Job Bank’s latest market trends, news for Alberta

Source: jobbank.gc.ca

Week of Jun 01 – Jun 05, 2015

• The Government of Alberta has committed $103M in funding for education across the province, reversing planned cuts by the previous government. The money includes enrolment growth funding for the 2015-16 school year to cover 12,000 new students.
• The Government of Alberta has decided to reverse a decision by the previous government to close the Young Offenders Centre in Calgary and transfer the services to Edmonton. Staff were slated to be laid off with the impending closure.
• Synodon Inc., an Edmonton-based company specializing in remote sensing, has announced changes in executive compensation in an effort to improve cash flow. Two senior staff members have agreed to partial share compensation in lieu of cash.
• Restaurants in Calgary are experiencing a reduction in business of up to 30 percent according to the Calgary Downtown Association. The decline is partially attributed to spending restraint at large oil and gas companies in the downtown core.
• Nomadic Pictures, a Calgary-based film production company, has resorted to importing staff from Vancouver, Toronto and Los Angeles to film the AMC series Hell on Wheels and Fargo due to a shortage of local talent. The relative cost advantage to production in Alberta has increased the demand for skilled labour in the industry.
• Teck Resources Ltd., a Vancouver-based mining company, is temporarily shutting down its Cardinal River Mine, near Hinton, for three weeks. The company is idling six coal mines across Western Canada due to weak market conditions.
• The Government of Canada has announced $1.2M to support Prairie organic grain growers. The funds will support marketing efforts at the international level and improvements in organic quality standards.
• The Government of Canada is providing $1.5M to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton to establish a centre dedicated to the commercialization of micro- and nano-coated products
• Creditors of Southern Pacific Resource Corp., a Calgary-based oil sands developer, have filed to place the company into receivership. Two weeks ago, the company decided to shut down its STP-McKay thermal oil sands project near Fort McMurray.
• The Village of Boyle is expecting to start construction on a new municipal building in June 2015. At the same time, the Greater North Foundation is working on a new seniors facility, Wildrose Villa, in the community.
• “The Piikani Nation has started construction on a multi-purpose recreation centre in Brocket. Once complete, the facility will include an ice rink, dressing rooms, a concession, community meeting space and offices. “
• The Cassils Community Hall building committee has broken ground for the new hall in the Hamlet of Cassils. Construction is expected to be complete in six months.
• Sobeys, a large Canadian grocery chain, is purchasing the $50M Target Canada distribution centre in Rocky View County, near Balzac. The facility will be used for dry groceries primarily and will be operational by mid-2017. The company did not disclose a projected staff complement, but an estimated 500 employees worked at the former Target warehouse.
• A recent study from the Canada West Foundation reports that 40 percent of employees lack skills in math, reading and writing. Many workers are held back by their lack of things like basic computer skills, numeracy, and language skills.
• Canadian Tire has recently opened its largest store in Canada in south Edmonton. The store is equipped with the latest in digital technology and has an adjacent warehouse that is used to fill e-commerce orders.
• The Northern Lights School Division has unveiled a service rig, donated by Ensign Energy Services, to be used in the trades exposure program. The rig will be available for use by students across Alberta at the Cold Lake centre.
• The Cold Lake Lodge, a seniors facility in Cold Lake, is undergoing renovations that will see one wing of the building demolished and the addition of 13 larger suites. Construction is slated for the fall of 2015, with completion in 18 months.
• The Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission has extended the liquor hours for bars, restaurants and lounges during the annual Calgary Stampede, which runs July 3 to 12, 2015. Alcohol service can start at 8:00 a.m., and 7:00 a.m. on parade day.
• The Government of Canada has recently created two Foreign Trade Zone Points, Port Alberta, which serves the Edmonton region, and the Calgary Region Inland Port. The sites will provide national and international companies with faster access to markets.
