For Immediate Release | September 2, 2021
Medicine Hat - The Move to Medicine Hat labour attraction toolkit was officially launched today. This web-based tool allows employers to have all the information needed for talent attraction in one spot. From housing costs, and school availability, to fun places to visit, and things to do in the community, this site includes key information new residents are likely to ask about the region.
Created by Tourism Medicine Hat, in partnership with Community Futures Entre-Corp and the APEX Regional Innovation Network partners, and funded by Alberta Labour and Immigration, working in partnership with the Government of Canada to provide employment support programs and services, the website was created from insights provided from employers needing to attract skilled talent to the area.
"A compelling lure for choosing to make Medicine Hat your home. Our employers do a strong job of selling employment opportunities, Move to Medicine Hat will assist them in selling our community to candidates when relocation is required”, said Jace Anderson, Executive Director for Tourism Medicine Hat.
These insights from employers stemmed from earlier work done for the Business Retention & Expansion and Workforce Development (BREWD) business survey in 2019. Almost 500 business participated, which identified the biggest barriers to business operations were: #1 – Economic Slowdown, #2 – Lack of Qualified Labour, and #3 – Access to Capital.
The BREWD survey was followed up with 50 one-on-one interviews with key employers that identified a trending need for labour attraction support. The results being that employers needed increased promotion to jobseekers of the city and region to support employer attraction and recruitment of difficult-to-fill positions.
“Business have told us they are having trouble attracting skilled talent to the area,” said Sean Blewett, General Manager of Community Futures Entre-Corp. “They also told us the type of tool they needed to solve this issue. That is exactly what the partners have created here.”
Over the next six months, the partners will continue the work with local companies modifying the labour attraction tool to fit employer’s needs. Early feedback has been extremely positive. According to Corrie Dale, Vice President (Canada), QinetiQ Target Systems, stated, “As soon as the link is live, we will start adding it within our recruitment process.”
To learn more about the Move to Medicine Hat initiative visit www.movetomedicinehat.ca
Additional Quotes:
- “We talked to multiple companies that needed to attract highly skilled employees, such as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) positions to the area. These companies mentioned they could find qualified people and sell the individuals on the job, but often the family needed to be sold on the community as well. Now there is a tool that will help get people here. Employers also told us from past experience that once they are here, they will never want to leave our beautiful community. We are so grateful to all the partners and businesses who worked together to make this come to fruition. The success of this initiative will help companies grow and expand and create more economic wealth for the region.
~Tracy Stroud, Regional Innovation Network (RIN) Coordinator, APEX Alberta - “During the recruitment phase, we send our candidates paper copies from tourism to attract them to Medicine Hat. It will be nice to have a central site to send them with all the necessary information. And if they have a spouse that is relocating, we will be able to help them find job opportunities in Medicine Hat as well"
~Dave Shields, Operations Manager, Reece Custom Manufacturing Inc. - "Medicine Hat has a great quality of life and is a great place to raise a family. The City of Medicine Hat has a forward-thinking mentality. Anybody who is looking to move to Medicine Hat will benefit from the world class amenities from a sports and recreation standpoint and you can get across the city in 20 minutes”.
~Marcus Campbell, Co-Owner, Terralta - "This website is such an amazing opportunity for employers to use in their recruiting process. We usually hire overseas to fill positions for our business. We are hoping this website might attract just the right person from a big city in Canada, to relocate for the smaller city lifestyle”.
~Jenelle Lesmeister, Office Manager, Sewline Upholstery
For further information, please contact:
Sean Blewett
General Manager
Community Futures Entre-Corp
P: (403) 528-2824
Jace Anderson, CDME
Executive Director
Tourism Medicine Hat
The Medicine Hat Destination Marketing Organization
P: (403) 548-1449
