Group items tagged

Occupation starting with Letter: C 7272 Cabinetmakers 7247 Cable Television Service and Maintenance Technicians 3217 Cardiology Technologists and Electrophysiological Diagnostic Technologists, n.e.c. 7271 Carpenters 9231 Central Control and Process Operators, Mineral and Metal Processing 6321 Chefs 2134 Chemical Engineers 2211 Chemical Technologists and Technicians 2112 Chemists 3122 Chiropractors 2231 Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians 2131 Civil Engineers 6315 Cleaning Supervisors 5252 Coaches 4021 College and Other Vocational Instructors 0433 Commissioned Officers of the Canadian Forces 0431 Commissioned Police Officers 4212 Social and Community Service Workers 0213 Computer and Information Systems Managers 2281 Computer Network Technicians 2147 Computer Engineers (Except Software Engineers and Designers) 2174 Computer Programmers and Interactive Media Developers 7282 Concrete Finishers 5132 Conductors, Composers and Arrangers 1226 Conference and Event Planners 2224 Conservation and Fishery Officers 5112 Conservators and Curators 2234 Construction Estimators 2264 Construction Inspectors 0711 Construction Managers 7311 Construction Millwrights and Industrial Mechanics 7204 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 7202 Contractors and Supervisors, Electrical Trades and Telecommunications 7302 Contractors and Supervisors, Heavy Equipment Operator Crews 7301 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 7201 Contractors and Supervisors, Metal Forming, Shaping and Erecting Trades and Related Occupations 7205 Contractors and Supervisors, Other Construction Trades, Installers, Repairers 7203 Contractors and Supervisors, Pipefitting Trades

6322 Cooks 1227 Court Officers and Justices of the Peace 1251 Court Reporters, Medical Transcriptionists and Related Occupations 7371 Crane Operators 1315 Customs, Ship and Other Brokers

Occupation starting with Letter: D 5134 Dancers 2172 Database Analysts and Data Administrators 2273 Deck Officers, Water Transport 3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 3223 Dental Technologists, Technicians and Laboratory Assistants 3113 Dentists 3221 Denturists 3132 Dietitians and Nutritionists 2253 Drafting Technologists and Technicians 7372 Drillers and Blasters - Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 6316 Other Services Supervisors (Dry Cleaner Supervisor) Occupation starting with Letter: E 4214 Early Childhood Educators and Assistants 4162 Economists and Economic Policy Researchers and Analysts 5122 Editors 4166 Education Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers 4033 Educational Counsellors 7332 (Electrical) Appliance Servicers and Repairers 2241 Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technologists and Technicians 2133 Electrical and Electronics Engineers 7333 Electrical Mechanics 7244 Electrical Power Line and Cable Workers 7241 Electricians (Except Industrial and Power System) 3217 Electrophysiological Diagnostic Technologists and Cardiology Technologists 2242 Electronic Service Technicians (Household and Business Equipment) 7318 Elevator Constructors and Mechanics 4156 Employment Counsellors 2274 Engineer Officers, Water Transport 2262 Engineering Inspectors and Regulatory Officers 0211 Engineering Managers 1222 Executive Assistants 6312 Executive Housekeepers

Occupation starting with Letter: F 0714 Facility Operation and Maintenance Managers 4153 Family, Marriage and Other Related Counsellors 8252 Farm Supervisors and Specialized Livestock Workers 0811 Managers in Agriculture 5222 Film and Video Camera Operators 1112 Financial and Investment Analysts 1111 Financial Auditors and Accountants 0111 Financial Managers 1114 Financial Officers (other) 0432 Fire Chiefs and Senior Firefighting Officers 4312 Firefighters 8261 Fishing Masters and Officers 8262 Fishermen/women 7295 Floor Covering Installers 6311 Food Service Supervisors 2122 Forestry Professionals 2223 Forestry Technologists and Technicians 6346 Funeral Directors and Embalmers

