Global Talent Lands in London

March 27, 2007 (London, ON) – Thanks to two new resources launched today by the LEDC, local area businesses are now equipped with an informative tool that will help them tap into the skills and talents of newcomers. In turn, immigrants have access to a comprehensive guide that will help them move as quickly as possible toward meaningful employment.

Funded by Employment Ontario, the resources are called Global Talent and are part of the London Economic Development Corporation’s workforce portfolio. The two guides – one for employers and one for newcomers – feature stories of success from newcomers who have found employment opportunities and from employers who have recognized and benefited from the skills of these individuals. A website - www.globaltalent.ca - has also been developed to increase the impact of the project.

Trojan Technologies, EK3, Touche Bakery and OES Inc., are just a few of the local businesses featured in the employers resource as highly successful examples of the business case for diversity in the workplace.

“The response we have from our test market is that these resources are highly valuable because of their practical approach with real life examples of how companies are managing and benefiting from global talent as well as messages from newcomers to others on the steps needed to achieve success in the Canadian job market” says Jeny Wallace, Director of Workforce with LEDC.

Recently released statistics from Statistics Canada predicts that net international migration will be Canada’s only source of population growth by 2030. Canada, which accepts an average of 240,000 immigrants a year, has the highest per-capita immigration rate among industrialized countries. Newcomers accounted for 66% of the country's population growth in the most recent census period, significantly higher than between 1996 and 2001, when they resulted in 58% of the increase.


Global Talent lands in London at a time when there is an increased focus on making London a more welcoming and employing community for newcomers. In March, the City of London together with Middlesex County launched an immigration website designed to help newcomers move to London and get settled. In February, the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration announced funding for the Southwestern Ontario Centre for Access to Regulated Employment dedicated to ensuring that internationally trained individuals have their credentials reviewed and assessed in a timely fashion. March has also seen the commencement of a London Middlesex Immigration Employment Taskforce through a Trillium funded project with the Employment Sector Council of London, Middlesex. This taskforce brings employer champions together to help broaden the understanding by other businesses of the importance of the newcomer talent pool.

“This is one of a number of exciting initiatives,” says Anne Langille General Manager, WIL Employment Connections. “The fact that there is so much activity around attracting and integrating immigrants is very positive for the London community. This project complements the many other initiatives taking place.”

This Employment Ontario project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and $150,000 has been provided towards the total project cost of just over $230,000.


For more information, please contact:

Jeny Wallace
Director, Workforce
London Economic Development Corporation
519-661-4526