1. Immigration Connection Conference March 13, 2015

2.  90,000 population  7 rural municipalities  Guelph separate  2,600km2  78% business <10 employees  agriculture, manufacturing, health care, creative professional

3.  Economic Development Strategy 2012 “to sustain the local economy, the County should develop effective marketing and programming focused on drawing skilled residents from across Canada and the globe.”  Wellington Workforce Strategy 2013 “we need to attract workers because we have lack of applications and mismatch of skills”  300 in person business interviews 2014 43% businesses plan on expanding in 2015 but 40% total businesses experiencing difficulty hiring  Diversification, new resident attraction, economic growth! Low population growth but businesses needing talent!

4.  The data analysis from our projects has led us to take a proactive role in the implementation of talent attraction.  2013 Newcomer bus tour in Wellington County  2015 Global Talent Attraction Initiative

5. Lead by the County, together with the City of Guelph and Local Immigration Partnership  Serves to aid employers experiencing difficulty finding specific skillsets locally  Serves to attract new residents to the City of Guelph and Wellington County

6. Objectives: to communicate opportunities and bring workers to businesses:  Understand the benefits of attracting and hiring global talent  Develop global talent strategies  Leverage the immigration system – NEW Express Entry Jan 2015

7.  Engage in 30 employer interviews.  Provide info about accessing the immigration system.  Work with key partners to connect businesses with immigrants already residing in our community.  Apply ‘best practices’ from the Employer Toolkit and County Employment Resource Centre.  Coordinate workshops with partner organizations on leveraging the immigration system.  Identify and compile a list of ‘business champions.’  Assist in writing success stories profiling local businesses and internationally trained immigrants.  Assist with project related activities such as a bus tour of Wellington for university and college pre- grads.

8. Feb – Mar  Meet key stakeholders and business supports, gather relevant materials and resources  Identify 30 employers that could benefit from this program  Compile survey/interview questions Apr-Sep  Visit with at least 30 businesses  Familiarize businesses with the Global Talent toolkit and other partner materials  Complete and analyze Survey/interviews  Identify early champions Sep-Oct  Hold mini workshops on express entry, based on some of the feedback received in surveys Nov-Mar 2016  Follow up visits with employers to see what impact has been had, what challenges have been encountered  Drafting of success stories  Publicity for work being done  Sustainability planning for the initiative

9. Robyn Mulder Global Talent Attraction Coordinator County of Wellington robynm@wellington.ca www.wellington.ca/business

10. Thank you! Jana Reichert BA, MSc Economic Development Officer County of Wellington 74 Woolwich Street Guelph Tel: (519) 837.2600 ext. 2525 Mobile: (519) 830.9969 Fax: (519) 837.0285 www.wellington.ca/business