Eureka sessions to focus on jobs in Canada
A symposium in Eureka Nov. 4-5 will tackle the topic, “Work in Canada but live at home in Montana.”
Most sessions are by invitation, but an open public session will be Monday at 7 p.m. at Riverstone Lodge north of Eureka along U.S. 93.
Featured speakers for this Jobs Across the Border Symposium include Brett Mattei, U.S. consul at Calgary, and Mike Wo, a former provincial official who now places workers in Alberta, particularly at operations near Fort McMurray’s oil sands.
State Rep. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, came to know the speakers through the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, a nonprofit organization dealing with economic issues facing five Northwest states, two Canadian territories and three provinces.
“Mike Wo is intent on developing a statewide program to supply a large number of workers to Alberta employers. That is his job. This symposium is a big step in bringing the right people together to get this launched. Eureka is the perfect place for it,” Cuffe said in a news release. “Brett Mattei has worked with him on things like matching U.S. military training with Canadian job requirements.”
Eureka Rural Development Partners Director Tracy McIntyre, president of the Montana Economic Developers Association, is handling many of the arrangements for the symposium.
Local officials will meet at 9 a.m. Monday. Lincoln County business leaders are invited Monday afternoon, with the public meeting that night. A variety of regional business development leaders and government officials are scheduled for Tuesday morning with Tuesday afternoon focusing on vocational-technical education and college personnel.
Topics to be covered include job markets, pay ranges and travel compensation along with information on topics such as how to apply and obtain work visas.
Cuffe said truck drivers with commercial driver’s licenses and air brake endorsements, especially with oversize load experience or hazmat certification, are in big demand, along with pipefitters, experienced welders and heavy duty diesel mechanics.
People interested in attending sessions other than the public session should contact the Eureka Rural Development Partners office at 293-7374 or email tracy@eurekardp.net. This isn’t a job fair or intended as a direct hiring process. But for the person with the right qualifications and experience, the hiring process could be expedited.
To get a personal view, Cuffe flew to Fort McMurray on a Pacific Northwest Economic Region policy tour in 2012.
“I dream of a commuter plane flying 20 workers home to Eureka after a week of work and great living conditions at Fort McMurray,” Cuffe said. “Then the flight crew loads up 20 more for the return flight to spend a week on the job. Get 80 workers on that schedule, and we bring a big payroll into Eureka.”
Another symposium subject will cover products that could be manufactured locally and shipped north.
Several state officials, including John Rogers, Gov. Steve Bullock’s adviser on economic development, and various agency representatives plan to attend the Eureka symposium. Bullock and his staff recently spent three days in Alberta exploring similar concepts.