• The City of Medicine Hat is planning to seek a private operator to handle its animal pound services after December 31, 2015. The city is severing its long-standing relationship with the Medicine Hat SPCA.
• A new Dairy Queen restaurant opened in Drumheller on May 26, 2015
• Yellowhead County has awarded construction projects in four hamlets, worth just over $1.9M, to E Construction
• Keyano College, in Fort McMurray, has announced that 18 faculty and staff will be laid off, and 12 academic programs will be cut. The Heavy Equipment Technician Diploma and the Mechanical Construction Trades Preparation program are also being suspended.
• Fort Macleod is now offering free child care for parents with children aged 5 to 12 years when school is not in session due to staff professional development days. The day camp is offered at the Anglican parish Hall, during regular school hours.
• Ledcor Construction has been awarded a $41.7M contract for the construction of the Parsons Creek continuing care facility in Fort McMurray. Construction of the 100-bed facility is expected to begin in the summer of 2015.
• Grande Prairie Regional College has announced that it has eliminated 33 positions and cut programs as part of its 2015-16 budget. The cuts include the Transitional Vocational Program at the Fairview campus and the Pre-employment Millwright program.
• Alberta-based companies that traditionally service the oil sector are finding new opportunities in hydro-electric and liquified natural gas projects in British Columbia. The work is helping Alberta drillers, such as Western Energy Services Corp., and frackers, including Calfrac Well Services Ltd., partially offset a slowdown across the region after oil prices collapsed by half in 2014.
• Wild Rose Brewery, a Calgary beer maker, has installed a canning line and will be marketing four of their brands in cans. The new packaging is in response to customer demands for canned product. The brewery expects to produce 1.5M cans a year.
• Border Bowl, the only bowling alley in Lloydminster, permanently closed its doors on May 28, 2015. The closure has left local bowlers, coaches, and youth bowling leagues in limbo.
• The Alberta Motor Transport Association, which represents the provincial trucking industry, has unveiled two high-tech driving simulators for use by students, entry-level drivers or professional truckers upgrading their skills. One unit is based in Edmonton and the other is a mobile unit.
• Construction started May 27, 2015 on a $17M operations centre for the Town of Okotoks. The three new buildings will house a range of town services, with a planned opening in spring 2016.
• Strathcona County has approved $19M for the construction of an undergound parkade at Centre in the Park. The project is slated to begin sometime over the summer of 2015 and be complete in 24 to 36 months.
• RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, a major Canadian commercial property owner, recently announced that Lowe`s Canada will be taking over two former Target locations in Calgary. Four other former Target locations in the city remain in limbo.
• Ivanhoe Energy, a Vancouver-based company with plans for a $1.37B thermal oil sands project, has declared bankruptcy. The company suspended work on the Tamarack project in northern Alberta in 2014.
• The newly elected NDP government in Alberta is delaying the $10M investment it had planned to make to bring back the Summer Temporary Employment Program, a student jobs program. The program was cancelled by a previous government in 2013.
• The Town of Sylvan Lake has introduced a new tourism-based website, visitsylvanlake.ca. A 2014 study of regional tourism found that visitors contributed $75M to the local economy.
• The Aspen Crossing Railway, a local tourist attraction, started operating in May 2015, following six years of work on the project. Vulcan Tourism, the regional tourism association, expects the railway to attract tourists to the area.
• The Kicking Horse Industrial Park, a joint development between three municipalities, is moving ahead in the County of Wetaskiwin. The development is starting with a gas station or cardlock facility.
• Woodlands County has awarded a road construction project worth $318,206 to Paveit Construction for work in the Goose Lake area
• YEG Aerocentre has opened a second private hangar and terminal, Shell AeroCentre 2 at Edmonton International Airport. The $19M project includes hangar space, VIP and passenger lounges, offfices, and shop space.
• Care staff at the Legacy Lodge, a seniors facility in Lethbridge, have won a 2.5 percent wage increase as part of a new labour agreement with the employer. Licensed practical nurses, health care assistants, housekeepers, cooks, maintenance and office staff are covered under the one year agreement.