS (Total)

Highest Utility Lowest Utility

Base: All Migrants (n=157); All Stakeholders (n=154)

Significantly higher for Migrants Significantly higher for Stakeholders

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While both immigrants and migrants tended to indicate preference for information and web resources related to Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" - where personal and family needs are addressed to meet the basic and safety needs of the respondent and their family before building a connection with their community, stakeholders tended to reflect upon how immigrants get to Alberta and what happens once they get here. This indicates that a greater appreciation of the newcomer experience (i.e., from personal/family towards workplace/community) needs to be reflected in any content messaging strategy developed.

With migrants coming from Canada, and trained within the Canadian system, education and content in different languages appears to be less of a concern to this audience. Compared to immigrants, cost of living, health care resource and housing listings are of significantly higher interest to migrants. This indicates that migrants are more willing to investigate the core services that a community has to offer and gauge the affordability of where they are considering living.

When assessed on a regional basis, against the stated preferences of immigrants, the aspects of credential recognition, immigrant stories and content in different languages remained substantially higher amongst stakeholders within more rural regions. This is likely due to their own local experience in dealing with the challenges faced by immigrants to their region. Education and training becomes more important to immigrants within more rural regions of the province, thus indicating that these individuals are seeking opportunities to upgrade their skills and have access to training that will provide them with the opportunity for better employment and integrate into Canadian society.

Based on the utility curved derived, a refinement to the approach to developing website content and messaging has been established and presented in the chart below. From a content perspective there is essential content (i.e. that which is considered core and should be on any REDA website) and that which is customized (i.e. to provide a stronger reflection of what distinguishes one region from another).

In terms of messaging, there is a “core” message that should be consistent across all provincial and regional websites (see: Strategy 6/6a from a previous section), and a “tailored” message that leads to animating and ascribing a stronger personality (brand) for a region.

This grid could be overlaid on the information utility curves to assess what is essential and foundational in terms of content messaging versus what could be customized and provide animation to reveal the personality of a region. Aspects that are at the top left-hand corner of these graphs could be labeled as core content supported by a similar provincial message. The content related to credential recognition, immigrant stories and dialogue and content in different languages could be customized to each region, as they do attract a different mix of newcomers, but could be supported by the fundamental message that there is a provincial approach to dealing with these core issues.

Aspects towards the lower half of the graph, on the left hand side, is core content that needs to be tailored to a specific region. For example, for immigrants and stakeholders, content related to health care resources, housing listings and training may be considered to be tailored to a specific region, thus emphasizing that this area of the province is able to address the concerns of this audience.

Content on the bottom right hand corner of the graph is the area where messaging is most important and a reflection of the region's brand. Content such as business opportunities, weather information, recreational resources and tourism/travel information do tend to identify the business mix within the region and the draw of the region for locals and tourists. This approach could serve as a foundation for how content and messaging can be tailored at the individual REDA level.

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A newcomer's hierarchy of needs married to operationalization of decision making suggests a basic, consistent approach to REDA website architecture as follows:

NEW TAB ON REDA WEBSITES – "NEWCOMERS"

1) Welcome to Canada and Alberta

This section outlines the broadest framework for entry to Canada, describing the legal and technical process of entry to Canada

Content:

The Government of Canada website describes basic information about Canada, what you can expect in terms of moving to and living in Canada, the legal process of immigration to Canada, and pursuing post-secondary education in Canada. The website offers an entry requirements tools to help make a fit between your situation and Canada's various entry categories. Numerous publications are available that provide a variety of resources, including how to look for a job, how taxation works, and what steps you should take pre- and post-arrival.

http://www.goingtocanada.gc.ca/CIC/display-afficher.do?id=0000000000096&lang=eng

Information Utility: Newcomers & StakeholdersApproach to Website Content & Messaging

Unique content and

regionally-themed

messaging

Core content that

requires regional

tailoring

Animation/

Personality by

Region

Tailored content by

region, building upon

core messaging about

Alberta

Core content & similar

provincial message

across all REDA

Websites

Foundational

CustomizedEssential

CONTENT

MESSAGING

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The Government of Alberta website provides detailed information on types of immigration, and details a decision-making process: before you arrive (finding a job; work options; credentials recognition; housing; English language training; money and banking, weather, maps and cities); after you arrive (Alberta Health Care, obtaining a Social Insurance Number, immigrant services, the educational system, the tax system, housing, transportation, and phone, Internet and mail); and checklists that cover a comprehensive range of relocation information requirements for newcomers. The website also has a comprehensive description of how to obtain work in Alberta, and elements of living in Alberta critical to a newcomer (from childcare to healthcare).

