Central Alberta Economic Partnership Ltd. (CAEP) was pleased to launch a Welcoming Communities Employer Guide on Friday, November 21, 2008 at the Mountain View County Office. The Employer Guide is a unique, practical resource developed to equip employers with the tools and ideas to create welcoming work environments that will enhance the integration and retention of newcomers. The Guide is one of the successful projects of CAEP's Welcoming Communities Initiative. The Initiative began with Forums in 2007 and 2008 to bring together municipal and government officials, educators, economic development officers, social planners, business leaders and other settlement service providers to talk about tools needed for integration of newcomers into the community. An award winning Pilot Project was then developed with the town of Innisfail as a result of CAEP's Welcoming Communities initiative.

Dale Barr, CAEP chair and Mayor of the Town of Rimbey notes, "From the 2008 Forum we learned that we needed to give employers the tools they need to successfully hire and retain newcomers. The best way to do that is ensuring that they are integrated into the social infrastructure in the community."

 

CAEP received funding from Alberta Employment and Immigration to support the development of the Guide. Donna Stewart-Wood with Alberta Employment and Immigration and chair of the Regional Labour Force Working Group, explains "Settlement and integration best practices are crucial for the social, cultural and economic wellbeing of our region. This guide is a must have for any employer who is hiring foreign workers." The guide was developed with small centres in mind and is relevant to any employer in Central Alberta. 

Scott Boyd, Executive Officer at Canadian Home Builders - Association and Chair of CAEPs Welcoming Communities Steering Committee notes, "Newcomers are vital members of our communities and active contributors to our economy. Equipping employers and communities with the knowledge and resources to create welcoming environments is an important role we all share."

 Welcoming Communities Employer Guide 10MB

For more information on the launch and CAEP's other Welcoming Communities successes visit:

CAEP's Welcoming Communities website page

 

Media enquiries may be directed to:

Mayor Dale Barr, Chair Central Alberta Economic Partnership Ltd. (CAEP) (p) 403.704.4266 dale@rimbey.com

Scott Boyd, Chair, Welcoming Communities Steering Committee Central Alberta Economic Partnership Ltd. (CAEP) (p) 403.352.9515 scott@chbacentralalberta.ca