It was reported in the National Post on January 29th (travel has me backlogged) that Immigration Minister Kenney is discussing more tweaks to Canada's immigration programs, this time making further adjustments to the skilled worker class.
Kenney now proposes to open up the class to skilled labourers as well as those that have already been targeted from various white collar professions.
The trouble is, that these skilled workers will find many of the same challenges all immigrants face when it comes to getting a job in their field of expertise in Canada. They will have to get certified in many cases (which can mean additional education, expense, tests) to even have a chance of breaking into Canada's maze of protected labour markets and they will also have to deal with the bias against those who apply for work without "Canadian experience."
Until Kenney addresses some of the barriers workers face once they arrive, it doesn't matter what he does to try to balance the mix on the front end. Canada can't solve it's labour shortages by simply opening the border to the immigrants it claims it needs to build its economy - it also needs to employ them in their areas of expertise, where they could most benefit the country.
Read the Post article here
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