http://www.albertacanada.com/immigration/

2) Alberta – Freedom to Create. Spirit to Achieve

Content:

In Alberta you don’t have to just imagine a life of new beginning. You can make it happen. Alberta thrives on one of the most dynamic economies in the world. Alberta's spirit of place and people is culturally diverse, welcoming, safe, and embraces freedom of expression and offers a home for you and your family to realize their highest hopes and aspirations. Great communities. Freedom to express and explore. A bright future. Join us.

A life of adventure awaits away from the hustle and bustle of Alberta's large cities. Newcomers to Alberta living outside Edmonton and Calgary are motivated by job opportunities and lower cost of housing in rural Alberta. They are also inspired by the presence of all the comforts of larger urban centres, but at a human scale readily accessible just minutes away. Safe communities with good schools, quality healthcare, and small town atmosphere where you know your neighbour dot Alberta's picturesque landscape. Spread your wings. There's room in rural Alberta.

Note: the second paragraph is for all but CRP and ACRA.

3) Jobs

List top 10-20 employers (or more) in the region, with a short description of the company, identification of labour requirements and acute/chronic skill set shortages, and direct contact information to the appropriate HR person within the organization.

Post available jobs in the region.

Note: the albertcanada.com may serve as a central resource for posting of positions within REDAs, but it is not a well developed database at the present time (currently 61 jobs in the database) - http://www.albertacanada.com/immigration/working/jobs/

Link to major online job sites: for example, monster.ca, workopolis.com, working.com, but only after primary linking to jobs in the region have been indicated. .

Link to local employment office(s) and describe the services they offer.

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Build sub-tabs where relevant to a REDA's strategic interest specific to target/key economic sectors, and messaging for specific target market segments within the newcomers market (students vs. migrants vs. Immigrants, including any or all sub-markets: temporary foreign worker, economic class, family class, students).

Indicate business investment opportunities where there is indication that local businesses are for sale, or there is a major community or regional initiative under way that is open to consideration of individual/entrepreneurial investment (economic class of immigrant).

Link to Alberta Wage and Employment information available from Alberta Employment and Immigration. Add explanatory text to the link to indicate that the data compares wages and salaries by industry and region, and also provides a Top 50 "in-demand" occupations list - http://employment.alberta.ca/cps/rde/xchg/hre/hs.xsl/2653.html

4) Cost of Living (housing, transportation)

Indicate average housing costs (chart) over time (at least since 2000), compared to Alberta and Canada.

(Note: Grande Alberta does this quite well (it could be further enhanced to show price change over time, comparison to Alberta and Canada, and insertion of a date - http://www.grandealberta.com/lifestyle/housing.htm)).

Link to MLS listing (www.mls.ca). Consider partnership with MLS to embed the MLS engine in REDA websites.

Use housing rental rates and cost of ownership information for communities in the Census Canada, 2006 statistics.

Develop summary table (Alberta compared to Canada, over time) of Spending Patterns in Canada (details all major expenses incurred by an average family) information available from Statistics Canada - http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/62-202-x/62-202-x2006000-eng.htm. Be sure to add an explanatory note (see Introduction in link) to indicate that expenses are calculated based on an average household size (3.4), and they can therefore be divided or multiplied based on a newcomer situation to get a better picture of their own potential situation).

Indicate typical utility bills (electricity, gas, water/sewer/garbage) and municipal taxes on each of an average size home and apartment.

Indicate presence (or not) of public transit and rider rates.

Use a cost of living index that compares a REDA region to other regions, and/or Alberta to other provinces, and/or Alberta/Canada to other countries.

Indicate fees for services for primary recreation, cultural and other facilities in municipalities.

Indicate federal and provincial income tax rates (the government sites don't do this).

Indicate average food costs using Canada, Alberta, or local information (basket of goods).

Note: ideally, this should be presented as a matrix containing information for all communities within a REDA.

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5) Community Infrastructure (Supports, Quality of Life)

Health

Churches

Public Transit

Education/ESL

Social Services

Settlement Services

Note: description of this infrastructure may exist in municipal or REDA websites, but it should be repeated in this section to engender a seamless decision-making process.

