A federal pilot project to fill chronically vacant jobs in Timmins with skilled foreign workers is showing results.
The Rural and Northern Immigration Project is administered here by the Timmins Economic Development Corporation. Coordinator Lynn Michaud says in 2021 – its second year – RNIP doubled its number of participants to about 120.
“A hundred and six recommendations were made for those candidates to obtain permanent residence through the Canadian government,” she reports.
Michaud says most of them were already in Canada, while a handful secured jobs and applied for permanent residency before arriving here.
“The majority of our candidates are foreign skilled workers who are already here,” Michaud says, “a lot of them coming through the international student base.”
A decision is expected by the end of the year, whether to extend the pilot project or make RNIP permanent.