An Altona company that continues to recruit workers from overseas is also helping to create a more diverse community.

Friesens Corporation is Altona's largest employer with about 575 employees. Being located in a community with a population of 4,200 and in a region (Pembina Valley) that has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country creates some challenges when it comes to worker recruitment.

"There aren't enough people locally coming through our doors looking for the opportunities we have available, so we've had to cast our net a little broader with regards to recruitment,"  said company CEO Chad Friesen. "We have developed a fairly robust recruitment program that searches for people from a number of different places. First and foremost, we look locally, and now have gone overseas."

The company completed it's second recruitment drive into the Philippines in November 2017 and is now in the process of bringing a total of 40 individuals trained in graphic arts back to Altona.

The first recruitment mission to that country in 2016 was just as successful resulting in 36 people being hired, most of whom have already settled into the community.

"We work together with the Provincial Nominee Program to vet and pre-qualify these folks to transition to Canada for work permits. They won't all arrive in the next month, but we're expecting about 10 to 15 to arrive in the next month or two and then the rest to arrive in the months following."

There have been comments made by some in the community who feel Friesens Corporation is simply looking for cheap foreign labour in an effort to cut its operating costs and improve profits. Friesen said he's heard those comments, but nothing could be further from the truth.

"The effort that goes into recruiting overseas, whether it's the Philippines, Venezuela or other countries is a tremendous cost to the company. We're a growing company and with that comes a need for more people to help spur on that growth and we're just not finding enough of those applications locally...not in the numbers we need to move the business forward," said Friesen. "It's critical for our company to find good, qualified people to bring into the organization to help us along."

The effort Friesens Corporation is making to grow and expand the company is also helping to grow Altona's population and at the same time creating a more diverse, multicultural community.

Canada's largest book printer currently employs people from 25 different countries around the world including countries like Venezuela, Syria, and China.

"These are countries that aren't necessarily getting the same the kind of attention that our Filipino recruitment program gets, but they have all enhanced the fabric of our organization and we're very excited about that."

Most of the workers that Friesens Corp. has hired are males and most of have made huge personal sacrifices in an effort to carve out a better life for themselves and their families.

Much of that sacrifice is connected to the time it takes for newcomers to obtain permanent residency status in Canada; a process that can take up to 24 months. Until they qualify, they cannot bring any of their family to Canada to live with them.

"Many of them have been away from their families for a while and have not been around to be fathers to their young children or have been together with their wives. There is a tremendous amount of sacrifice they've made to set the groundwork for their families to come over."

Friesen pointed out that these families are very committed to building a future with Friesens and building a future in Altona, but it comes with some challenges.

It's a fact that many newcomers to Canada find it difficult to navigate through our system for things as simple as obtaining a drivers licence or setting up a bank account to set up financing to purchase a vehicle.

"As a company, we've been very active in making sure that people integrate and transition into the community successfully and it's something that our community has also rallied around. Some of our car dealerships and some of our banking institutions have really come to the table to help in that process. And if we could ask our local residents for anything, it would be 'how do we support this new community that's coming into Altona and make sure they feel welcome, safe, and respected to ensure that they're successful right here in Altona?"

Friesen said he is also excited by the potential skills and opportunities that will be generated by the spouses of the workers they are recruiting.

"Some of the wives who will eventually join up with their husbands are homemakers, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, a dentist, a teacher and a couple of managers. These are women that are coming in with skills and they are going to want to find employment and opportunities within the community as well to continue their careers. As they begin transitioning into the community we intend to reach out to the business community and other organizations to make sure they are aware of the skills these women have so that they can use these talents can be put to good use in our community."