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How do you reduce the rolls of those wishing to immigrate to Canada? How do you eliminate the need to add staff to process applications? If you're Tory Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, the answer is simple: add barriers.

Recently announced changes to requirements for immigrants in the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) class have added to potentially onerous requirements to the laundry list that a potential immigrant needs to fulfill in order to apply.

Barrier 1 - make the wall taller: By limiting the number of slots available each year in the FSW class to 20,000 applicants.

Barrier 2 - shift the playing field: By altering the list of approved professions, and reducing the overall list from 38 to 29.

Barrier 3 - add expense to immigrants: By creating a new language test requirement. The test costs potential immigrants $250.00 each time they take it. For those in poorer countries, this requirement alone is enough to make Canadian immigration an unreachable goal.

There are well documented behavioural studies which correlate the number of steps required in a process with rate of attrition (drop out rate). This goes for everything from shopping online to applying for unemployment. The simple rule is: if you want people to abandon a goal, add more requirements. Kenney's management of the CIC is a classic application of this strategy.

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Today, the Ontario provincial government announced a new program that may be relevant to anyone considering coming to Ontario for postgraduate study and is interested in immigrating to Canada. Currently, international graduates of college or university programs in Canada need to have one year's professional work experience to apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class.

Now, if you graduate from a Masters program at a recognised university in Ontario, you may be eligible to apply for permanent residence immediately via the Pilot International Masters Graduate Stream. There is no need for a job offer or Canadian work experience.

The details are available here: http://www.ontarioimmigration.ca/en/pnp/OI_PNPSTUDENTS_MASTERS.html

From that website:

In order to apply to Opportunities Ontario as an international Masters graduate in Ontario, students must:

* Intend to live and work in Ontario.
* Have graduated from an existing Masters program at an eligible publicly funded university in Ontario.
* Have completed a minimum of one academic year degree program, while studying on a full-time basis.
* Apply within two years of the date on which their Masters degree was granted, or in the alternative, during the last semester of completing their degree.
* Currently be residing in Ontario.
* Have legal status in Canada (i.e. study permit, work permit, temporary resident visa)
* Demonstrate high official language proficiency (For English language proficiency – IELTS – General test with a minimum score of 7 or higher) (For French language proficiency – TEF – with a minimum score of 5 or higher).
* Demonstrate a minimum level of savings/income to support themselves and their dependants.
* Demonstrate at least one year of residence in Ontario in the past two years.

The latest unemployment figures were released at the end of last week, and they show an improvement – more Canadians are returning to work. 93,000 jobs have been created, and overall unemployment has fallen below 8% for the first time since early 2009. But, while there is improvement across Canada, when we break down the figures we see some patterns.

• Unemployment is still higher in some parts of Canada than others. Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the provinces to go to right now if you want to have a better chance of finding work, with around 5.5% unemployment

• The worst unemployment figures are found in the eastern provinces, and Ontario, BC and Quebec are still hovering around 8%, with Alberta not that much better

• Cities to be cautious about include Windsor (over 12% unemployment), Toronto (over 9%), the rest of south-western Ontario (over 8%), Calgary (over 7%)

• Cities that are definitely worth looking at include Regina (just over 4%), Saskatoon and Winnipeg (5.8%) and Victoria (5.9%)

• Growth in jobs has been in the private sector, in particular services, with jobs being created in retail, trade and building services, and in the public sector in healthcare. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t jobs elsewhere; it just means that most of the growth has been in these areas

• This means, too, that most of the growth in jobs will have been in lower-paying and perhaps part-time opportunities


Canada is not out of the recession yet and, as economists point out, may yet experience a reversal of this positive trend later in the year. Its economy is currently growing faster than most industrialised countries, but that doesn’t mean that everything is rosy just yet. If you’re planning on completing your move to Canada in the next six months, research carefully to ensure that your destination of choice is not in an unemployment blackspot and that there are jobs in your field in the province or city you intend to move to. And be prepared to be flexible – if you arrive and settle and discover that you can’t find work in the location you’ve settled in, be prepared to move to where the work is. The more flexible you are, the better chance you have of finding a good job.

