TIMMINS, ON – The second year of the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) in Timmins is complete. In 2021, the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) received over 120 applications and issued 106 community recommendations to candidates. This is up from 2020, which saw over 60 applications and 41 community recommendations.
“This was our first full year of the Pilot and we saw more than double the applications and recommendations, which is just wonderful,” said Dr. Audrey Penner, Chair of the TEDC Board of Directors. “The word is out and employers and job-seekers alike are eager to use the Pilot to fill employment gaps within the city,” Dr. Penner added.
The recommendations issued to candidates span a variety of occupations and industry sectors. In 2021, 33% of candidates held occupations in social, community and government services and 29% in sales and service occupations, which mirrors the local job demand seen on JobsinTimmins.com. Since the launch of the Pilot at the end of April 2020, the majority of candidates have been employed in the health care and social assistance sector (37%), followed by the accommodation and food services sector (22%), and the retail trade sector (18%).
The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is designed to spread the benefits of economic immigration to smaller communities by creating a path to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers who want to work and live in Timmins. The TEDC is assisting employers using the Pilot to address labour demands and fill positions that they have been struggling to fill with Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
“Being a small business, we don’t have a lot of time nor the expertise to navigate through arduous processes associated with typical immigration programs,” shared Sylvie McPhail, Operations Manager at SurveyTECH Instruments & Services, a Timmins-based industry leader in borehole instrumentation. “The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot program couldn’t be further from this. The RNIP process is simple, straightforward and light in terms of required time and documentation needed to participate,” said McPhail.
In the third year of the pilot, the TEDC has a total of 150 recommendations that can be issued in 2022. Employers interested in learning more or participating in the pilot can contact the TEDC.
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For more information, please contact Kelsey Luxton at kelsey.luxton@timmins.ca or (705) 360-2656.
About the TEDC
The TEDC is the city’s non-profit community economic development team. We facilitate and support economic and social activity that creates jobs, diversifies the economy and improves quality of life.
