Canada - Pilot Project for Hiring Foreign Workers in Occupations that Usually Require a High School Diploma or Job-Specific Training

Employing foreign workers can help a company meet its labour needs and take advantage of business opportunities.

When planning to hire foreign workers in occupations that usually require at most a high school diploma or a maximum of 2 years of job-specific training, Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) has developed a 2 year pilot project that will carefully balance your labour needs with your comprehensive efforts to hire Canadians, and the well-being of the foreign workers in Canada.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS : In Canada, occupations requiring at most a high school diploma or a maximum of 2 years of job-specific training are classified in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system under Skill Levels C&D. See NOC job descriptions .

GUIDELINES :

Before you apply to hire foreign workers for NOC Skill Levels C&D occupations, HRSDC and CIC will expect you to:

• Demonstrate comprehensive and on-going efforts to recruit Canadian youth, aboriginal people, recent immigrants and Canadians in areas of high unemployment;
• Show efforts to hire unemployed Canadians through HRSDC and provincial employment programs;
• Consult with the local union if the position is covered under a collective agreement;
• Sign an employer-employee contract outlining wages, duties, and conditions related to the transportation, accommodation, health and occupational safety of the foreign worker;
• Cover all recruitment costs related to the hiring of the foreign worker;
• Help the worker(s) find suitable, affordable accommodation;
• Pay full airfare for the foreign worker to and from their home country;
• Provide medical coverage until the worker is eligible for provincial health insurance coverage;
• Register your worker under the appropriate provincial workers compensation/workplace safety insurance plans.
  
  

  JOB TIME LIMIT : Please be aware that foreign workers filling NOC Skill Levels C&D occupations can work in Canada for no more than 12 months. The worker must return to their home country for four months before applying for another work permit.

HIRING STEPS :

Employers hiring foreign workers for NOC Skill Levels C&D occupations must :

1. Submit the application for an HRSDC Labour Market Opinion to a Service Canada Centre nearest to where the foreign worker will be employed.
   • Learn more about the HRSDC LMO assessment criteria noting that a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) issued by the province is also required for jobs in Quebec
     
2. Fill out a copy of the employer-employee contract provided.
   
3. When HRSDC approves your job offer, send a copy of the HRSDC confirmation letter and your signed copy of the employment contract to the foreign worker.
   
4. Tell the foreign worker to apply for a work permit  from CIC. As part of the work permit application, tell the foreign worker to include the approved HRSDC labour market opinion and the employment contract signed by you and the foreign worker.

   Next, CIC decides whether the foreign worker will get a work permit according to the criteria to work and reside temporarily in Canada.

Last modified :  2005-03-02

Source: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/epb/lmd/fw/lowskill.shtml