Canada Federal Skilled Worker (Professional) immigration applications are assessed on six factors.

These selection factors are designed to indicate which applicants are likely to become economically established upon immigration to Canada.
Each Canada Federal Skilled Worker (Professional) immigration selection factor is allotted a maximum number of points, and applicants must attain at least 67 points in order to qualify for a Canada Immigration (Permanent Resident) Visa.

NEW! Federal Skilled Worker applicants must also have at least one year of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work experience in the past 10 years in one of 38 qualifying occupations; or Arranged Employment; or have legally lived in Canada for at least one year as a Temporary Foreign Worker or International Student and currently be residing in Canada.

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Quebec Immigration Minister Yolande James has announced a new program that will facilitate the process of immigration to Quebec for international students and foreign workers.

In her announcement, Minister James cited the importance of attracting and retaining skilled workers and international students through immigration for Quebec’s economic growth.

Though specific details have yet to be released, the following information is known:

The program will actively select candidates who can best respond to Quebec’s labour market needs, as divided into three categories.

International Students: In order to retain international graduates in the province, the Minister intends to issue Certificats de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to international students who earn either a high school diploma in vocational training, a college or technical training diploma, or a university degree from an educational institution recognized by the Quebec Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sport.  Minister James highlighted the fact that these students have already settled into Quebec society and have Quebec educational certifications that Quebec employers are familiar with.  She also expects that the program will increase the number of international students who choose to study in Quebec.

Specialized temporary workers: Temporary workers who are currently working in Quebec in certain specialized sectors, such as information technology and scientific research, will also be given CSQ’s for immigration to Canada.

Immigration applicants with work experience in high-demand occupations: Quebec immigration applicants who have work experience in occupations that are considered in high-demand by the province of Quebec will have their immigration applications fast-tracked.  Quebec’s labour market is in need of applicants at all skills levels, from welders to laboratory technicians, to nurses, and aeronautical engineers.  Applicants with work experience in Quebec’s in-demand occupations have the best employment prospects and will therefore receive priority processing.

Some 20 percent of occupations are regulated in Canada to protect the health and safety of Canadians (e.g. nurses, engineers, electricians, etc.).

If you belong to any of the regulated occupations and want to work in such occupations in Canada, you need to obtain a license from a provincial regulatory body. Licensing requirements often include education from a recognized school, Canadian work experience and completion of a technical exam. The applicant is responsible for the fees for such exams, which can be considerable. Final assessment by the provincial authority can only be completed after you are in Canada with permanent residence status.

For more information on regulated occupations and foreign credentials recognition, please visit www.cicic.ca. For non-regulated occupations, recognition and qualification requirements are normally set by the employer.

A forecast released in June by the Construction Sector Council (CSC) estimates that 85,000 new skilled workers will be needed in Ontario over the next nine years, with 50,000 of those required just to replace retirees.

With tremendous growth in Ontario’s residential and industrial construction sectors there’s a shortage of roofers and electricians. Other tradespeople such as carpenters, plumbers and bricklayers are in high demand, too. A potential annual income of Canadian $100,000 and chances to become entrepreneurs have not however been able to reel young Canadians into the construction industry to replace an aging workforce.

The situation has prompted those in the industry to look overseas for help. 33-year-old Luciano Acenso, a roofer who was hired from overseas, has this to say, “The company I work for could easily bring in more workers,” Acenso says. “It’s crazy busy with no shortage of work. On good days I work 11 to 12 hours and I work many weekends.”

He currently makes between $28 and $34 an hour, time-and-a-half on Saturdays and double time on Sundays.

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Source: Toronto Star

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Canada needs skilled immigrants: See the right panel to contact a licensed immigration consultant about studying, working or immigrating to Canada.

The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) will begin a study that will forecast the state of the Canadian labour market by 2012, called the ICTC Outlook 2012-2015 on Human Resources in the ICT Labour Market. The ICTC Outlook report also seeks to determine how foreign trained IT professionals can provide expertise in offshore project management.

For example, an immigrant from India with proper training and orientation can help a Canadian business manage an offshore project in India, especially where cultural and communication challenges may occur.

IT expertise that are particularly in demand these days, include project management, IT risk, .Net and business analysis, and is fairly certain such jobs would continue to be a need in the market in the long-term.

Source: IT World Canada

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The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) recently issued a brief the House of Commons recognizing the important role that immigration plays in Canada’s healthcare system. In the brief, it draws attention to Canada’s aging workforce and slowing labour growth place an even greater emphasis on immigration as a source of skills and knowledge.
Immigration is a key strategy to ensure sufficient numbers of knowledge workers in the health sciences. Many health professions in Canada, including nursing, are reporting shortages in personnel. In the next decade, a 30 per cent shortage of registered nurses is projected. The CNA believes that immigration is one essential tactic of its human resource strategy. The nurse immigration process begins when an internationally educated nurse considers immigrating to Canada and continues until she or he is integrated into the workforce.

Source: CNA

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Canada needs to take a fresh approach to immigration if it wants to avoid worsening labour shortages, the federal finance minister has been told.

Attracting and retaining skilled workers from abroad was a key issue at a private, invitation-only forum held near Ottawa last week with Jim Flaherty and Canadian business leaders and academics. More than two dozen people from all walks of Canadian life – universities, big banks, Bay Street, authors and environmentalists – met for two days in Merrickville in Eastern Ontario.

“There were lots of ideas … relating to openness, in terms of mobility within Canada …,” Flaherty said in a telephone interview. One way of attracting and retaining workers is to provide incentives for non-Canadian students to enter Canadian universities. Many are staying in Canada, and joining the workforce, after completing their education.

Source: The Canadian Press

Program helps would-be immigrant skilled workers navigate the Canadian job market before they leave their home countries

The Canadian Immigrant Integration Project in Asia, a $4.5 million, three-year pilot program allows would-be newcomers to Canada in the skilled-worker class to go through a “pre-arrival orientation” in Manila, Delhi and Hong Kong – and, starting this month, in Beijing, Gujarat and Punjab.

The goal is to help (foreign-trained professionals) acquire appropriate employment by connecting with them and preparing them ahead of time, so they can “hit the ground running” once they arrive. A thousand skilled immigrants have voluntarily participated since January 1 to learn about Canadian labour market trends, skills in demand in various regions, licensing procedures, and how to link with career bridging programs.

Immigrants meet with counsellors at the overseas offices to create a settlement plan while they’re still waiting for medical and security clearance to immigrate, instead of spending time and money finding out about the “how-tos” after they have landed in Canada.
The program, dubbed CIIP (ciip.accc.ca), includes a day-long group workshop in the home country, divided by profession or province of destination, followed by one-on-one counselling.
Source: Toronto Star

The Canadian government’s process for bringing high-tech workers with certain skills into Canada can be completed in two to eight weeks.

Canada’s technology sector needs immigration. Paul Swinwood, president of the Information and Communications Technology Council in Ottawa, said the number of available high-tech jobs is expected to increase by about 100,000 over the next several years. But Canadian universities graduate only about 15,000 students with technology skills each year.

Source: Computerworld 16 July 2007

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