Initiatives Prince George is looking to attract new residents to the city with a website and marketing campaign.
The website, www.moveupprincegeorge.ca, was launched on Thursday and the advertising campaign will begin on Sept. 1 in targeted Canadian cities, Initiatives Prince George CEO Heather Oland said.
"We are functionally fully employed in this city. Our unemployment rate hovers around five per cent," Oland said. "If we're going to compete, and if business is going to expand... the population needs to be bigger. It's our job to promote Prince George as a place to live and work."
The marketing campaign will focus on cities identified by the Workforce Intelligence Study completed in April. The study, done by R.A. Malatest and Associates for the city's economic development agency, indicated the city should target its recruitment in cities including Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto, Windsor and Edmonton.
Oland said IPG has budgeted $45,000 for the remainder of this year, and $45,000 for the beginning of next year, to promote the city on subways, bus stop benches and other locations.
Advertising will be ramped up in cities where IPG will be attending job fairs, including the National Job Fair in Toronto on Sept. 16-17 and the University of Victoria career fair on Sept. 23-24.
The website includes features like a customizable amenities map, free career listings, neighbourhood profiles, a top-ten list of reasons to move to Prince George, blog posts about life in the city and more.
"We're going to update the blog articles on a weekly basis," Oland said.
Mayor Shari Green said the campaign will complement promotional efforts being made by other organizations to attract skilled workers to the city.
"We've got a great community -we know great it is to live here," Green said. "There is communities that will be targeted because they've got the people we're looking for, and we have the lifestyle they want."
Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris said that the new promotional strategy "is a fantastic approach" to attract skilled workers to the city and the north.
However, Morris said, Prince George still has some challenges in terms of its reputation.
He said he recalls being in Vancouver and overhearing a young woman, a recent graduate of some medical-related field, telling her significant other that she had been rejected for a position in the Lower Mainland because she lacked experience.
Morris said he suggested she consider applying for a position in Prince George, where medical professionals are in high demand.
"She looked at me and said 'ewww,'" Morris said.
