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The Council of Canadian Innovators(CCI) has urged the Canadian government to introduce a new visa, which would allow highly skilled tech workers to come to Canada without a job offer. This was proposed as a solution to the severe labour shortage being faced by the tech sector of Canada. The suggestion to launch a new visa for tech workers was one of the 13 recommendations put forward to the policymakers, by the CCI in its Talent and Skills Strategy for supporting the growing tech industry of Canada.
Canada visa for IT workers
The proposed visa, named the High Potential Tech Visa, would target high skilled professionals such as software developers and data scientists. The holders of this visa would be able to work, change jobs and apply for Canada permanent residency. In the report, CCI observed that most of those who were looking for a job in Canada needed a job offer. The report pointed out that if high skilled workers like software developers and data scientists were allowed to enter Canada without a job offer and look for jobs, they were most likely to find one.
Remote work in Canada
Further, as remote work has become more common, the high skilled workers can be allowed to come to Canada for a designated amount of time without a job offer, the report suggested. This proposal is based on a program launched by the UK to allow software developers, engineers and data scientists to come to the country without a job offer. The CCI also proposed a 48-hour visa processing time for this program.
“By creating an avenue for skilled tech workers to come to Canada on their own initiative, the government can increase the available supply of skilled workers who could be hired by Canadian companies, without forcing firms to proactively undertake the time-consuming and bureaucratic process involved in sponsoring a potential foreign worker,” says the report.
Digital Nomad Strategy for Canada
The report has also proposed launching a Digital Nomad Strategy for making Canada a destination for more remote workers and to review the National Occupation Classification (NOC) code more regularly to reflect the ever changing nature of tech jobs in Canada.
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