Immigrants from the Greater Toronto Area interested in moving to rural Ontario will be introduced to Norfolk County on June 14.
That’s when a group of new arrivals, preferentially from Ukraine, will tour the county by bus and have an opportunity to meet local employers.
Co-ordinated by Norfolk County in collaboration with the Newcomer Center of Peel (www.ncpeel.ca), the tour aims to address a local labor shortage and help some of those displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Media reports have put the number of those displaced invasion at 12 million.
At the same time, the tour will help local businesses fill job vacancies. Norfolk County had, in February, an unemployment rate of 5.6 per cent.
As part of the tour, the Brantford Y will provide settlement services advice, while the Grand Erie District School Board’s Joseph Brant Learning Centre, which is based in Brantford, will provide direction on English as a second language courses.
Norfolk officials also have reached out to the Simcoe and District Real Estate Board for help matching immigrants with housing.
“We have manufacturers looking for welders, laborers and tradespeople,” said Jarah Stefek, Norfolk’s supervisor of corporate communications. “We have wineries looking for wine makers, restaurants looking for managers and waiters and farmers looking for farm help.”
She said many new arrivals will have transferable skills.
“The biggest challenge is finding accommodation in Norfolk County for the newcomers,” Stefek said. “We are hoping residents will volunteer to host some of the newcomers even temporarily.”
Residents interested in helping with housing can call the Y at 519-752-4568 or preferably complete an online form found at: www.ymcahbb.ca/ukrainian-settlement-support.
For more information about the tour, call 519-426-5870, ext. 1264, or email [email protected].
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