Logos of the participating organizations (Photo courtesy Lethbridge College)

By Justin Goulet

Economic development groups team for new study

Mar 3, 2020 | 12:15 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The southwestern region of Alberta has a slight problem, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Seven organizations have teamed up for the Southwest Alberta Regional Skills Study.

Peter Casurella, Executive Director of the SouthGrow Regional Initiative, said they’re looking to “map the labour pool” in the region.

Along with SouthGrow, the Alberta SouthWest Regional Alliance, Community Futures Alberta Southwest, Economic Development Lethbridge, Lethbridge College, the Town of Taber and Vulcan County are working on the study.

“Southern Alberta has the problems of success going on. Our economy has been very stable, it’s fairly diversified compared to most areas of the province based on the health and global demand behind the agri-food economy. Things are good in southern Alberta; people want what we do, and we’ve got a very dense [and] highly agri-food cluster that is operating and being supported by all of the various other manufacturing sectors and logistic sectors across southern Alberta,” Casurella told LNN.

“Consequently, one of the problems we face is a bit of a lack of skilled labour. The types of skills that employers in these emerging industries need are a little bit different than what we currently have available. They’re a little bit more technical, they’re a little bit more industrial and we need people with the full range of administrative and legal and financial skills across the board.”

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He said there’s been an influx of new workers imported into the region and the population, particularly along the Highway 3 corridor, is growing rapidly. However, labour remains a “serious concern” for some communities when they conduct internal studies focused on the needs of local businesses.

He explained that the study will help answer questions such as ‘what skills are local industries missing?’, ‘what skills would they like to see?’.

“[And] where are there shortages and how can we better align services that are happening here in southern Alberta in order to provide those training opportunities to people who may be coming out industries that are on the decline so that they can take advantage of the high paying jobs that are available here,” Casurella said.

He added that the research done as part of the study will also be able to inform in the development of curriculum at institutions like Lethbridge College and the University of Lethbridge, although that’s not necessarily the main goal.

“It’s intended to inform our economic development but that will be an important consequence of this kind of research,” he stated.

Once the study is done, the information gathered will be provided to the participating groups as well as educational partners and training organizations across the region, to be used for future development at their discretion.

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