20 February, 2012

Alberta is open for semi-skilled foreign workers

Alberta is a province in Western Canada with a population of 3.6 million. Rich oil deposits spur economic development in the province. Due to strong economic growth, Alberta has the lowest rate of personal income tax in Canada.

The province's immigration policy is focused on attracting foreign workers in areas where the local labour market is experiencing skills shortages. Employers utilize the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program to recruit and retain hired foreign workers and their families.

Provincial immigration programs are one of the ways to obtain permanent residence in Canada. These programs have two stages, the first is to obtain nomination from the Provincial Nominee Program and the second is to submit a permanent residence application to the appropriate Citizenship and Immigration Canada consulate or embassy.

Alberta Immigration Service has defined such categories of workers as skilled workers, Canadian graduates, semi-skilled workers in food service sector, hotel sector, manufacturing, and long-haul trucking. The main requirements are: a full-time job offer from an Alberta employer as well as educational requirements, knowledge of English and work experience. The number of applicants who may obtain immigration permit depends on the company size as well as on the provincial labour market. For example, if a hotel sector worker wants to immigrate, the number of hotel rooms is evaluated first, and if it is less than fifty, the employer can hire no more than two foreign workers per year. For hotels with 400-450 rooms the employer may hire up to 16 foreign workers per year. When an employer applies for a Labour Market Opinion (LMO), the unemployment rate and other general labour market factors are considered. In 2008 many applications in the above-mentioned categories were put on hold as a result of the global economic slowdown and higher than usual unemployment rates.

This year, ILC has launched a program of recruiting semi-skilled workers to Alberta with the possibility of immigration. The program provides assistance in obtaining a temporary employment contract in the food processing sector with a possibility to apply for AINP nomination after 6-8 months of successful employment. Candidate requirements are: completed secondary education, proven manual labor work experience and conversational English. The Alberta-based employer plans to come to ILC HQ in April to interview all candidates who meet selection criteria.

For more information about the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program, please visit the AINP website.

Click here for more information about the Alberta-based position in meat processing.