Canadian firms to recruit inland workers for jobs

INDIO - Employers from Canada will descend on Riverside County next week for a recruitment drive during which carpenters, welders and other construction workers will be sought for jobs up north.

''We have already received over 150 resumes from regional residents who have expressed interest in working in Canada,'' county Economic Development Agency spokesman Tom Freeman said. ''We have received resumes from Texas, Nevada and Arizona, as well.''

The British Columbia Construction Association, the Canada-California Business Council and the Riverside County Board of Supervisors are sponsoring the job fair, slated for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the county's Workforce Development Center in Indio, 44-199 Monroe St.

Representatives from eight companies are slated to be on hand. Recruiters will be seeking mechanics, refrigeration technicians, ironworkers, crane operators, gas fitters, millwrights, industrial plumbers, pipefitters, electricians, geotechnical and electrical engineers, along with other hardhat positions, according to Freeman.

He said Canada suffers a shortage of qualified labor in the construction trades.

The manufacturing and construction industries have been the hardest-hit locally in the Great Recession, with employment still well-below 2007 levels.

Freeman said applicants interested in taking part in the job fair should bring their resumes, certificates and training records.

More information is available at http://www.rivcoeda.org.