http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060114/alberta_jobs_060114/20060114?hub=Canada
Alberta companies look eastward to find workers
Companies in Alberta are recruiting workers from the far East Coast to help cope with a labour shortage in the booming Prairie province.
"We heard it's busy, that it's a rockin' place," said Greg Jessome, attending a jobs fair in Halifax.
The Loblaws chain of grocery stores is offering Atlantic Canadians thousands of dollars in moving expenses, paid airfare and a salary of at least $30,000 per year.
"All businesses in Alberta, I think are facing the same challenges," said Phil Roach, the company's recruitment director.
"Whether it's an oil business in the patch or a retailer in the service business, the labour crunch in Alberta is significant."
In Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the opposite problem exists.
"There's not enough jobs here, and they pay better out there," said Matthew Hill.
Many in the Maritimes see Alberta as the land of opportunity.
With Calgary projected to grow by seven per cent in the coming year, the jobs are certainly there. But the frenetic growth is also driving up the cost of living.
Heather Douglas of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce tried to put a positive spin on it.
"You get a job, and then you can put equity in the bank, and then you can afford to bring your family, and then you can get a mortgage and then you can afford to do some of the other things."
But even with the jobs and the good incomes, many Maritimers find being away from home to be tough.
"It's a hard way to live, it's expensive, it's very cold -- and very lonely for the family person," said Gerald Poirier, who left Cape Breton to work in the oil sands city of Fort McMurray in far northeastern Alberta.
Money alone has been what's keeping him there, he said. "If I could go home tomorrow and work year-round for half of what I make now, I'd be gone in a New York minute."
One irony, however, is that if he did go back home, he'd be leaving a lot of his Cape Breton friends behind in Fort McMurray.
"You land here, and it's kind of unique, because you run into a lot of your friends you grew op with, because we're all chasing the same dream," Poirier said. Before he went back inside, he said: "God bless Alberta!"
The oil sands industry no doubt hopes that Poirier and others like him stay.
Producers would like to hit a target of 2.7 million barrels per day of synthetic crude from the oil sands by 2015.
But there are very real questions about whether there's enough skilled welders, pipefitters and electricians available to build the plants to make that happen.
Alberta companies look eastward to find workers
Companies in Alberta are recruiting workers from the far East Coast to help cope with a labour shortage in the booming Prairie province.
"We heard it's busy, that it's a rockin' place," said Greg Jessome, attending a jobs fair in Halifax.
The Loblaws chain of grocery stores is offering Atlantic Canadians thousands of dollars in moving expenses, paid airfare and a salary of at least $30,000 per year.
"All businesses in Alberta, I think are facing the same challenges," said Phil Roach, the company's recruitment director.
"Whether it's an oil business in the patch or a retailer in the service business, the labour crunch in Alberta is significant."
In Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the opposite problem exists.
"There's not enough jobs here, and they pay better out there," said Matthew Hill.
Many in the Maritimes see Alberta as the land of opportunity.
With Calgary projected to grow by seven per cent in the coming year, the jobs are certainly there. But the frenetic growth is also driving up the cost of living.
Heather Douglas of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce tried to put a positive spin on it.
"You get a job, and then you can put equity in the bank, and then you can afford to bring your family, and then you can get a mortgage and then you can afford to do some of the other things."
But even with the jobs and the good incomes, many Maritimers find being away from home to be tough.
"It's a hard way to live, it's expensive, it's very cold -- and very lonely for the family person," said Gerald Poirier, who left Cape Breton to work in the oil sands city of Fort McMurray in far northeastern Alberta.
Money alone has been what's keeping him there, he said. "If I could go home tomorrow and work year-round for half of what I make now, I'd be gone in a New York minute."
One irony, however, is that if he did go back home, he'd be leaving a lot of his Cape Breton friends behind in Fort McMurray.
"You land here, and it's kind of unique, because you run into a lot of your friends you grew op with, because we're all chasing the same dream," Poirier said. Before he went back inside, he said: "God bless Alberta!"
The oil sands industry no doubt hopes that Poirier and others like him stay.
Producers would like to hit a target of 2.7 million barrels per day of synthetic crude from the oil sands by 2015.
But there are very real questions about whether there's enough skilled welders, pipefitters and electricians available to build the plants to make that happen.