A project aimed at bringing immigrants to the Quinte area, to fill open jobs here, is expected to get underway next month.
The provincial government announced last fall that Belleville and Quinte West had been selected as a pilot project for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee program.
The pilot project will set aside 50 slots for new Canadians who will be designated to settle in Belleville and Quinte West.
Belleville’s Manager of Economic and Strategic Initiatives Karen Poste tells Quinte News the idea is to work with employers and help them find workers.
Poste says it’s one of the biggest challenges in the community.
Poste adds, “We will facilitate our economic development and with Quinte West so employers who are interested in accessing the Ontario Immigration Nominee program can connect with us. As a pilot project we have a specific individual at the ministry (provincial government) we can refer our businesses to, to help them through the immigration process. We’ve got lots of plans around educating the local community around the benefits of immigration and the benefits of bringing these folks, with these skills, into our community.”
The plan is to roll out the program in March.
