Edmonton · International recruitment
Edmonton’s international recruitment agency for hard-to-fill roles.
Upforce is an Alberta-licensed, Edmonton-based recruitment agency. We source and screen international skilled workers for Canadian employers — cooks, trades, hotel staff, barbers — and connect you with a network of licensed RCIC partners who handle the immigration. Published pricing from $1,000, a 90-day replacement guarantee, one Edmonton team.
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Edmonton
Head office and engagement team — Alberta-licensed
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4
Sectors we specialize in across Alberta
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$1,000+
Published placement fee — no hidden quotes
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90
Day replacement guarantee on every placement
What we do
Recruitment, in-house. Immigration, through licensed partners.
Upforce is a recruitment agency first. We source and screen international skilled workers against the role you actually need to fill, run the engagement end to end, and bring you a short list of vetted candidates — not thirty résumés. Our head office and the team that owns your engagement are in Edmonton.
We do not file immigration applications or give immigration advice. Instead, we cover the full process by connecting you and your candidate with our network of licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) — registered with the Collège des consultants en immigration et en citoyenneté — who handle all the filing, employer-side and candidate-side. You get one coordinated process and a clear written timeline. See how it works.
Who we hire for
Four Alberta sectors, one Edmonton team.
We go deep in the sectors hit hardest by Alberta’s labour shortage. Each has its own sourcing playbook and pathway logic.
- 01
Food service
Line cooks, kitchen staff, servers, baristas, specialty cuisine. Food-service hiring →
- 02
Hospitality
Housekeeping, front desk, hotel F&B, resort and lodge operations. Hospitality hiring →
- 03
Skilled trades
Welders, heavy-duty technicians, mechanics, HVAC, drivers. Trades hiring →
- 04
Barbershops & beauty
Barbers, hairstylists, estheticians, nail technicians. Beauty hiring →
Why Edmonton employers choose us
Built for the employer, not the brochure.
The things that actually matter when you hand a vacancy to an agency:
Trust + transparency
- Alberta-licensed employment agency, $25,000 bonded
- Published pricing from $1,000 — no "contact us for a quote"
- Workers never pay Upforce — required by Alberta law
- Licensed RCIC partner network handles all immigration filing
Speed + fit
- Four immigration pathways — we name the right one in writing
- Bilingual EN/FR team and candidate pool
- Written proposal within 4 business hours of a discovery call
- 90-day replacement guarantee on every placement
A note on how we operate
A recruitment agency, not an immigration firm.
Upforce is an Alberta-licensed recruitment agency. We source and screen candidates and coordinate the hire. We do not file immigration applications or give immigration advice — all of that is handled by our network of licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs), registered with the Collège des consultants en immigration et en citoyenneté.
Workers never pay Upforce. Our fee is paid by the employer. See our compliance page for the legal framework.
Edmonton recruitment FAQ
What Edmonton employers ask us.
- Is Upforce a licensed recruitment agency in Alberta?
- Yes. Upforce holds an Alberta Employment Agency licence (Service Alberta), carries the required $25,000 security bond, and operates from an Edmonton head office. We are a recruitment agency — not an immigration firm — and we follow Alberta employment law, including the rule that workers never pay us.
- Do you only serve Edmonton, or all of Alberta?
- We are based in Edmonton and place into employers across Alberta — Edmonton, Calgary, St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Leduc, the resort corridor, and beyond — as well as the rest of Canada outside Quebec. One Edmonton team manages every engagement.
- What does it cost to hire an international worker through Upforce?
- Our placement fee starts at $1,000 and is published, not quoted behind a "contact us." Typical ranges: $1,000–$2,500 via Mobilité Francophone and $2,500–$4,000 via LMIA, billed on milestones. Government fees are separate. See our pricing page for the full breakdown.
- Do you handle the immigration paperwork?
- No — and that distinction matters legally. Upforce sources and screens the candidate and coordinates the hire. All immigration filing and advice — employer-side and candidate-side — is handled by our network of licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs). We connect you with them and keep the process moving.
- How fast can you fill a role?
- It depends on the pathway. A French-speaking hire via Mobilité Francophone typically lands in 6–10 weeks; an LMIA-route hire runs 5–8 months end to end (ESDC processing has risen in 2026). We name the realistic timeline in a written proposal within 4 business hours of your discovery call.
- Which roles and sectors do you recruit for?
- Food service (cooks, kitchen staff, servers, baristas), hospitality (housekeeping, front desk, resort operations), skilled trades (welders, technicians, mechanics), and barbershops & beauty (barbers, stylists, estheticians). If your vacancy sits in one of these, we have a sourcing playbook for it.
Hiring in Edmonton or anywhere in Alberta? Start here.
Tell us the role you need to fill. We reply within 4 business hours with a written proposal: recommended pathway, candidate profile, timeline, and milestone-based pricing.