Occupation starting with Letter: G 7253 Gas Fitters 2212 Geological and Mineral Technologists and Technicians 2144 Geological Engineers 2113 Geoscientists and Oceanographers 7292 Glaziers 0412 Government Managers - Economic Analysis, Policy Development 0413 Government Managers - Education Policy Development and Program Administration 0411 Government Managers - Health and Social Policy Development and Program Administration 6221 Technical Sales Specialists - Wholesale Trade 5223 Graphic Arts Technicians 5241 Graphic Designers and Illustrators Occupation starting with Letter: H 6341 Hairstylists and Barbers 3011 Nursing Co-ordinators and Supervisors 4165 Health Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers 7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 0112 Human Resources Managers Occupation starting with Letter: I 1228 Immigration, Employment Insurance, Border Services and Revenue Officers 2141 Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers 2252 Industrial Designers 7242 Industrial Electricians 2233 Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing Technologists and Technicians 2243 Industrial Instrument Technicians and Mechanics 2171 Information Systems Analysts and Consultants 2263 Inspectors in Public and Environmental Health and Occupational Health and Safety 4216 Instructors (other) 4215 Instructors of Persons with Disabilities 7293 Insulators 1312 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 6231 Insurance Agents and Brokers 1313 Insurance Underwriters 0121 Insurance, Real Estate and Financial Brokerage Managers 5242 Interior Designers and Interior Decorators 7236 Ironworkers Occupation starting with Letter: J 6344 Jewellers, Watch Repairers and Related Occupations 5123 Journalists 4111 Judges 1227 Justices of the Peace and Court Officers

Occupation starting with Letter:L 2254 Land Survey Technologists and Technicians 2154 Land Surveyors 2225 Landscape and Horticultural Technicians and Specialists 2152 Landscape Architects 8255 Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance Contractors and Managers 4112 Lawyers and Quebec Notaries 1242 Legal Administrative Assistants 0011 Legislators 5111 Librarians 5211 Library and Public Archive Technicians 0511 Library, Archive, Museum and Art Gallery Managers 3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 6235 Financial Sales Representative 8241 Logging Machinery Operators Occupation starting with Letter: M 7316 Machine Fitters 7231 Machinists and Machining and Tooling Inspectors 0512 Managers - Publishing, Motion Pictures, Broadcasting and Performing Arts 0311 Managers in Health Care 0414 Managers in Public Administration (other) 0423 Managers in Social, Community and Correctional Services 0911 Manufacturing Managers 2255 Technical occupations in Geomatics and Meteorology 2161 Mathematicians, Statisticians and Actuaries 2232 Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians 2132 Mechanical Engineers 3212 Medical Laboratory Technicians and Pathologists Assistants 3211 Medical Laboratory Technologists 3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 1243 Medical Administrative Assistants 3216 Medical Sonographers 3219 Medical Technologists and Technicians (other - except Dental Health) 2142 Metallurgical and Materials Engineers 2213 Technical Occupations in Geomatics and Meteorology 2114 Meteorologists and Climatologists 3232 Practitioners of Natural Healing 2143 Mining Engineers 4154 Professional Occupations in Religion 5226 Motion Pictures, Broadcasting (other Technical and Co-ordinating Occupations) 7322 Motor Vehicle Body Repairers 7334 Motorcycle, All-terrain Vehicle and Other Related Mechanics 5212 Museums and Art Galleries (related Technical Occupations) 5133 Musicians and Singers

Occupation starting with Letter: N 4161 Natural and Applied Science Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers 2261 Non-destructive Testers and Inspectors 0822 Managers in Horticulture

Occupation starting with Letter: O 3143 Occupational Therapists 8232 Oil and Gas Well Drillers, Servicers, Testers and Related Workers 7331 Oil and Solid Fuel Heating Mechanics 3231 Opticians 3121 Optometrists Occupation starting with Letter:P 7294 Painters and Decorators (except Interior Decorators) 5136 Painters, Sculptors and Other Visual Artists 9433 Papermaking and Finishing Machine Operators 4211 Paralegal and Related Occupations 5245 Patternmakers - Textile, Leather and Fur Products 5232 Performers (other) 1223 Personnel and Recruitment Officers 2145 Petroleum Engineers 9232 Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Process Operators 3131 Pharmacists 5221 Photographers 2115 Physical Sciences (Other Professional Occupations) 3112 Physicians - General Practitioners and Family Physicians 3111 Physicians - Specialist 2111 Physicists and Astronomers 3142 Physiotherapists 7252 Pipefitters 7284 Plasterers, Drywall Installers and Finishers and Lathers 7251 Plumbers 6261 Police Officers (Except Commissioned) 0132 Postal and Courier Services Managers 4122 Post-Secondary Teaching and Research Assistants 7243 Power System Electricians 7352 Power Systems and Power Station Operators 0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture) 7381 Printing Press Operators 4155 Probation and Parole Officers and Related Occupations 5131 Producers, Directors, Choreographers and Related Occupations 2148 Professional Engineers, n.e.c. (other) 1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 5124 Professional Occupations in Public Relations and Communications 4121 Professors - University 5254 Program Leaders and Instructors in Recreation and Sport 4168 Program Officers Unique to Government 1224 Property Administrators 4151 Psychologists 9233 Pulping Control Operators 1225 Purchasing Agents and Officers 0113 Purchasing Managers

