by Canadian Press
Foreign workers seeking temporary employment in Ontario in a variety of professional fields will have fewer bureaucratic hoops to jump through thanks to recruitment changes unveiled Friday. Federal Human Resources Minister Diane Finley announced changes to the province's Temporary Foreign Worker Program that are expected to make it easier and less expensive for employers to hire foreigners. Now, employers looking to fill jobs included on a provincial list of occupations deemed to be "under pressure," will only have to advertise on the federal Job Bank or its equivalent for one week as opposed to the standard one month before being allowed to look outside the country. "The creation of a list for Ontario will make it easier and two-to-four weeks faster for employers to hire temporary foreign workers," she said.
"This measure will effectively help employers having difficulty finding Canadian workers to fill their human resources needs while continuing to protect the access of Canadian workers to the labour market." The announcement is part of a cross-Canada initiative aimed at filling positions in which there's a shortage of local skilled labour. Finley, however, said each region has different needs and noted while Ontario may be looking primarily for foreigners with business, engineering and medical credentials, places like British Columbia will be looking to fast-track foreigners in the construction industry. HRSDC, in partnership with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, will determine which fields are experiencing a regional skill shortage based on ever evolving labour market information. "Over 50,000 temporary foreign workers come to Ontario every year and those 50,000 are a critical part of making this province work to its fullest capacity," said Ontario Citizenship Minister Mike Colle.
"Anything that can be done to get rid of the red tape and to make it more efficient and effective will be a great help to all employers." "I am very supportive of this announcement... because it is an integral part of who we are as a province and anything we can do to streamline matching jobs and temporary foreign workers is really a win/win situation for the province of Ontario." While the transferability of credentials has proven a major obstacle for many foreign trained professionals seeking employment in Canada, Colle said the Ontario government is attempting to fix that through its Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act introduced in June. The legislation would require Ontario's 34 regulated professions to ensure their licensing process is fair, clear and open. They would also be required to assess credentials more quickly. Finley said the changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers program, which typically involves job placements of one or two years, will also serve to help people seeking more permanent status in Canada. "One of the limitations that many new Canadians have is that to get their credentials recognized, they need to have Canadian experience," she said. "The foreign workers program is one way to help them get that experience... before they come here permanently."
Foreign workers seeking temporary employment in Ontario in a variety of professional fields will have fewer bureaucratic hoops to jump through thanks to recruitment changes unveiled Friday. Federal Human Resources Minister Diane Finley announced changes to the province's Temporary Foreign Worker Program that are expected to make it easier and less expensive for employers to hire foreigners. Now, employers looking to fill jobs included on a provincial list of occupations deemed to be "under pressure," will only have to advertise on the federal Job Bank or its equivalent for one week as opposed to the standard one month before being allowed to look outside the country. "The creation of a list for Ontario will make it easier and two-to-four weeks faster for employers to hire temporary foreign workers," she said.
"This measure will effectively help employers having difficulty finding Canadian workers to fill their human resources needs while continuing to protect the access of Canadian workers to the labour market." The announcement is part of a cross-Canada initiative aimed at filling positions in which there's a shortage of local skilled labour. Finley, however, said each region has different needs and noted while Ontario may be looking primarily for foreigners with business, engineering and medical credentials, places like British Columbia will be looking to fast-track foreigners in the construction industry. HRSDC, in partnership with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, will determine which fields are experiencing a regional skill shortage based on ever evolving labour market information. "Over 50,000 temporary foreign workers come to Ontario every year and those 50,000 are a critical part of making this province work to its fullest capacity," said Ontario Citizenship Minister Mike Colle.
"Anything that can be done to get rid of the red tape and to make it more efficient and effective will be a great help to all employers." "I am very supportive of this announcement... because it is an integral part of who we are as a province and anything we can do to streamline matching jobs and temporary foreign workers is really a win/win situation for the province of Ontario." While the transferability of credentials has proven a major obstacle for many foreign trained professionals seeking employment in Canada, Colle said the Ontario government is attempting to fix that through its Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act introduced in June. The legislation would require Ontario's 34 regulated professions to ensure their licensing process is fair, clear and open. They would also be required to assess credentials more quickly. Finley said the changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers program, which typically involves job placements of one or two years, will also serve to help people seeking more permanent status in Canada. "One of the limitations that many new Canadians have is that to get their credentials recognized, they need to have Canadian experience," she said. "The foreign workers program is one way to help them get that experience... before they come here permanently."
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