Canada seeks foreign tech workers The number of available jobs is expected to increase by about 100,000 over the next several years

An immigration system that favors tech workers. An exchange rate that puts the Canadian dollar almost at parity with its U.S. counterpart - Canada's strategy to grow its economy is working. And it's a strategy that is very dependent on foreign workers.

The economy in British Columbia is growing by as much as 4.5% a year, with technology being the fastest-growing sector. The province's total workforce is now at about 2.3 million people, and it's predicted that over the next 12 years, there will be approximately 1 million job vacancies in British Columbia -- half the result of retirements, and the other half due to the creation of new jobs.

But over that same 12-year period, the province's secondary schools are expected to graduate a total of about 650,000 students. On the very face of it, there will be short 350,000 workers, which will have to come through immigration.

The Canadian government has specific programs for quickly bringing high-tech workers with certain skills into the country, a process that can take two to eight weeks.

The government recognizes that these people don't exist within Canada. If an employer is seeking a worker who has a specific set of skills, education and work experience and will be paid a salary on par with what Canadians earn, a foreigner can successfully get a work permit. Unlike the annual cap on the number of H-1B visas issued in the U.S., there is no numerical limit on foreign workers entering Canada.

Microsoft, which is been a vocal critic of the H-1B program's restrictions, announced that it plans to open the development center in Vancouver -- a mere 150 miles from the company's Seattle-area headquarters. The software vendor said it decided to set up the Vancouver facility, which is due to open in the fall, partly to help it "recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by immigration issues in the U.S."

Canada is becoming more and more attractive to companies such as Microsoft for more reasons than its immigration policies alone.

One thing that's helping Canada retain jobs and create new ones is the fact that the Canadian dollar now is trading at about 96 cents to the U.S. dollar -- much higher than in years past.

Canadians also hope that the country's quality of life adds appeal. Canada offers national health insurance, a good university system and much lower crime levels.

In addition, Canada has become far more receptive to immigration than the U.S. is. In 2006, nearly 1.3 million foreigners became permanent residents of the U.S. But Canada -- with a total population that is only about one-tenth the number of U.S. residents -- has been accepting about 250,000 new permanent residents annually.

In the technology sector, such immigration is needed to fill new jobs. It's estimated that there are about 620,000 high-tech workers in Canada. The number of available jobs is expected to increase by about 100,000 over the next several years. But Canadian universities graduate only about 15,000 students with tech skills annually, short of what is required.

Employees who are brought in for temporary work can usually get permanent residency. When you have a job in Canada, that's a pretty fair indication to the immigration department that you are of value to the country.

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Immigration Fast Track for Students in Canada Point system to check qualification

A programme that allows international students to work for up to three years after graduation just might increase Canada's recruitment competitiveness. Employment of that duration puts them on an immigration fast track.

The Canadian Post-Graduation Work Permit Program has already proved popular and is attracting a flood of applications. International students, immigration advocates, student advisers and universities have long called for more attractive post-graduation working conditions and welcomed the scheme.

This had definitely made Canada more competitive, said Anna Done Choudhury, an international student adviser at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.

Choudhury said that allowing students to work three years after graduation "has closed the gap between international students and Canada wanting qualified immigrants". Having taught immigration studies, she said many students who previously wanted to increase their eligibility for permanent residency had to go to the US to work and then return to Canada to apply.

Canada uses a points system in deciding who best qualifies to be a citizen and a simple university degree, without post graduation work in Canada, earns few points. The new programme takes those who have worked during the post-graduation period out of the points system and either passes or fails them although an overwhelming number, more than 95%, have passed.

According to the 2009 Survey of International Students, released at the Canadian Bureau for International Education conference in Toronto last week, half the students surveyed said post-graduation work opportunities in Canada were an important factor in choosing to study in the country.

The same number said they planned to work in Canada after they graduated. An even larger number, almost three in four students, cited the work opportunities as an important reason. In 2008, 18,000 work permits were issued by the government, a 63% increase on the year before.

In a session at the CBIE conference, Citizen and Immigration Canada's Jorge Aceytuno told delegates introduction of the postgraduate work programme had led to the interest in work permits. Aceytuno said his ministry would like to see a large increase in work permits as a result of the programme.

Bureau Vice-President Jennifer Humphries agreed there was now more than just a university choice for international students interested in studying in Canada. People were looking at the potential for career advancement for their education. If they had three years of work after graduation, this looked better on their resumes, Humphries said.

Part of the rationale for introducing the programme was probably playing catch-up with recruiters from England and Australia which have similar schemes, as well as to gain an edge over the US whose postgraduate work programme is not as liberal.

Choudhury's colleague Lise Pedersen was also relieved to see the programme, saying it helped not only in getting students some employment after graduation but also gave them more opportunity during their studies.

Even though the government had earlier introduced a scheme that allowed students to work off campus, Pedersen said employers were sometimes reluctant to hire international students for co-op programmes because of their lack of future availability for what might turn into a permanent position.

Now, she said, they knew the student could work not only up to three years following graduation but also they were likely to become a Canadian citizen.

External link: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20091113142434988

Source:Career-journal.com