For an analysis of current unemployment data and trends: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/private-sector-fuels-surge-in-jobs/article1633942/

To see current unemployment rates by province and principal cities and how these have changed from last month: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/where-the-jobs-are/article1633981/

Over this last weekend, the rules for applying for Federal Skilled Worker were amended again. The main changes are as follows:

• The list of in-demand occupations – the former NOC 38 – has been changed. It now contains 29 occupations. Twenty have been removed, and eleven have been added

• There will be a cap on the number of applications considered under this program within FSW, both overall (20,000) and for each occupation (1000). Note: I am not clear from the announcement whether this is in total or per visa office

• All FSW applicants, no matter what their country of origin, must now submit the results of a language test, either English or French

The press release of the Minister’s announcement can be seen here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2010/2010-06-26.asp

The new NOC list can be seen here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who-instructions.asp

The change in the NOC list is as follows:

OCCUPATIONS NO LONGER ON THE LIST:
0111: Financial Managers
0213: Computer and Information Systems Managers
0311: Managers in Health Care
0632: Accommodation Service Managers
0711: Construction Managers
1111: Financial Auditors and Accountants
2113: Geologists, Geochemists and Geophysicists
2143: Mining Engineers
2144: Geological Engineers
2145: Petroleum Engineers
3141: Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists
3143: Occupational Therapists
3151: Head Nurses and Supervisors
4121: University Professors
4131: College and Other Vocational Instructors
7213: Contractors and Supervisors, Pipefitting Trades
7217: Contractors and Supervisors, Heavy Construction Equipment Crews
7252: Steamfitters, Pipe fitters and Sprinkler System Installers
8221: Supervisors, Mining and Quarrying
9212: Supervisors, Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Processing and Utilities


If you intend to be a primary applicant and your experience is in one of these occupations, you will now need a job offer if you cannot apply under a different occupation or your partner’s occupation is not on the new list.


OCCUPATIONS ADDED TO THE LIST:
0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists
2151 Architects
3113 Dentists
3131 Pharmacists
3222 Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists
4151 Psychologists
4152 Social Workers
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades

These are the eleven new occupations – in other words, these occupations were not previously eligible for Federal Skilled Worker processing without a job offer. They now are, providing you also score 67 points on the self-assessment.

For the sake of completeness, here is the full NEW list of 29 occupations eligible for FSW without a job offer:

NEW LIST OF 29 IN-DEMAND OCCUPATIONS:
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers
0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists
2151 Architects
3111 Specialist Physicians
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians
3113 Dentists
3131 Pharmacists
3142 Physiotherapists
3152 Registered Nurses
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists
3222 Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses
4151 Psychologists
4152 Social Workers
6241 Chefs
6242 Cooks
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades
7241 Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System)
7242 Industrial Electricians
7251 Plumbers
7265 Welders & Related Machine Operators
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
7371 Crane Operators
7372 Drillers & Blasters - Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service


I hope this is helpful.

Among the happy stories of would-be immigrants receiving their visas and preparing to move to Canada, there are occasionally less happy stories of people already here and struggling to find work. The difficulties of finding work in Canada, especially outside the big cities such as Toronto and Vancouver, are well-known: language skills, distrust of foreign education and credentials, lack of Canadian experience, no networks, no references... and more.

I've given lots of advice on job-searching while I've been a member of this forum, but now I'm going to say something I should have said a long time ago: don't come to Canada as a new immigrant without making sure that you know EXACTLY what you're likely to be facing.

Do you know whether there are jobs in your field in Canada?

Do you know what qualifications are needed for those jobs?

Do you know where in Canada there is demand for your skills? (Don't move somewhere there isn't!)

Can you survive for a minimum of six months without a job? (And have you researched the cost of living in your destination city, and factored in setup costs?)

Have you already researched where you can get help in your destination city - settlement agencies, libraries, community centres, free employment counselling and preparation services, mentorship programs, local community groups for your nationality?

If you have to spend your first few months finding out all this stuff, then that's money down the drain. Hit the ground running by having all this research done before you come, so that you can make the right connections to get your job-search properly under way in your first month - having learned how to do it the way Canadian employers expect, which is rarely the same way as any of us has been used to. That applies to me too: I came to Canada from the UK, and I had to completely relearn resumes, cover letters, interview skills and networking. I wasted six months looking for work the 'wrong' way, but as soon as I learned how to do it the Canadian way suddenly I was getting interviews.

Here's one resource that might help, at least just to inform you: Daisy Wright, a career specialist and also (some years ago) a newcomer to Canada herself, has a book called No Canadian Experience, Eh? (http://www.nocanadianexperience-eh.com/). I have a copy of that book in my office, and I've occasionally recommended it to clients. Wright *gets* it. She knows what it's like and she tells it honestly, but with plenty of really good advice. It might be the best $20 you've ever spent.