Occupation starting with Letter: R 7361 Railway and Yard Locomotive Engineers 7314 Railway Carmen/women 7362 Railway Conductors and Brakemen/women 2275 Railway Traffic Controllers and Marine Traffic Regulators 6232 Real Estate Agents and Salespersons 0513 Recreation and Sports Program and Service Directors 4167 Recreation, Sports and Fitness Program Supervisors Consultants 7313 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanics 3152 Registered Nurses 4217 Religious Occupations (other) 0712 Residential Home Builders and Renovators 3214 Respiratory Therapists, Clinical Perfusionists and Cardio-Pulmonary Technologists 0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 6233 Retail and Wholesale Buyers 0621 Retail Trade Managers 6211 Retail Trade Supervisors 7291 Roofers and Shinglers

Occupation starting with Letter: S 0611 Sales, Marketing and Advertising Managers 0313 School Principals and Administrators of Elementary and Secondary 1241 Secretaries (Except Legal and Medical) 1113 Securities Agents, Investment Dealers and Brokers 0012 Senior Government Managers and Officials 0013 Senior Managers - Financial, Communications and Other Business 0016 Senior Managers - Goods Production, Utilities, Transportation and Construction 0014 Senior Managers - Health, Education, Social and Community 0015 Senior Managers - Trade, Broadcasting and Other Services, n.e.c. 6216 Service Supervisors (other) 0651 Services Managers (other) 7261 Sheet Metal Workers 7343 Shoe Repairers and Shoemakers 7335 Small Engine and Equipment Mechanics (other) 4164 Social Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers 4169 Social Science, n.e.c. (Other Professional Occupations) 4152 Social Workers 2173 Software Engineers 1121 Specialists in Human Resources 5253 Sports Officials and Referees 7252 Sprinkler System Installers 7351 Stationary Engineers and Auxiliary Equipment Operators 7252 Steamfitters, Pipefitters and Sprinkler System Installers 7263 Structural Metal and Platework Fabricators and Fitters 9223 Supervisors, Electrical Products Manufacturing 9222 Supervisors, Electronics Manufacturing 9225 Supervisors, Fabric, Fur and Leather Products Manufacturing 1212 Supervisors, Finance and Insurance Clerks 9213 Supervisors, Food, Beverage and Tobacco Processing 9215 Supervisors, Forest Products Processing 9224 Supervisors, Furniture and Fixtures Manufacturing 1211 Supervisors, General Office and Administrative Support Clerks 8256 Supervisors, Landscape and Horticulture 1213 Supervisors, Library, Correspondence and Related Information Clerks

8211 Supervisors, Logging and Forestry 7211 Supervisors, Machinists and Related Occupations 1214 Supervisors, Mail and Message Distribution Occupations 9211 Supervisors, Mineral and Metal Processing 8221 Supervisors, Mining and Quarrying 7222 Supervisors, Motor Transport and Other Ground Transit Operators 9221 Supervisors, Motor Vehicle Assembling 8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 9226 Supervisors, Other Mechanical and Metal Products Manufacturing 9227 Supervisors, Other Products Manufacturing and Assembly 9212 Supervisors, Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Processing and Utilities 9214 Supervisors, Plastic and Rubber Products Manufacturing 7218 Supervisors, Printing and Related Occupations 7221 Supervisors, Railway Transport Operations 1215 Supervisors, Recording, Distributing and Scheduling Occupations 9216 Supervisors, Textile Processing 5227 Support Occupations in Motion Pictures, Broadcasting and the Performing Arts 2283 Systems Testing Technicians

