A Canadian immigration pilot program hopes to help graduating students get work experience, and stay in Canada.
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23 February 2011
Canadian immigration pilot project launched to attract more young professionals
A pilot program aims to give international students at some of British Columbia’s private educational institutions the opportunity to gain Canadian work experience after graduation.
The Canadian immigration pilot program is the next step in the Government of Canada’s strategy to attract international students and retain their skills after graduation.
Since 2005, the number of foreign students issued a Canadian Visa has increased by 25 percent, with a total of 85,140 entries in 2009.
Alice Wong, Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism and Member of Parliament for Richmond, and B.C. Minister of Regional Economic and Skills Development Ida Chong made the program annoucement.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to attract international students to Canada and retaining them after they graduate,” said Parliamentary Secretary Wong.
“With this pilot project, we are continuing to build Canada’s standing as a destination of choice for international students.”
“In the next decade, B.C. will have more than a million job openings, and immigration is going to be a key factor in our ability to fill them,” said Minister Chong.
“By expanding this program to private institutions, we’re giving more international students an opportunity to work and potentially to choose British Columbia as their place to call home.”
The Post-Graduation Work Permit Program already allows students who have graduated from an eligible program at a post-secondary institution to gain valuable Canadian work experience. Under the program, graduates can apply for open work permits for up to three years, depending on the length of time they studied. Until now, only international students at public universities and colleges and private degree-granting institutions were able to apply.
With the implementation of this two-year pilot project on January 31, graduates of private post-secondary institutions with career training programs that have received the British Columbia Education Quality Assurance (EQA) designation are also able to apply for an open work permit.
The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people make their Canadian Visa application to the Canadian Embassy.