Health

Describe level of service provided (infrastructure) in communities, describe any points of differentiation vis a vis other regions, then link to health authority, and local doctors, dentists, and other medical service providers.

Churches

List churches, including contact information.

Public Transit

Indicate whether public transit exists. Indicate whether other forms of transit exist (e.g. transit, airport). Provide sample fare pricing for public transit and/or taxi. Provide links to transit and ride-share websites where relevant.

Education/ESL

Briefly describe a value proposition related to the strength of local education. This could come in the form of specialized programs (arts, technology, science, etc.), school/teacher/program awards, student/teacher ratios compared to elsewhere, modernity of facilities, success stories (graduates), etc. Specific to post-secondary institutions, it could come in the form of programs directly aligned with local employer skill set requirements.

Link to public/Catholic school board websites and post-secondary websites.

Detail ESL services (W5).

Social Services

Detail social services infrastructure availability to newcomers. Provide key contacts where possible. Illustrate this as an integrated system as much as possible (e.g. a graphic that shows where a newcomer would go for what service can be helpful). Relate social services to key issues such as housing, cultural integration, education, job training/education, and job search.

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Settlement Services

Detail settlement services provision. Provide key contacts where possible. Illustrate this as an integrated system as much as possible. Relate settlement services to key issues such as housing, cultural integration, education, job training/education, and job search.

6) Useful Links

This is a sample list, not an exhaustive list. Ensure brief descriptions of the content of all linked sites is outlined to raise the speed and efficacy of newcomer navigation:

General:

Alberta Immigration Information:

http://employment.alberta.ca/cps/rde/xchg/hre/hs.xsl/4305.html

http://alberta.ca/home/about_alberta.cfm?

http://www.albertacanada.com/immigration/immigrate/ainp.html - (Provincial Nominee Program)

www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca

Canada Immigration Information:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-visa-resources/ - (see links in this site for consideration of incorporation in REDA websites)

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp Citizenship and Immigration Canada

http://www.workpermit.com/canada/canadian-immigration.htm

www.servicecanada.gc.ca Service Canada – citizenship questions/paperwork

Credentials:

In 2007, the federal government launched the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO) to help individuals who plan to work in Canada to get their credentials assessed more quickly. The FCRO provides in-person and telephone services through 320 outlets across the country as well as online.

www.credentials/gc/ca

The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials provides information on an array of occupations and maintains a list of key agencies belonging to the Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada.

www.canalliance.org

International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) – Alberta

www.advancededucation.gov.ab.ca/iqas/iqas.asp

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World Education Service

www.wes.org/ca/

Bow Valley College in Calgary has a useful website providing steps to accreditation in a number of fields

www.ditpc.ca

In 2007, the federal government launched the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO) to help individuals who plan to work in Canada to get their credentials assessed more quickly. The FCRO provides in-person and telephone services through 320 outlets across the country as well as online.

www.credentials/gc/ca

Employment and Training:

www.alis.ab.ca Alberta Learning Information System - contains a wide variety of information from occupational profiles to electronic student loan applications to Jobs Alberta-Canada links.

www.tradesecrets.gov.ab.ca Apprenticeship and Industry Training

www.employment.gov.ab.ca Alberta Employment and Immigration

Language Assessment and Training:

Indicate these resources in each REDA

E.g. PREDA:

www.norquest.ca Norquest College – Edmonton

www.catholicsocialservices.ab.ca Catholic Social Services – Edmonton

www.emcn.ab.ca Edmonton Mennonite Central for Newcomers

Driving in Alberta:

www.programs.gov.ab.ca Go to Topics – Vehicles and Driving

www.transportation.alberta.ca

www.saferoads.com Help with driver's exams

Translator Services:

www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca

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English Language Learning

Indicate these resources in each REDA

E.g. PREDA:

www.advancededucation.gov.ab.ca - Go to community learning, down to Literacy

www.communitylearning.info

www.programs.gov.ab.ca All programs and services in Alberta

www.northernlakescollege.ca Northern Lakes College

Immigrant Settlement Service

Indicate these resources in each REDA

E.g. PREDA:

www.telusplanet.net/public/reading1 Grande Prairie settlement services office

www.aaisa.ca Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies – has excellent "Welcome to Alberta" publication in 9 languages

Family Services in Communities

Indicate these resources in each REDA

E.g. PREDA:

www.parentlinkalberta.ca Free activities for families

www.fcss.ab.ca Family and Community Support Services, Libraries, Community Services in Town Offices

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7) Other website features related to Newcomer tab:

Google Translate function for key languages determined by ethnicity presence in region.