Occupation starting with Letter: T 7342 Tailors, Dressmakers, Furriers and Milliners 4142 Teachers - Elementary School and Kindergarten 4141 Teachers - Secondary School 6221 Technical Sales Specialists - Wholesale Trade 0131 Telecommunication Carriers Managers 7246 Telecommunications Installation and Repair Workers 7245 Telecommunications Line and Cable Workers 7317 Textile Machinery Mechanics and Repairers 5243 Theatre, Fashion, Exhibit and Other Creative Designers 3144 Therapy and Assessment (Other Professional Occupations) 3235 Therapy and Assessment (other Technical Occupations) 7283 Tilesetters 7232 Tool and Die Makers 7383 Trades and Related Occupations (other) 5125 Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters 0713 Transportation Managers

Occupation starting with Letter: U 8231 Underground Production and Development Miners 7341 Upholsterers 2153 Urban and Land Use Planners 2282 User Support Technicians 0912 Utilities Managers Occupation starting with Letter: V 3114 Veterinarians 3213 Veterinary and Animal Health Technologists and Technicians Occupation starting with Letter: W 7373 Water Well Drillers 2175 Web Designers and Developers 7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators

All existing PNP streams for lower-skilled workers require nominees to first become temporary workers admitted into the province through one of the federal TFWP streams and to work under a temporary permit for a minimum time period before they are eligible to apply as a nominee (6 and 9 months are common). Other program steams for higher-skilled workers allow nominees to be recruited form outside Canada and to arrive directly without first applying through the TFWPs.[lx]

A second common feature of PNPs is that they, like the TFWPs, are essentially employer-driven and thus reflect strongly the interests and demands of influential private actors.  Employers directly generate the demand for foreign workers, sometimes participate actively in developing specific PNPs, and invariably exert a high degree of practical control over nominee recruitment and selection processes.

PNPs to provide access to permanent immigrants whose employment skills are specifically selected to meet these labour requirements is clearly attractive to businesses. PNP immigration processes also tend to be much faster compared to those at the federal level, closing the sometimes-lengthy gap in time between the point at which employers identify labour needs and the point when workers are actually available to fill these positions. PNPs may also allow employers to bypass the federal LMO requirements under certain conditions, which is significant since employers have expressed some frustrations with the time and resources they need to devote to fulfill these requirements.[lxv]

[t]he PNP and the TFW Program are popular with some larger employers but often prove too costly for smaller ones to adopt.”[lxvi] Large businesses can more easily afford the significant administrative costs that can attach to recruiting, transporting, re-settling, and training nominees, such that the demands of these enterprises are most likely to dominate nominee programs

recent example, Maple Leaf Foods spent an estimated $7,000 per worker to employ individuals in their Brandon, Manitoba processing plant, bringing them to Canada initially through a TFWP and subsequently nominating them for permanent residency through the Manitoba PNP.[lxvii]

the federal-provincial agreements on immigration with Ontario and Alberta contain annexes that provide provincial governments and employers with greater flexibility in assessing labour market needs, without requiring input from HRSDC in the form of an LMO

Ontario and Alberta annexes explicitly recognize that pursuant to s. 204(c) of the IRPR, CIC is authorized to issue a temporary work permit without requiring a prospective employer to seek an LMO if requested to do so by the province

Under these sub-agreements, Ontario and Alberta agree to establish procedures and criteria to govern this authority, and to provide annual estimates of the number of temporary work permits issued by this route

A few critics of the TFWPs and PNPs in Canada have pointed out the overriding problem of employer control both in the policy-setting realm and in the actual workplace. Their criticisms raise concerns about effects on national immigration policy, on labour protection policies, on the realization of actual protections for vulnerable workers, or as some combination of these

[s]ome argue that letting employers choose who enters is against all the principles that have shaped Canada as an immigration country

Alboim and Maytree target the devolution of decision-making and program development from the federal government to the provinces and private interests, resulting in fragmentation of immigration priorities and procedures

Others have focused specifically on the fact the PNPs bind foreign workers closely to employers, exacerbating rather than relieving some of the real insecurities that figure prominently in the TFWPs

Some proponents of existing PNP models have countered that the problems associated with employer control over economic immigration are overstated and maintain that market-based incentives will effectively penalize abusive employers. These parties believe that economic immigrants will be attracted to responsible employers, such that employers will have adequate incentives to place voluntary restraints on formal and informal bargaining power.

