The Federal Skilled Trades Program
With an employee shortage sweeping across Canada, the federal government is developing ways to both aid Canada’s industry growth and provide various solutions for the shortage. Nationwide, Canada is experiencing an economic growth illustrated in a 30 per cent skilled labour shortage that is creating a demand for employees in various trades and industries. As such, the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) has been introduced as one solution.
“The new skilled trades program will address serious labour shortages that some regions of the country are facing and will help grow Canada’s economy,” said Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. “These long-overdue changes are part of the government’s plan to build a fast and flexible immigration system that is responsive to the needs of Canada’s economy. Canadian employers have long been asking for ways to get the skilled tradespeople they need to meet demands in many industries across the country. We’ve listened to their concerns and created this program in response.”
“Employers in construction and natural resource sectors [among others] are also calling for workers to fill shortages in certain skilled trades and looking to immigration as part of the solution,” said Danielle Vlemmiks, spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
The FSTP was developed to provide a mechanism by which qualified foreign tradespeople could apply for residency in Canada. The industries and trades experiencing a shortage in qualified employees include carpentry, electrical, construction, mechanics, heavy equipment operators, logging and forestry, mining and quarrying, oil and gas, agricultural services, and power engineers — to name a few.
“The FSTP was designed to reflect current labour market needs and to ensure that the program delivers a diverse range of skilled tradespeople to fuel Canada’s economy,” said Vlemmiks.
In 2012, the Economic Action Plan underwent a strategic plan to create a flexible and swift process to aid with Canada’s employment opportunities, growth and prosperity.
The FSTP established criteria requirements for potential foreign employees. The program also places emphasis and value on hands-on work experience and practical training, not solely on formal education, which is a benefit and asset to companies recruiting employees.
“The [FSTP] creates a means for skilled tradespersons to be assessed based on criteria that puts greater emphasis on practical training and work experience rather than formal education,” said Vlemmiks.
For 2013, FSTP is accepting 3,000 applications, not including the foreign workers’ families. As Canada attracts individuals who have a goal of making Canada their permanent residence, past years have seen such immigration applications became back-logged with long wait times. The FSTP is one remedy to this problem. With regards to the FSTP, applications to be processed will not exceed 3,000. All the applications received by the Centralized Intake Office must include the required necessary documentation.
In addition to their documentations, foreigners need to take a language test in either French or English that includes speaking and listening skills, along with reading and writing skills. The tests are important for an immigrant’s success in the process — and for the overall health and safety considerations of working in any industry. As well, the language tests establish an applicant’s basic proficiency, with their speaking and listening skills demonstrating that an immigrant employee can understand and participate in conversations.
The applicants must meet the necessary requirements before their application is processed. Should an applicant not fulfill the required criteria and provide the appropriate documents to accompany their application, the applicant will be notified in writing that their applications have not been accepted. As such, the required fees to process their application will be returned to the individual applying.
Certain occupations listed in the trades are subject to a sub-cap. The sub-cap is a result of assessing industries and examining whether or not that demand is moderate or higher for a specific area of expertise. Signature of Canada as a nation and the country’s reputation for diversity, these sub-caps also aid with ensuring diversity by appealing to individuals of various work experience for the skilled trade applications and various industry and trades.
“One of the minimum requirements to the program is either a one-year qualifying job offer or a provincial/territorial certificate of qualification in a skilled trade to demonstrate that the person can be employed in Canada or that they meet employability requirements,” said Vlemmiks.
An employer seeking to remedy a labour shortage has a couple options. If an employer already employs a foreign skilled trades worker, the employer can request that their employee continue working for them, under the conditions that the employed individual has a valid work permit and applies to become a permanent Canadian resident. Factors that are also considered regarding an application are whether or not there are already Canadian or permanent residents available to fill the positions creating a demand in an industry. This aspect is assessed by Labour Market Opinion from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
“The [FTSP] is yet another tool in the Canadian employer’s toolkit to find the workers they need to build Canada’s future economy,” said Kenney. “This new program, along with all other changes we are introducing, will help us move towards an immigration system that better supports Canada’s economic growth and long-term prosperity.”
For more information, visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website at www.cic.gc.ca.