UPDATE - RENEWAL RENEWAL PROGRAM PAUSE
The Town of Westlock has paused its participation in Alberta's Rural Renewal Stream and will not be issuing new Endorsement Letters until further notice. As of Friday, October 17, 2024, no new Endorsement Letter requested will be accepted.
Reasons for Pause
1. Increased Processing Times
Backlog of applications waiting for Government of Alberta approval (currently approx. 7 month backlog).
AAIP has moved to "expression of interest (EOI)” format as of September 30, 2024.
Candidates submit an EOI and are placed in a selection pool. AAIP then ranks candidate EOIs on a number of categories and invites select candidates to apply.
This new process may further delay the existing +7 month wait time for employers to get new workers, or in some cases completely eliminate the possibility of candidates being selected to apply.
2. Affordability & Housing Availability
Many positions requested under Westlock’s Rural Renewal Stream tend to be for low-wage & entry-level positions.
If candidates cannot afford to live or unable to find a place to live in Westlock (a requirement of the program) under the wage they are paid, they are likely to only stay for a short time before moving on to other opportunities. This does not support our goal of attracting long-term residents.
Additionally, the Federal Government’s recent announcement to limit low-wage temporary foreign worker streams will further reduce the ability for our local employers to get a TFW that can start work while their Rural Renewal application is processing.
Going Forward:
Endorsement Letters requested prior to the pause will remain in our queue.
However, employers should be aware that under AAIP’s new EOI format, it may be months before their candidate is selected to apply for nomination, if at all.
No new employer or candidate applications will be considered until further notice.
We will continue to monitor the provincial Rural Renewal program and local workforce needs. If feasible, Westlock may consider accepting more endorsement letter requests in the future.
Please note that as of March 18, 2024, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) has introduced new requirements for employer eligibility.
Employers must meet all employer eligibility criteria prior to issuing an offer of employment.
- Must be incorporated/registered and operate within the Town of Westlock
- Must hold a valid Town of Westlock business license which has been active for 6 months or more
- NEW - Employers must have been in continuous and active operation in Alberta for a minimum of 2 complete fiscal years (the year used for tax or accounting purposes) or meet the eligibility outlined in the Alberta Immigration Program (AAIP) prior to application submission
- NEW - Job must have been available to Canadians first, at the same pay and working conditions
- Employers must demonstrate the need for the position and provide evidence that reasonable efforts were made to fill the position with a Canadian citizen
- Recruitment efforts must include local advertising platforms and the employer must work with employment support agencies located in the Town of Westlock prior to enrollment into the program
- NEW - Employers must demonstrate a gross annual revenue of $400,000 for the most recent tax year and a minimum of 3 full-time employees. If not, the employer can qualify for the program but will be restricted in the number of nominee applicants they can support, based on the number of years the employer has been operating in Alberta
- 2 years in operation – 1 Nominee
- 3 years in operation – 2 Nominee
- For each additional year 1 additional nominee can be supported
- Note, if a nominee leaves the employer, the nomination will continue to be counted towards job offer eligibility/employer operations.
- Provide a welcoming work environment
- Select occupations are not eligible for this program; please see the eligibility criteria linked above
- Vacant position must be:
- Full-time (minimum 30 hours per week)
- Continuing (12 months or more)
- Non-seasonal (year-round)
- Wages & benefits meet or exceed the lowest starting wage for occupation across all industries in Alberta, as set out on the ALIS website.