Visas & Advice Detail
Low Skilled Pilot Program
Canada is booming. Working as a visa officer in London, I have a definite sense that this is a modern day gold rush… or should I say ‘oil rush’.
There are so many jobs in demand, that employers are turning to foreign workers to meet the demand.
The scenario is something like this: The more skilled labour is demanded, then the more supporting jobs, both high and low skilled, are created. So for the engineers who come to Canada there is also need for construction workers to build their houses, childminders to care for their children, stores to sell them food and clothing, coffee shop attendants to serve them coffee… You get the picture.
This has created a situation where low-skilled workers are more in demand than ever before. So, although the low-skilled worker movement is fairly new, it is a growing movement and definitely important to the booming Canadian economy.
Employers start the process
Employers in Canada are required, in the first place, to search in Canada for an employee to fill a job vacancy. Due to the current large number of job vacancies, there are an insufficient number of people in Canada to take these jobs. So employers then apply to Service Canada, a federal government agency, for a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) to hire employees from abroad.
Employers can do the recruiting themselves or use a recruiting agency to find the people willing to come to Canada and work in a low skilled job.
low skilled programme
The Low Skilled Programme (LSP; skill levels C and D) is a little different than our other programmes. Under the LSP, a work permit may be issued to an applicant for a low skilled job for a maximum of 24 months, based on the Labour Market Opinion (LMO) issued by Service Canada. At the end of that 24-month period, the applicant must leave Canada for a minimum of four months before being allowed to re-enter Canada.
Employers must pay return airfare for the employees from their country of residence. Employers must also supply, or ensure, that low cost, suitable housing is available to these employees. Lastly, employers must provide temporary medical insurance coverage for the duration of the employment, register workers with provincial workplace safety insurance plans, sign an employer-employee contract and demonstrate continued effort to recruit and train Canadian workers.
Wow! Gold rush workers never had it so good. All the employee has to do is apply for the work permit and, if issued, do the job they were hired to do.
The employers pay the airfare, ensure accommodation, and pay a fair wage based on the Canadian labour market. The employees fulfil their part of the contract by performing the work for which they were hired.
Employment requirements
Although there are very few requirements for experience in most low-skilled occupations, it is important to consider that not every individual is suited to every job.
For example, panning for gold or – in our modern-day 'gold rush' – working on a construction site, does not require any particular previous work experience. Could, therefore, an applicant who has never worked in a physically demanding job, or a job requiring long hours outdoors be reasonably expected to have the capacity to fulfill the duties of such a job?
A visa officer may wish to have the applicants demonstrate their suitability for a given job by providing evidence of six months of recent and relevant experience. The applicant need not have worked in precisely the job in question but should have worked in a physically demanding job that required long hours outdoors in difficult conditions.
All employees must have a moderate command of English or French. While the job itself may not require the applicant to have any language ability, living in Canada does. A demonstrated moderate language ability will not only allow the applicant to better understand his or her duties by allowing them to communicate with employers or co-workers, but it will also enable them to communicate with authorities, if necessary, and understand more fully issues of workplace safety (for example, safe practices at work, emergency instructions, etcetera). As it will be necessary that a worker understand, among other things, his or her rights, more than a basic understanding is needed.
Long-term plans?
The Skilled Worker programme assigns points for an applicant who has legally been working in Canada on a work permit, but the experience must be in the higher skill categories, skill level A, B or O. With the low skilled worker having a work permit under skill category C and D, their experience would not qualify them for additional points under the Skilled Worker permanent application. Some of the provinces are allowing employers to nominate low skilled workers under their Provincial Nominee Programmes, but LSP is not designed to lead to permanent residence. It is a short-term solution to meet the Canadian labour market's needs.
Family members
With an LSP work permit for up to 24 months, some applicants may wish to have their spouses and dependent children accompany them to Canada.
Although there is no regulatory bar to this situation, it does raise very legitimate concerns regarding the applicant's intentions and ability to support his or her dependants while in Canada.
The applicant's spouse is not eligible for an open work permit as an accompanying spouse. Also, as temporary residents, any children may be required to pay international student rates to attend school. These costs, as well as the cost of travel to Canada, health coverage and family accommodations, must be borne by the applicant as the employer, under the LSP, is obliged to provide these only for the applicant.
The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate to the officer that he or she is capable of meeting these expenses. This creates a significant financial barrier to accompanying dependents, which might be difficult to overcome; however, it is not inconceivable that an applicant may be able to satisfy an officer that he or she possesses the means and ability to meet the financial requirements.
Why go west?
So, the gold rush is underway and workers are heading west in large numbers. Some I've seen are gap students, out to work on a ski hill for a year; others are in early retirement thinking that a couple of years working in Lake Louise sound wonderful. Others are taking a leave of absence from their jobs in the UK to enjoy the opportunities that this 'gold rush' has opened up…
Whatever stage you are at, you might want to consider jumping on the low-skilled caravan heading west to the setting sun…
Related articles:
Canadian Visas Q&A: Part 1
Canadian Visas Q&A: Part 2