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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Canada beckons to Filipinos as ‘brain drain’ hits

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Canada needs more than 250,000 foreign workers, including Filipinos, who wish to permanently work and stay in that country, according to the Department of Labor and Employment.

Canada is experiencing a sign of worker shortages in several professions including engineers, doctors and nurses, to name a few, according to a report quoting  Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander.

The report also said that Canada’s population in some provinces is shrinking, and employers are having difficulty filling their rosters with skilled help.

Paul Darby, director of the Conference Board of Canada, estimates a shortfall of 3 million skilled workers by the year 2020.

“Boosting immigration could be a very effective way of helping to ease the shortage, but there are other impediments,” Darby said.

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The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Toronto, said Canada has recently launched “Express Entry”, formerly referred to as “Expression of Interest” as the fastest and easiest way to work and stay in Canada.

Under the program, skilled workers who want to apply to Canada’s key economic immigration programs should create an online profile and express their interest in coming to Canada permanently.

“Candidates who meet the minimum criteria will be accepted into the pool and will be ranked according to various factors. These include language proficiency, education and work experience. Each is a leading indicator of one’s likelihood of integrating fully and quickly into Canada’s economy and Canadian society,” he said.

“The method is considered to be a major step forward in the transformation of Canada’s immigration system into one that is fast, flexible, and focused on meeting its economic and labor needs,” the labor department said.

Candidates who receive a valid job offer or nomination under Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) will be quickly invited to apply for permanent residency—a key distinction between Express Entry and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which is only used to fill temporary labor and skills shortages, the DoLE said.

Qualified applicants can expect faster processing times of six months or less when invited to come to Canada in the following key economic streams: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, Canadian Experience Class, and a portion of the PNP.

On the other hand, Nova Scotia, one of Canada’s maritime provinces, recently introduced the New Nova Scotia Nominee Program—Regional Labor Market Demand Stream, aimed at selecting individuals who meet the labor market needs, wishes to join the labor market with full-time and permanent positions, and wish to live in Nova Scotia.

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