But this argument rests on the dubious assumption that information about employer practices is readily available and that it will be accessible by temporary foreign workers – who, as discussed below, face significant barriers related to language, education, cultural, and access to support services. Without this information, so-called “reputation effects” are unlikely to place serious restraints on employers’ actions

Overall, it is generally clear that implicit standards of self-regulation fall well below what is necessary to protect workers, particularly in light of the broad employer discretion now inherent in existing PNP models. The main questions, taken up in the following section, are about what aspects of nominee program design premised on this discretion actually contribute to workers’ insecurities and about whether responses by governments and third-party actors can be considered sufficient to meet the resulting concerns.

Awareness and Education 5. HR Resources Online – This website will have customizeable tools on a wide range of human resource topics, and information about good practices for hiring immigrants. 6. Financial institutions provide information/education to business clients – Financial institutions will provide information to their small business clients at the time when they are most likely to be growing their business.

Communciations & Marketing 7. Corporate call – In these one-on-one visits, employer consultants can assess needs, recommend programs and services, and establish relationships with SMEs. 8. Business and industry associations – These organizations have established relationships and channels of communications with their SME members.

SMEs in our Cities Review a statistical snapshot of a local labour market and the skilled immigrant demographic in these fact sheets (PDF): Fast Facts | Calgary

Key Small Business Statistics – Find statistics about small businesses in Canada from Industry Canada.

Globe and Mail Coverage – Project connects immigrants with small businesses & An eight-point plan to get jobs for immigrants

modify the changes to the way you select economic applicants in the context of improving employment incomes,

Canada's immigration policies have increasingly focused on short-term labour market needs at the expense of longer term nation-building.

as provinces have been given more control over their immigrant intake, a national framework has fallen by the wayside

there is a lack of alignment in the immigration program between skills selection and labour market needs

Canadian Construction Association and Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, the coalition is calling on the government to invest money in colleges—and to fix the immigration system.

by 2012, immigration will account for all labour force growth in Canada, and that two-thirds of the available jobs will require post-secondary education.

We need an overhaul to get more skilled trades into Canada quickly," Mr. Charette said. "When you look at Australia, they can get in in three to four days."

Success Key to Decision

she also said the recent changes brought in by the Conservative government, which give the immigration minister full discretion over how many and what type of immigrants get in, "makes sense." With data that showed economic migrants to Australia were struggling to find work and make a decent wage, the government of the day brought in mandatory language testing and credential assessment for economic migrants before they immigrate.

In Canada, however, English-speaking migration has disappeared, she said, adding that no one has yet been able to explain why.

Australia also made it easier for international students to apply for permanent status and, by 2005, 52 per cent had applied to stay. Not only do these students pay high costs for their education, they "overwhelmingly qualified for positions," Ms. Hawthorne said.

Canada's policies have been focused on increasing temporary workers to meet labour needs, Ms. Hawthorne warned not enough attention has been paid to economic principal applicants in Canada's immigration system.

And that's what's keeping people who are the permanent kind," she said. "This is not removing migration as a source of country building...but you're picking people whose immediate work outcome is much more likely to be positive, and they're equally likely to be diverse, and they'll have better longer-term outcomes, as will their children."

workplace safety and employment standards come under provincial jurisdiction, temporary foreign workers are a federal responsibility. The federal government should therefore provide leadership and support to provinces to help them monitor and enforce the working conditions of temporary foreign workers

egulate recruitment agencies

#3: Strengthen the “labour market opinion” process.

Implement a monitoring system to follow up on employers who were issued positive labour market opinions to ensure the proper treatment of temporary workers and others in the workplace.

Between 2005 and 2008 there was a 5.7% decline in permanent residents (from 262,241 in 2005 to 247,202 in 2008) and a 37.6% increase in temporary entrants (190,724 students and temporary workers entered Canada in 2005, and 272,520 entered in 2008).

Experience in other countries has demonstrated that similar “temporary guest worker” programs have resulted in the creation of an undocumented underclass and its accompanying difficulties.