A "mobility" functionality to accommodate international audiences with more wireless device access to websites.

A weather button (e.g. weathernetwork.com) for current weather, and/or a climate chart.

Incorporate good maps of region and communities.

Success stories that articulate newcomer success in a region/community.

A REDA profile and series of labour-focused community (within a REDA) profiles (target sectors, skills set shortages, key infrastructure that's appealing to newcomers, cost of living data), and can be used electronically, and/or be printed for marketing distribution. An excellent example is provided by PEP - (http://www.palliseralberta.com/workforce/images/profiles/community/newell_mar1_2007.pdf)

Consider social networking opportunities online beyond REDA website presence. Wikipedia descriptions of REDAs, use of YouTube as a marketing promotion tool, and creation of a "Newcomers" Facebook page to engender social connectivity are potentially powerful tools that create a social atmosphere a REDA or community website would be otherwise hard-pressed to create.

Maximize keyword search capability by building appropriate keywords into metatags/content: e.g. "Immigrate to Alberta", "Migration to Alberta", "Relocate to Alberta", "Move to Alberta", "Jobs in Alberta".

A For Employers link that provides resources to employers regarding using of immigration (particularly temporary foreign workers) and migration as a labour force attraction tool. See the CAEP website for best practice in this regard.

Work to add a Newcomers tab to community websites, in the absence of that link a Newcomers tab to the REDA website, or in cases where the architecture is more rigid, add a "Newcomers" sub-link to a fairly standard "Living" tab on community websites.

Create a Newcomers Guide that can be downloaded from a REDA website (or add labour-related information to existing Relocation Packages).

Create strong linkage to communities in a REDA. (Note: PEP is a best practice in this space – creating The Easy-Move Toolkit (http://www.palliseralberta.com/toolkit/index.html) to assist those relocating and looking to relocate to Southeast Alberta. There are 21 communities profiled and within each, 9 topics are covered: housing, taxes, utilities, health, education, community lifestyles, employment, business directory and other. A matrix with each community cross-referenced to cost of living-related data would more effectively operationalize the decision-making process for potential newcomers).

Consider adding a "Know Your Rights" section for migrants/immigrants to refer to.

REDAs should look at REDI, PEP, and CAEP as labour force attraction best practices:

REDI - http://www.rediregion.ca/move_here/index.php

PEP - http://www.palliseralberta.com/workforce/index.html

CAEP - http://www.centralalberta.ab.ca/

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FOOTNOTE REFERENCES

i Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_immigration_to_Canada)

ii Statistics Canada

iii Alberta Human Resources and Employment, Alberta Regional Population Outlook, 2005-2010, Aug. 2005, p. 4)

iv http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/22032009/2/biz-finance-alberta-job-losses-mount-hope-resides-niche-industries.html)

v Central Alberta Economic Partnership

vi Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: a Toolbox of Ideas for Smaller Centres, 2007

vii Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_immigration_to_Canada)

viii Ather H. Akbari, "The Impact of Immigrants on Canada's Treasury, circa 1990," in Diminishing Returns, ed. Don J. DeVoretz, Policy Study 24 (C. D. Howe Institute, Laurier Institution, 1995).

ix "The Political Economy of Canadian Immigration Debate: A Crumbling Consensus?" RIIM Commentary Series #96-03, Simon Fraser University. 1996

x Brojas, George J. Heaven's Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy, referenced in Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_immigration_to_Canada

xi Boyd, Monica and Elizabeth M. Grieco "Triumphant Transitions: Socioeconomic Achievements of the Second Generation in Canada." International Migration Review, 1998, referenced in Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_immigration_to_Canada

xii Keung, Nicholas. "Boost immigration, bank's report says; Calls for 400,000 people a year to maintain growth Critics warn more resources needed to handle numbers." Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont.: Oct 20, 2005. pg. A.23 referenced in Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_immigration_to_Canada

xiii Beauchesne, Eric. "High cost for low immigration: That's the warning from an economic research firm;" Kingston Whig - Standard. Kingston, Ont.: Jan 3, 1995. pg. 4 referenced in Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_immigration_to_Canada

xiv Canadian Institute for Health Information)

xv Health Policy Research Bulletin (Vol.1/Iss.1), Health Canada, 2001).

xvi Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_immigration_to_Canada)