Initiatives Prince George hopes a new federal program aimed at attracting skilled trades workers to Canada will include a geographical component to help bring people to the north.
"Our question about it is: Are there policies in place that help with targeted numbers or specifically help bring people to the north and in our case Prince George," IPG CEO Heather Oland said. "We're going to be working with the federal government on that and we look forward to their help in that regard."
On Monday Immigration Minister Jason Kenny announced that the Federal Skilled Trades Program will start next month and will open the door to 3,000 applicants in 2013, with the possibility of more people coming in future years.
Kenny said existing rules have made it difficult for skilled workers to come to Canada because immigration requirements often focused on academic credentials. This new program will focus on employability.
Oland said at first glance, the new policy has some strengths in that is targets tradespeople - an area of need locally - ensures applicants are connected with a job and encourages permanent residents that can help communities grow their population base.
"Attracting a person or a family to a company and to a job and to an area of the province, those two things are really good important policies the federal government has put forward," Oland said.
She hopes that local businesses will be able to take advantage of the program to help fill the shortage of tradespeople.
"It makes it easier in that it's another stream of processes that businesses in Prince George can access to attract skilled immigrants to their business and to Prince George and that's absolutely a positive thing," she said. "We need to continue to market and promote Prince George as a great place to live and work and play."