The sprawling US health care sector, for example, has only begun to implement the lean-management principles that have revolutionized manufacturing. Today, nurses still spend less than 40 percent of their time with patients and the rest on paperwork. Even sectors such as retailing, where US businesses have had a strong productivity record, could do more. One way would be to take lean practices from the stockroom to the storefront through simple changes such as adjusting employee shifts to suit changing levels of customer traffic.

Businesses can also boost productivity by thinking innovatively about goods and services they provide to their customers—and how they provide them. An office supply company, for example, could offer comprehensive, value-adding procurement services. Innovations such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, currently gaining steam in retailing, could improve supply chain productivity across a wide array of industries. Retail banks and payment companies can find new ways to serve the nearly one-quarter of Americans who are unbanked or underbanked.

The private sector can’t solve the productivity and growth challenge alone; targeted government policy changes are also critical. The federal government, with support from business, should act on economy-wide barriers that today limit growth. Policy makers should realign incentives in public and regulated sectors to expand services and should invest more resources in improving the US skill base and infrastructure.

Easing restrictions that keep older Americans out of the workforce and refining immigration rules could help reduce the growth drag that aging populations naturally impose. S

From 1995 to 2005, service sectors generated all net job growth in high-income economies and 85 percent of net new jobs in emerging economies. Low-tech green jobs in local services, such as improving building insulation and replacing obsolete heating and cooling equipment, could generate more jobs than would be created through the development of renewable technologies.

Hiring temporary foreign workers has crossed her mind, but the thought of looking into the process overwhelms her. “It seems to have a lot of government red tape. We’ve all got so much on our plates right now, we’re all maxed out.”

Adding to that is the fact that hiring temporary foreign workers is inherently a short-term solution for a problem that has far-reaching effects. Even if the construction boom tapers off after 2010, the baby boomers will still be in retiring, and Canadians still won’t be making more babies, so it seems inevitable that the issue of worker shortages will keep arising

ratio of residents aged 65 and over to those of traditional working age (18–64) will rise from 20 per cent in 2006 to 46 per cent in 2050.

report by the Canadian Bar Association says temporary foreign workers are not meeting the needs of labour-hungry employers, because time is spent getting the person trained on the job, particularly where safety is concerned, and just when they are up to speed, employers have to start all over again with new workers.

Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) President Gil McGowan says the AFL supports more permanent immigration to Canada. “Bringing in temporary workers, who are very vulnerable to abuse and exploitation is no solution,”

“Immigration policy should be about building a stronger society, not about importing cheap labour to serve the short-term needs of employers.”

Canadian Construction Association (CCA) is advocating for an expanded temporary foreign workers program for the construction industry, it also recognizes it can’t be the sole solution.

labour crisis has been like a mirror held up to the immigration system, reflecting its many flaws. Thanks to the shortsighted “points” system to immigration sales offices that falsely “recruit” immigrant professionals (see Publisher’s Note on page 3), the Canadian immigration system has lost sight of what Canada needs, how Canada works, and how to make immigration policies sophisticated and flexible enough to reflect these things.

In B.C., the provincial government is trying to do its part to fill its labour gap, partly by subsidizing the new Skills Connect for Immigrants programs that help skilled immigrants enter positions equivalent to their qualifications in such hot industries as construction, transportation, energy and tourism.

Six service providers have been chosen to administer the program, including ASPECT, Back in Motion, Camosun College, Douglas College, Multicultural Helping House Society and Surrey Delta Immigrant Services Society (SDISS).

“If immigrants move to B.C. to work in a field where there is a shortage, then we need to help them get their training and credentials recognized [through these programs],” says Minister of Economic Development Colin Hansen

Number 1 is career assessment, which includes credential and language evaluations. Number 2 is skills enhancement services. “For example, if a participant wants to go into CAD construction and wants to top up his training, we can help arrange that,” she says. Number 3 is a workplace practicum, which allows them to get a little Canadian experience.

“Although it’s not the end focus of our Arrive B.C. program, the largest gap is labourers,”

Proactive Personnel (www.proactivepersonnel.ca).

there’s a danger in allowing employers, alone, to define Canada’s immigration policy: Employers are increasingly looking for average workers, not skilled labour.

