Canada has launched an updated International Education Strategy, focusing on expanding new student markets, supporting industries in Canada and increasing the outbound mobility of Canadian students.
Under the International Education Strategy 2019-2024, CAN$147.9 million has been allocated to increase the attractiveness of Canada through promotion, new markets, scholarships and smoother visa processing, as well as to boost the ratio of Canadians studying overseas.
Introducing the strategy last week, Minister of International Trade Diversification, Jim Carr, said, “Our government is ensuring that Canadian businesses have the talent they need to compete internationally, so they can create good jobs right here at home. Canada is a leader in international education, and our new strategy will strengthen our trade diversification efforts, boost our innovation capacity, promote closer people-to-people ties and foster a vibrant Canadian economy.”
Canada is aiming to diversify markets with its new International Education Strategy.
The Canadian government said that China and India currently constitute half of all international students in Canada, and that it was necessary to diversify and reduce dependence on these two source countries.
A CAN$24.1 million digital marketing strategy has been planned to recruit more international students from a wider pool of countries and to “address regional and demographic gaps” in Canada.
The initial target countries for the campaign are: Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Morocco, Turkey, France and the Ukraine. The government said that it will adjust the scope of target countries regularly, based on the needs of provinces, associations, institutions and statistical analysis.
With regards to China and India, the focus will be on in-country diversification to attract students from different regions and to different levels of study. The government said the campaign would raise the profile of regions, French language programmes and courses that traditionally attract fewer international students.
The government will build on the EduCanada brand, and that the Trade Commissioner Service will intensity its efforts with better training for commissioners on promoting Canada’s education sector, more international recruitment fairs and a larger Canadian presence at signature international events in the sector.
A further CAN$1 million has been allocated to expanding the Student Direct Stream, an expedited visa service that Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) currently operates in China, Vietnam, India, the Philippines and will soon commence in Pakistan.
Other elements of the strategy to support the promotion of Canada as a study destination include CAN$5 million of funding for additional scholarships for international students, and a CAN$18 million project to modernise immigration forms and processes.
The distribution of study permit holders in Canada in 2018. Source - Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) said in a statement, “CBIE is pleased that the strategy will continue to build on making Canada a top destination for learning by diversifying the countries from which students come to Canada, improving immigration processes and increasing support to Canadian education institutions to grow their partnership opportunities abroad.”
Photo - Johny Goerend. Main pic - Scott Webb. Both www.unsplash.com.
Across all educational levels, there were a record 720,000 international students in Canada in 2018, according to Minister Carr, providing a contribution of CAN$21.6 billion to the economy.
Another major element of the updated strategy is to increase the number of Canadian students heading overseas, including through an Outbound Student Mobility pilot which will provide scholarships of between CAN$5,000 and CAN$10,000 for up to 11,000 students to study or work abroad, with half of the funding allocated to underrepresented groups.
Welcoming the focus on outbound mobility, Paul Davidson, President of Universities Canada, said, “Study abroad changes lives. The new Outbound Student Mobility pilot is significant news for young Canadians, and for Canada.
"Canada’s universities look forward to working with our partners in government and the higher education sector to enable more students, from all backgrounds, to participate in global mobility experiences.”
At the time of writing, CAN$1 = US$0.76.
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