Canada’s New Immigration Program for High Tech Talent
The Global Skills Strategy is a pilot program that makes it easier for high tech foreign workers to find jobs in Canada. In just two and half months, more than 2,000 people have already applied and over 1600 applications to the program have been fast-tracked.
The two-year program was launched by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to help companies who need to quickly bring in talent to expand their business. The program aims to attract top tech talent to Canada and therefore, compete with Silicon Valley. While Silicon Valley has always been in the lead in the race of having the top tech talent, due to the political climate in America, it is not a viable option for many people anymore.
Additionally, the program decreases the time it needs for foreign workers to obtain a work permit; instead of months, the decision is made within 2 weeks!
In 2016, 8,785 tech workers immigrated to Canada, however, 2017 has seen an overall increase in tech sector immigration. In just the first 8 months of 2017, 6,940 tech workers have immigrated to Canada already, that’s nearly 80% of last year’s total.
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