The PNP is now Canada’s second largest economic immigration program, with admissions having grown from about 8,000 immigrants in 2005 to expected admissions of 42,000 people this year. Each province and territory is responsible for the design and management of its own PNP, which must be consistent with federal immigration policy, legislation and the terms of bilateral agreements.

process of allocating nominations to employers before they select individual nominees disadvantages workers in at least two ways. First, it further discourages workers from accessing existing employment protections such as minimum employment standards in the face of employer abuses, by giving employers sole discretion to “reward” workers with nominations. Given that these nominations represent a direct path to permanent residence status in Canada, they are obviously extremely valuable to workers. As Yessy Byl, the Alberta Federation of Labour’s Temporary Foreign Worker Advocate, points out, some employers “use this program as a further excuse to exploit workers who desperately want to immigrate.

Many dangle the possibility of nomination in the AINP to ensure acquiescence to unreasonable requests such as unpaid work, additional work, etc.”[xcvi] Second, by limiting the number of allocations made to each employer, this system is likely to increase competition among workers for nominations and may even discourage employers from participating in the nominee program altogether because they regard it as arbitrary and unfair.

MPNP requires employers to notify temporary foreign workers, within their initial six months of work, that the employer intends to nominate them through the MPNP. This requirement has the advantage of minimizing worker uncertainty about their future status while they are still ineligible for nomination under provincial requirements.

further reform might be for the province to remove the six-month work requirement, making foreign workers eligible for nomination as soon as they begin work in Canada. This would at least provide the opportunity to do away with the temporary “trial period”, during which workers are arguably most vulnerable. Such a reform, however, may also serve to increase employer control ever further and calls into question the overall legitimacy of a program that gives private actors such broad scope to nominate immigrants without even basic requirements to prove their bona fides. Realistically, these challenges point to the inherent inadequacy of the TFWPs as an entry point for permanent economic immigration through an employer-driven nominee program. Palliative reforms that fail to recognize underlying problems of regulatory devolution and resulting institutional mismatch are unlikely to generate the kinds of outcomes for vulnerable foreign workers that fairness and sound economic policy-making are likely to demand.

employer beliefs that individuals from certain countries of origin are better able to perform this or that job create racialized profiles within particular sectors and industries.

Left to the sole discretion of employers, the effects of nominee selection processes in this area will likely be to ossify and entrench aspects of race and gender discrimination as part of Canada’s economic immigration system.

Employers in Manitoba, for example, have been active both in lobbying for an expanded nominee program and in developing surrounding institutions and services. 

developed a network of services for foreign workers that have been widely hailed as successful innovations – at least in those workplaces and urban environments where workers are able to take advantage of them.

Alberta’s nominee program requires employers to provide workers with in-house language training services or to arrange for provision by a third party. Likewise, the AINP obligates employers in most streams to design an accommodation and settlement plan for nominees that “demonstrate employer support and assistance toward successful integration of the workforce, community and society integration.”[cvi] While these seemingly modest requirements may appear to be positive developments in the direction of improving workers’ security and likelihood of successful settlement, the implied trend is clearly toward the devolution of support services away from the provincial government and toward private actors, the effects of which remain largely unevaluated.

There are two specific criticisms directed at this aspect of regulatory devolution. One is that obliging employers to provide essential settlement services further skews barging power to the disadvantage of workers by enmeshing their personal and family lives even more closely with authoritative decision-making processes undertaken by their employers. Jenna Hennebry has pointed out that:

Province of Manitoba disputed the original cap of 4,600 nominees. They successfully argued that the Manitoba PNP is critical to long term prosperity and population growth in Manitoba.

This resulted in over 15,000 nominees and their families moving to Manitoba in 2010. This accounted for 77 per cent of total immigrants to Manitoba. And Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, Candice Hoeppner recently announced that the Canadian Government  would continue to grant Manitoba a record amount of space in 2012.

Alberta will also receive a record amount of space in Canada's Provincial Nominee Program in 2012.

Alberta's PNP has increased almost 20-fold since 2004 – when 400 people were admitted – to over 7,000 in 2010. 23 per cent of immigrants to Alberta in 2010 came through the Alberta PNP.

Ontario PNP allows for the nomination of up to 1000 permanent residents each year. If this number seems low, it is because the Province of Ontario receives by far the largest share of immigrants through the federal government's other immigration streams. As a result, the Ontario PNP has focused on helping people who are in the process of earning an advanced degree in Ontario to obtain permanent resident status which enables them to live and work in the province indefinitely. Foreign workers and business investors may also be eligible.