Canada declares shortage of manpower, invites Nigerians, others to fill one million vacancies

The Canadian government has declared a severe labor shortage and welcomed Nigerians and other foreign nationals to fill open positions in a variety of fields across the nation’s economy.

The government claimed that the labor shortage has increased by one million, an all-time high, in a Statistics Canada report obtained by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday.

With an aging population and declining birth rates in North America, immigration is still one of the methods used by employers of labor to fill open positions and promote economic growth.

Here are a couple of strategies the Canadian government is using to fill the available vacancies:

– International Students

To make it easier for foreign students to remain in the country and gain local work experience, the government allowed the extension of Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs). This allows international students with expiring PGWPs to extend for an additional year and a half (18 months).

As Express Entry draws paused in September of last year, many international students were worried that their status would expire before they could apply for Permanent Residency.

Extending the status of PGWP holders will allow international students in Canada to seek more opportunities, fill in vacancies, and gain eligibility for Canadian permanent residency.

– Express Entry Draws

Express Entry is Canada’s key system to attract foreign talent and manage immigration applications. After pausing Express Entry draws in 2021, the federal government announced that they will resume the draws in July.

Apart from the resumption of Express Entry draws, the federal government also announced that it is currently in the process of approving Bill C-19.

Bill C-19 permits the immigration minister control over who is selected in the Express Entry draws. Instead of drawing candidates based solely on their Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS), the minister can select candidates based on their ability to meet the country’s economic needs.

This means that the immigration minister can restrict the draws to particular occupations or industries, regardless of CRS score.