RDÉE Prince Edward Island, through its LIENS project, has produced a new economic kit.
The booklets are aimed at Francophone immigrants.
RDÉE hopes to attract newcomers to the province as workers or entrepreneurs.
The bilingual kit of eight booklets is available in both paper and digital (PDF) formats.
The main booklet explains the importance of recruiting skilled workers from abroad, and talks about the attractions and opportunities the province has to offer.
The second booklet provides a general overview of the province's needs through statistics on the different sectors of the population.
The other six booklets provide a brief overview of the economic situation, benefits and specific labour force needs of each of the Island's Acadian and Francophone regions.
Why put so much effort into attracting people from other countries?
“Put simply, Prince Edward Island doesn’t have enough people to meet the growing demands of the workforce. Between 2016 and 2018, the number of people working on P.E.I. expanded by 6.3 per cent. The share of the working population over the age of 55 is growing much faster than that of younger workers,” said the booklet.
“There are 21,300 people in the labour force on P.E.I. over the age of 55, or more than 25 per cent of all workers. At the same time, there are not nearly enough young people coming into the labour market to take their place. P.E.I. needs to attract more people.”
The kit also explains that several industries on the Island are growing, creating a greater need for workers. These include agriculture, construction, manufacturing, professional services, education, accommodation and food services, among others.
The many advantages of moving to the Island are also listed. Bilingualism, the wide array of services available, the high quality of life with a lower cost of living, entertainment and recreation, low crime rates, access to health and wellness services are just some of the highlights of re-locating to P.E.I.
A hard copy of the kit is available at RDÉE P.E.I. offices in Wellington from Velma LeBlanc and in Charlottetown from Robert Maddix. Alternatively, the entire zipped kit or individual booklets can be downloaded in PDF format at rdeeipe.net/documentation/.
The kit was produced with general funding from the LIENS project, which comes from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the P.E.I. Office of Immigration.
