Job Bank posts job market trends and news for Sept.15-19

Job Bank’s Job Market Trends and News in Alberta Province

Week of Sep 15 – Sep 19, 2014

• Hotel construction in downtown Edmonton is ramping up with a Hyatt Place hotel scheduled for completion in September 2015, and another unnamed hotel planned by the Katz Group and WAM Developments adjacent to the Rogers Place arena
• The Regional Recreation Corporation held a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on the Northside Recreation Centre in Fort McMurray
• The North West Redwater Partnership is providing a bus service to the construction site of the Sturgeon refinery, located northeast of Edmonton, for its 800 employees. The company expects an additional 5,000 workers during peak construction next year.
• Phil Mickelson Design has partnered with the Windmill Golf Group to design and build the Mickelson National Golf Club of Canada in the community of Harmony, on the outskirts of Calgary
• The Town of Banff has approved an application by Caribou Properties to build a 38-unit staff accommodation complex in apartment-style buildings
• Peters’ Drive-In, an established Calgary fast food restaurant, will be hiring up to 70 employees for a second location in Red Deer, expected to open in the summer of 2015
• The Government of Alberta is selling its fleet of four aircrafts and turning to commercial airlines and charter services to fill the void. The government will be providing assistance to the 27 employees affected by the sale.
• Five organizations in the Cochrane area received over $200,000 for projects under the Community Initiatives Program and the Community Facility Enhancement Program, which invest provincial lottery revenues
• International House of Pancakes, the breakfast restaurant chain, is expanding with two more restaurants in Edmonton and two more in Calgary, while also adding locations in Red Deer and Medicine Hat
• The Alberta Energy Regulator has given approval to Canadian Natural Resources Limited to resume work at its Primrose East oil sands project northwest of Cold Lake
• McBride Career Group is hosting a job fair in High Level on September 25, 2014
• The Watermark at Bearspaw, a high-end property development just outside Calgary, is launching the third and fourth phases of its project in response to market demand
• Stretch Construction is building the Best Western Plus Lacombe Inn & Suites, an $8.5M hotel and banquet facility in Lacombe
• The City of Leduc has approved a $4.5M development of the North Telford Recreational Lands, with work scheduled to begin in late 2014
• The University of Lethbridge has announced that PCL Construction Management of Calgary will lead the construction of a new science and academic building on campus
• Nalco Champion, a chemical and service supplier to the oil and gas sector, has hired 35 employees for a new warehouse, storage and laboratory facility in Lloydminster
• Residents of Okotoks are organizing monthly Cash Mobs beginning September 18, 2014 to show support for local businesses
• The Rimoka Housing Foundation is building a $15.5M affordable seniors complex in Rimbey, with construction slated to begin in the spring of 2015
• Expedition Rentals, a commercial all-terrain vehicle rental business, has purchased its own property and expanded to a new site in Sherwood Park to meet the growing demand from oilfield companies
• Southland Transportation, a Calgary school bus provider, is seeking 35 to 50 more drivers
• Deep Well Oil and Gas has started production of heavy oil from the Sawn Lake project in the Peace River oil sands region
• 20 VIC Management is starting a $130M renovation of Londonderry Mall in Edmonton that will bring new retailers and dining options to the site. The project is expected to be complete in 2017.
• Approximately 80 nursing staff at the Bethany Care Society seniors home in Sylvan Lake have joined the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees following a vote on September 8, 2014
• The Town of Sylvan Lake has approved the development of a six-bay commercial strip mall by Polar Creek Industries
• Alberta Health Services has announced that a new helipad will be built at the Westlock Health Centre to accommodate the new helicopters in use by the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society
• The Career and Education Expo 2014, aimed at both high school students and the general public, will showcase approximately 50 employers in Whitecourt on September 29, 2014