Good luck on your journeys, and I hope that each and every one of you will be successful.

In a report generated by the Toronto Board of Trade, a Stats Canada study is summarized noting the following facts about the employment prospects for new immigrants:

- The average hourly wage of an immigrant with the same or better qualifications than their Canadian counterpart is 10% lower.
- As of 2008, immigrants aged 25-54 with college degrees earned 20% less than their Canadian-born counterparts (even though on average they were both younger and more educated)
- Research showed that 40% of new immigrants to Canada are forced to make a downward step in their career paths
- Less than half of internationally trained immigrants were working in their field.
- Three times as many individuals (37%) we unemployed or under-employed than those trained in Canada (11%)
- Relative incomes for newcomers are falling
- Chronic low income occurs at a rate 250% higher than in Canadian-born populations

These are sober figures for anyone seeking to immigrate to Canada to pursue a professional career.

Read the full report: "Lifting All Boats: Promoting Social Cohesion and Economic Inclusion in the Toronto Region" here - http://www.bot.com/Content/NavigationMenu/Policy/VoteToronto2010/PromotingSocialCohesion/Lifting_all_Boats_FINAL.pdf

Follow The Expatriate Mind at: http://expatriatemind.blogspot.com

I’ve been working with newcomers to Canada on a daily basis for a few years now, and while some are very prepared, some are less so. Many of them have told me that they wish they’d known some of the things I tell them during our meeting before leaving their home countries. Maybe this list will save you some time and money – I hope so.


1: Go to your college or university and get at least one, preferably two, copies of your academic transcript, in a SEALED envelope with the university stamp on it. Have someone from the university sign across the seal. These are an important part of evaluating your education and it’s a lot easier to get them before you leave than arrange to have them sent once you’re in Canada.

2: Learn about your occupation in Canada. Job titles can be different; job responsibilities can be different. Start with the National Occupational Classification website – it’s not only useful for your immigration application. Find your occupation and study it, because that summarises the main responsibilities expected in Canada. It may include more than would be expected of you, but you can use job postings to narrow things down.

So research job postings as well – you’ll find them on sites like Monster and Workopolis and on aggregators like wowjobs.com, eluta.ca, indeed.ca and on this site’s job-search tool. It doesn’t matter where the jobs are, though it’s sensible to focus on the province or provinces you intend to settle in. Look to see what skills employers want, and compare these with your own skill-set.

3: Understand the differences between your job as performed where you are now and in Canada. There may be codes or regulations you need to know. If there is additional Canada-specific industry knowledge required, start learning it. If you’re an accountant, then what is the tax regime and what are the accounting regulations? If you’re an engineer or in construction, what are the building codes? And so on and so on. It’s more than just this, though. There may be environmental differences which affect how work is performed; for example, construction codes have to take into account the extremes of Canadian winters, and oil extraction takes place in some very cold parts of Canada, making the work quite different from extraction in the Middle East. If you’re in trading, import/export and so on, who are Canada’s main trading partners, as compared to the countries you may have been used to dealing with. Employers will expect you to be aware of the differences and to be familiar with Canadian practice. This is all research you can do before you leave your home country.

4: Establish whether there is demand for your skills. Labour market conditions vary widely, between countries and between parts of Canada. For example, due to falling birth rates in Canada there is little demand for teachers – which surprises many internationally-trained teachers I meet, but it shouldn’t. Five minutes on Google would have told them this. There is a lot of demand in the health professions – once you’re licensed. Civil engineering is not in demand in Ontario, but is in some of the western provinces. Study job postings. Look at what part of the country has more frequent postings for certain types of job. If you can’t find job postings in your field, you could be looking in the wrong place (for example, education jobs are rarely posted on the general job boards), or perhaps there really is no demand. If you’re not sure, ask in the Lounge whether anyone can help you with your labour market research.

Location in Canada really does matter – I once met a marine fish specialist who was looking for work in London, Ontario. London is in the middle of a land mass, about a thousand miles away from the nearest Canadian ocean shoreline. I’ve met an oil trader also looking for work in London. Unsurprisingly, there isn’t any.

