Canadian immigration minister heads to Dublin to recruit young Irish

With concerns in Canada growing over the need to inject youth into its workforce, a coalition of Canadian companies were joined by the Canadian immigration minister in Dublin over the weekend to extol the virtues of working in Canada.

Canada visa

Jason Kenney travelled to Dublin to try and attract young Irish to Canada.

A struggling Irish economy has meant that the rate of emigration is rising, particularly among Irish youth, and Canadian immigration officials are keen to capitalise.

Canada's economy is currently the strongest in the G8 but its aging workforce has prompted the government to adjust Canada visa policy to prioritise younger workers with the skills in demand.

It was reported last week that Immigration Minister Jason Kenney would be travelling to the UK to entice young Britons to choose Canada over similar options such as Australia and New Zealand but Mr Kenney has taken a stopover in Ireland first.

"We are trying to raise the profile of Canada because we have seen huge numbers of highly educated young Irish going to Australia," said the minister.

"So this is a test drive on our effort to have a more proactive recruitment-based immigration system."

Mr Kenney said Ireland and Canada have an affinity which should not be forgotten: "There are shamrocks [engraved in the buildings in Ottawa] that is a reminder that the Irish are one of the founding peoples."

Citizenship and Immigration Canada recently announced the number of spaces allocated for young Irish workers aged between 18 and 35 would be increased by 1,000 to 6,350 with a look to further increase that to 10,000 by 2014.

The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent migration consultancy specialising in helping people make their application to the Canadian Embassy.