Job Market Trends and News

Source: http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/LMI_bulletin.do?cid=3373&AREA=25262&INDUSTRYCD=&EVENTCD=

Week of Mar 09 – Mar 13, 2015

• The World Heavy Oil Congress is slated to run in Edmonton from March 24 to 26, 2015. The meeting is expected to draw 1,000 delegates from over 20 countries, with representation from 60 different companies.
• The Government of Alberta has announced funding for 311 new restorative beds to help seniors recover after a hospital stay, 186 in Calgary and 125 in Edmonton. The province is also committing $50M towards emergency room renovations at five hospitals.
• The Victory Silica Plant near Medicine Hat has fallen behind on production in 2014, partly due to staff turnover, but anticipates reaching its targets by the end of 2015. The company expects that demand for fracking sand will rebound.
• The Government of Canada has recently announced $45.7M for improvements to 4 Wing Cold Lake. The money will be used to construct a new military health service centre, modernize base housing and repair the airfield.
• Millar Western Forest Products, a lumber company with several manufacturing plants in Alberta, is reporting a surge in job seekers and industry growth due to new markets and a recovering US economy
• Enbridge has announced changes to the Athabasca Twin Project and the Wood Buffalo Extension Project pipelines that will reduce capital costs. The company expects to spend $5.6B by 2017 to connect 11 oil sands projects to hubs.
• The Government of Alberta has announced an additional $400M in infrastructure funding for municipalities, raising the 2014 Municipal Sustainability Initiative to $1.6B
• Alberta Health Services is laying off 23 nurses at the Peter Lougheed Centre, a hospital in Calgary. The health authority is converting 26 surgical beds to 32 sub-acute spaces on March 16, 2015.
• Designer Shoe Warehouse, a U.S. discount retailer, is opening its first Edmonton location at West Edmonton Mall on April 10, 2015. Two additional locations will open in Calgary during the spring of 2015.
• Escents, a Vancouver-based aromatherapy retailer, has opened its first Alberta store in Edmonton. Two locations in Calgary are expected to open on May 1st, and July 1st, 2015.
• The Gateway Association, a non-profit organization that supports people with disabilities in Edmonton, has released the We Belong smartphone software on iTunes and Google Play. The app points users to nearby employers that hire people with disabilities.
• The City of Airdrie will be spending an additional $2.3M over budget to build a full-size fire hall. The building will be shared with Alberta Health Services for an ambulance station.
• The Town of Redcliff will have a family doctor in the community effective April 1, 2015, after several years without a physician. Employees have been hired for the medical office and renovations to the facility are nearing completion. The town physician recruitment and retention committee is seeking additional doctors for the community.
• The Montana First Nation and Landmark Industrial Services have joined forces to open a metal fabrication shop and training facility at Maskwacis, with assistance from the Government of Alberta
• The Canmore Community Housing Corporation is moving forward with the $3.2M construction of 16 affordable housing units in Three Sisters. The building is slated for occupancy by the spring of 2016.
• The Northern Lights School Division is establishing Alberta’s first service rig training centre for high school students with a $1.5M contribution from the Government of Canada. Ensign Energy Services has donated a rig to the centre.
• Total E&P Canada has decided to halt amendments requested for the development of the Joslyn oil sands site near Fort McMurray due to energy market conditions. The company was unable to say if the action would affect any Calgary-based employees.
• The Bouchier Group, a construction and maintenance company based in Fort McKay, laid off nine employees from the head office, as well as some seasonal workers, earlier than usual in response to reduced work in the energy sector
• Alberta¿s Industrial Heartland is seeking up to 5,000 workers for projects in the energy, transportation and industrial construction sectors. An industrial job fair was held on March 10, 2015 in Fort Saskatchewan to showcase career opportunities.
• Manpower Inc. is projecting a weak employment outlook for the mining sector, which includes some oil sands firms, in Western Canada for the second quarter of 2015
• The Red Bull Crashed Ice Downhill World Championship 2015 is in Edmonton March 12 to 14, 2015. Construction of the race track required 12,000 hours of work. The event requires a television production crew of 60, and 50 other employees for production.
• The City of Calgary has 700 vacant positions which are under review as the administration seeks cost-saving measures. Some positions have been vacant for six months or more.
• Alberta Health Services is closing a mental health program at Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary. Three employees will be laid off, but they will be offered other positions according to Alberta Health Services.
• The Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum in Grande Prairie is scheduled for opening in September 2015. Displays for the museum, which has a yearly $1.5M operating budget, are currently in the production phase.
• Lamborghini Calgary is moving from a temporary downtown location to a new site on May 1, 2015 at the Meadows Mile project. The dealership will be the first in Canada to offer the Koenigsegg Regera, a $2M sports car.
• A new 7-Eleven convenience store opened in downtown High River on March 7, 2015
• Husky Energy released approximately 1,000 tradespeople with Saipem Canada from the Husky Sunrise Energy oil sands project near Fort McMurray on March 11, 2015. Husky stated that construction at the site is complete.