With one punchy headline, a Western Canadian newspaper neatly summed up the labour crunch which continues to plague stressed-out employers across Alberta: "Help Wanted ... Desperately ... Everywhere."
According to the Conference Board of Canada, 90 per cent of Alberta organizations are frantically seeking reliable, skilled help. Good jobs are going begging and affected companies can't deny that their productivity and efficiency have been negatively affected as a result.
But where does today's frazzled HR boss turn to find qualified professionals, middle managers, carpenters, forklift drivers, line cooks, mechanics, electricians, millwrights, pipefitters, welders and cleaning staff?
Many corporations have addressed the problem by opting to look offshore for fresh talent. And once they've decided on that important step, wise decision-makers seek the advice and hands-on assistance of a frontline professional team like Match Recruiting.
Proud of its high performance standards, Match Recruiting gives its corporate clients ready access to a broadly based network of local and foreign job candidates, most of whom are already in possession of the skills Alberta needs.
Based in Calgary, Match is an aggressive recruiter that truly lives up to its name, placing highly skilled and experienced people in Canadian companies.
It's easier to find them than you might think, says Match Recruiting president Han Kim.
"Recent changes in provincial and federal regulations have really streamlined the process. Formerly, there were barriers in place which tended to discourage companies from recruiting abroad," Kim explains.
"Wait times are much shorter than they used to be. Wading through the regulatory process is quite a bit easier now," Kim adds. "The reason for this is simple.
Our politicians and regulators fully understand that Western labour shortages have almost reached the crisis point."
Match Recruiting is able to tap skilled labour pools in China, Vietnam, the Philippines and South Korea. But many outstanding candidates are to be found in Mexico, one of Canada's partners in NAFTA. North America's free-trade agreement has also made it much easier for Mexican newcomers to fly north and pick up their tools on Canadian soil.
For this reason, Match Recruiting found it prudent to open a second office in Monterrey, Mexico. Match pitches in to help foreign-based job candidates get familiar with Canadian culture long before they leave home for a new job here. Each candidate learns about Canadian law and labour practices while receiving instruction in important areas such as health and safety.
Meanwhile, they're taught as much as possible about local ways and customs. Once these introductory courses are complete, candidates are ready to go to work almost as soon as they get off the plane.
Tradesmen who require certification to work in Alberta enjoy the benefit of Match Recruiting's well-rounded English-language training and coaching programs before they leave home. If the client requires employees to have specialized training, that can be provided before they come to Canada.
These information-packed programs give qualified candidates a big advantage when it's time to meet Canadian certification standards.
But Match Recruiting's highly developed customer-service model goes even farther. Kim is proud of how well his company takes care of those all-important details that can have a positive impact on a client company's bottom line.
Example: Prospective employers are invited to travel to the country of origin to meet short-listed candidates in person. They're more than welcome to use Match Recruiting facilities to conduct one-on-one interviews. But should an employer be unable to make the trip, Match will provide videotaped interviews featuring each candidate, demonstrating both fluency in English and general suitability for the post in question.
Match's professional staff has shown exceptional skill in identifying, assessing and recruiting highly competent and capable technicians and professionals. "We pride ourselves on filling North American jobs with the cream of the crop, according to the needs and wants of the employer," adds Kim.
As a full-service provider, Match Recruiting also helps its corporate customers to sail smoothly through the regulatory process, walking them through each successive step or taking charge of the whole procedure, depending on the customer's needs and wishes.
"Match Recruiting makes it a trouble-free experience. We'll pick up candidates at the airport, set them up with social insurance numbers and make sure they're ready to report for work on a specific date."
Another important point: Every foreign candidate whose name is put forward by Match Recruiting is treated with the utmost in civility, respect and dignity.
These are first-rate, experienced and skilled candidates who are eager to take advantage of the terrific job opportunities in Alberta - almost as eager as their future employers are to welcome them.
For more information, contact Match Recruiting at 403.244.0501. And visit the recruiter's website: www.matchrecruiting.com.
