Issue link: http://tourismwpg.uberflip.com/i/1249269
The fight for skilled workers is fierce across all industries and sectors worldwide. We want our companies to grow and be competitive, so it was important for YES! Winnipeg to step up to help companies find the best talent. In October, our YW talent team went on its first international recruitment mission to Buenos Aires, Argentina with five tech companies including ESLlibrary.com and Farmers Edge. After intensive research and conversations with partner organizations and companies, the South American country was flagged as a top spot for hard-to-find senior talent in software development, web design and data sciences. As of December 31, 28 offers went out to potential new hires, with some companies expecting to hire more in 2020. Talent missions are part of a larger workforce strategy YW created for growing Winnipeg companies. The Talent Hub was launched in November, targeting high-growth companies looking to attract, retain and develop talent. This one-stop shop is meant to identify skills and education gaps, connect companies to talent locally, nationally or internationally and then link them to settlement resources and marketing tools to showcase why Winnipeg is the ideal home for new hires. For the mission, our YW team worked closely with the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program to make it easier for skilled workers hired by local companies to settle in Manitoba as permanent residents. YW tapped into strong partnerships with industry, Western Economic Diversification Canada, the Manitoba government and the City of Winnipeg to leverage $1.8 million over three years to help companies find the talent they need. Those efforts will go a long way to keeping costs down for local companies, since we can help them find pools of talent locally or elsewhere and give them tools to attract and retain talent. Helping companies keep and grow jobs in Winnipeg is a win for their bottom line and a win for our city. Overall, companies were pleased with the first mission and the talent they were able to recruit. More missions are planned for 2020. Inaugural talent mission YES! Winnipeg spotlight Mazalan Communicaciones 23 2019 Annual Report