Archive for February, 2010

Canada to fund overseas foreign credential recognition services in UK

Published by
graham
at February 25, 2010 in Canada Immigration. 0 Comments

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has announced that more skilled migrants to Canada will be able to obtain assistance to jump-start their credential recognition process via expanded overseas orientation services.

‘We want newcomers to be able to use their skills as soon as possible in Canada. This funding will help them jump-start the credential recognition process before they arrive in Canada. It’s good for them and good for the Canadian economy’, said Kenney.

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) operates the Canadian Immigration Integration Project (CIIP) which will receive additional funding of $15 million over the next three years to expand services in the UK, with a new office to open in London in the Autumn of 2011. The service will also be available to India, China and the Philippines.

According to Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development,’Our government is committed to helping newcomers succeed in Canada. Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, our government is improving foreign credential recognition so that newcomers can maximize their skills. Attracting the best international talent is important to Canada’s long-term economic success’.

The CIIP, overseen by the ACCC, began offering a pilot orientation service in the Philippines, China and India in 2007. These existing offices – and the new London office, will offer access to more than 70% of the selected federal skilled workers around the world. These locations will also offer access to approximately 44% of selected provincial nominees globally.

According to James Knight, President and CEO of ACCC, ‘To date, close to 7000 people have graduated from the CIIP pilot program overseas. As a result, they are better prepared to contribute to Canada’s prosperity through employment or by starting a new business. ACCC will work with our member institutions and our many partners to expand and enrich CIIP, bringing even greater benefits to newcomers and to Canada’.

Foreign credential recognition is cited by new migrants as one of their biggest challenges upon arriving in Canada. The Government’s Economic Action Plan has earmarked $50M over two years (2009-2010) to support a common approach to foreign credential recognition, with the aim being to more successfully integrate migrants into the labour market in Canada.

Minister Kenney also spoke of the recent announcement of the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications – this is an agreement made between the federal government and the administrations of the provinces and territories to speed up foreign credential recognition for new migrants.

Canadian Immigration to accelerate applications for foreign workers

Published by
graham
at February 18, 2010 in Canada Immigration. 0 Comments

Plans to speed up the visa processing time for skilled workers were announced by Quebec’s immigration minister, Yolande James at the Montreal Science Centre recently.

The announcement was made at a conference for business representatives from Montreal. The purpose of the conference was to provide an opportunity for industry leaders to raise any concerns they had, in particular regarding skills shortages.

According to Montreal International’s Bernard de Jaham, the proposed acceleration would help Montreal in particular to attract and retain foreign workers:

“It makes the process very easy to get a certificate of selection, which is the first document you need to become a permanent resident. It will now take a few weeks rather than several months to obtain a Canada visa.”

For foreign skilled workers to be eligible for accelerated processing, they must have already worked in Canada for a minimum of one year and they should have a basic understanding of French language.

Canada ever more reliant on migrant labour

Published by
graham
at February 5, 2010 in Canada Immigration. 1 Comment

A continued shortage of skilled labour will mean that more than 700,000 people in Ontario will be unemployable by 2021, according to Seneca College President emeritus Rick Miner.

That figure would add to the 5% of people who are traditionally unemployed, boosting the total of jobless to 1.1 million, he said in a speech to the Canadian Club of Toronto.

Although Miner’s study focused on Ontario, a similar trend has been noted in separate studies Canada-wide. A lack of skills coupled with the retirement of the baby-boomer generation may mean the country will have to rely on immigration to fill the available jobs, reports have found.

‘The reality is that immigration could account for virtually all labour force growth in Canada within the next decade’, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said recently.

Miner says immigration alone won’t be enough to fill in the employment gaps and that more education is needed.

The study said it can be conservatively estimated that at least 75% of workers in Ontario will need postsecondary education and/or training by 2021 if they are to be employable in Ontario’s new innovation economy.

However, if current trends continue, only about 64% is actually expected to have acquired postsecondary credentials by that point.

Miner said Ontario must begin taking action now to address this challenge.

‘We need to make significant changes’, he said. ‘If we don’t, the result will be an economy that can’t complete globally and a society that can’t provide opportunities for people to find employment.’