Research to evaluate the shortage of skilled workers in Northern Alberta

Page i Research to Evaluate the Shortage of Skilled Workers in Northern Alberta Executive Summary The key strategies of the provincial and federal governments to address skills shortages and integrate underrepresented groups as well as some of the programs and best practices were reviewed to attempt to fine tune the opportunities and roles for the Northern Colleges. [...] They include: Timeliness for the 2001 Census data; projections and forecasts during times of great change; the underlying assumptions used and lack of control over factors such as migration; the lack of information, in some cases, at the regional and sub- regional levels, or the level of statistical validity that has been and /or can be achieved with the same; the “fit” of some of the data from a [...] In the context of Northern Alberta, the number of individuals from the under-represented groups of immigrants, the disabled, youth and Aboriginals who could be realistically drawn into the labour force through to 2010 is relatively small and, based upon a methodology used by Alberta Human Resources and Employment, is estimated in the order of 2,700. [...] The purpose of the overview was to gain a better understanding of some of the forces and conditions that have resulted in the current situation of Northern Alberta, and to be able to make comparisons in some cases with Alberta and all of Canada. [...] Key Findings 1. In 2005, the population of Northern Alberta comprised approximately 10% of the total population of Alberta and 1% of the population of Canada.