5: Understand your accomplishments, and be prepared to talk about them. This sounds simple, but I’ve lost count of the clients I’ve asked to tell me about what they did in their job and who haven’t been able to. Simply saying ‘I’m an accountant’ isn’t enough. What kind of company do you work for? A consultancy, or as an in-house accountant? What’s the company turnover? Do you do annual accounts, tax returns, payroll, fraud checks? What’s the largest amount of money you saved your company? That’s what employers in Canada want to hear about, and it’s much easier to think through these while you’re still doing your job.

6: Are any additional qualifications or certifications required to do your job in Canada, or in your province of choice? (I’ll come to regulated professions separately). If you’re in IT, are industry certifications needed? If you’re in banking, what licences are required? What do you need to work in skilled trades? Are the requirements provincial, or the same across Canada? Are you prepared to spend some time gaining these licences or certifications after you arrive? Do you know how you can get them?

7: If you’re in a regulated profession (doctor, lawyer, engineer, accountant, teacher, early childhood educator and so on – Ontario has 38 regulated professions, and it's similar in other provinces), then familiarise yourself with licensing requirements in your province of choice. Are you willing to put yourself through that process, knowing it could take anything from a year to five years – depending on the profession – to complete and be licensed to work in your field? Is it possible to take any of the exams before you leave your country? You can if you’re a physician, and that will save you a lot of time and stress – imagine studying for Medical Council of Canada exams while you’re still settling into a new country and living on your savings. Connect with advisory agencies which can help you – in Ontario, Global Experience Ontario for non-health regulated professions (http://www.ontarioimmigration.ca/en/geo/index.htm) and Health Force Ontario’s Access Centre for Internationally-Educated Health Professions otherwise (http://www.healthforceontario.ca/Jobs/AccessCentre.aspx). If you’re heading for south-west Ontario – Kitchener/Waterloo and all points west – and in a regulated profession, contact the Access Centre for Regulated Employment (http://www.accesscentre.ca) for one-to-one assistance.

8: Research Canadian-style resumes and cover letters. I wrote a blog on these some time ago (http://www.loonlounge.com/community/blogs/view/199/), and you’ll also find help on Monster.ca’s resume centre. Again, employers want to know your accomplishments, so focus on these in your highlights section and under each job you’ve held. Education is at the end of your resume, because it’s the least important item. You’re expected to have education, but once you have it employers are interested in your accomplishments and the jobs you’ve held. They’ll glance to see what your degree is in (and whether they think it’s Canadian-equivalent) but only after they’ve decided whether they’re interested enough in you to interview you.

9: Build a profile on LinkedIn, if you haven’t already. Make sure that it’s all in English, and that it’s complete, including photograph. Join groups related to your occupation, and related to the geographic location you intend to settle in. I wrote a blog on using LinkedIn effectively some time ago (http://www.loonlounge.com/community/blogs/view/482/) – check it out.

10: Find out where you can get help when you arrive. There are settlement and immigrant-serving employment advice agencies all over Canada. You might think you don’t need their help, but remember that these agencies can assist with getting your academic credentials evaluated (possibly financially), with reviewing your resume and cover letter – free advice! – and with connecting you with local employers. Some have either volunteer or paid work experience programs. The sooner you connect with sources of help after you arrive, the sooner you’ll be on your way to success.


Good luck on your journeys, and if you have questions feel free to ask via private message - the blog feature doesn't allow for replies to comments.

Now, bear in mind this story appears in a newspaper, not on any official website. And it's in the Toronto Star, in addition. That said, this story claims that Citizenship and Immigration is reviewing the rules concerning approved job offers to immigrants - for temporary work permits and arranged employment. Specifically, potentially stopping very small companies, allegedly the most likely to make fraudulent job offers, from having job offers approved under the work permit and arranged employment programs.

The story is here:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/639469

A key extract:

~~~ Currently, a candidate's immigration application can proceed only after Service Canada has assessed a Canadian employer to verify its labour needs. An employer with even one employee may qualify.

The sources said Ottawa wants to limit the program to employers that have at least five employees and $2.5 million in annual revenues and have been five years in business.

Immigration and Service Canada officials "are working to improve the program, including the establishment of monitoring and compliance measures to increase protections for workers and help ensure employers meet their obligations under the program," said Immigration spokesperson Danielle Norris.

~~~ end extract

Remember, thus far it's rumour and hearsay. Also, the article is talking about federal rules, not provincial PNPs. But, for what it's worth, that's today's immigration rumour.