Community is asked for input on bolstering immigration services in Oxford County
Local residents and businesses are being asked for their input on immigration.
Oxford County's new webportal - Welcometoxford.ca is starting to attract newcomers to the community.
As we told you last week, 28 immigrants made contact with settlement services through CES.
Oxford Local Immigration Partnership Project Manager Natalie Surridge says now they're looking for feedback to improve those services. "We'll go out into the community and start to find out where the gaps are, and how we can fill those gaps and meet the needs of newcomers. But it's also to garner some understanding about what the community feels about newcomers and immigration attraction, so we can all work collaboratively together to ensure that we become a welcoming community for all."
Why is Oxford County so aggressively looking to attract immigrants?
In 2011, Oxford County's ratio of youth aged 15 to 24, in relation to older workers aged 55 to 64 fell to 0.99, meaning the County is moving towards not being able to replace the retiring workforce. That trend is only expected to get worse as the baby-boomer generation moves into their retirement years.
Surridge says Oxford County needs immigration to fill in-demand jobs and keep local employers here. "Employers are having a very difficult time (now) filling the skilled trades, whether that's welders, technicians, electricians, millwrights, tool and dye is very high in demand and need. Even in the health care system the lab technologists, information technology and programmers...these are very high skilled areas where employers are really finding it difficult."
The Oxford Local Immigration Partnership looking for anyone in the public to fill out the survey, not just businesses.
Click here to participate in the survey. Those who fill it out will also be entered into a draw to win an I-Pad.
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