According to Salma Zahid and Rechie Valdez, members of parliament Canada’s caregiver pilot programs have reduced work experience requirements. They said that instead of requiring 24 months of work experience in Canada, caregivers will now just need 12 months of experience.
Applicants who have already applied by April 30, 2023, will benefit from the modification. It is the responsibility of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to verify applicants’ previous employment experience.
Some spots have been set aside under the existing carer paths to accommodate carers with previous work experience in Canada. Based on IRCC estimates, 90% of applicants apply for carer programs as a result of the change.
It is estimated that both pilot initiatives will run until June 2024. Over 1,600 people, including their families, who act as caregivers have been granted permanent residency status through these programs. One hundred and one carers will become permanent residents through the two pilot programs in 2022 alone.
” Immigration Minister Sean Fraser emphasizes the importance of caregivers to Canadian families, noting the vital role they have played in the upbringing of children, providing support to elderly parents, and offering specialized care. It is anticipated that the government will grant more permanent residency applications to carers and their families sooner, enabling them to settle down and move forward in life here in Canada. By reducing the minimum amount of work experience to one year in Canada.”
Aside from these criteria, all other eligibility requirements remain the same. The following qualifications must be demonstrated by candidates for both programs:
- A CLB of 5 is reported in the language test results;
- At least one year of postsecondary education in Canada or its equivalent in another country; and
- Make sure your health, criminal history, and security are all checked.
Applicants must now demonstrate the following work experience:
- NOC-classified work experience.
- A combination of these two jobs cannot be considered work experience.
- Most of the main duties of the candidate’s job matched those listed in the NOC job description.
- Each week, a full-time worker must work at least 30 hours for a paycheck.
Aging population of Canada
Approximately 861,395 Canadians are aged 85 or older, according to the 2021 census. Approximately 2,100,000 individuals aged 75 to 85 were estimated to live in the United States in 2016. Of these, approximately 500,000 were recorded to reside in long-term care facilities that year, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The number of seniors in Canada is expected to increase from nine million in 2030 to ten million by 2050. It is expected that Canada will need more carers in the near future as a result of a combination of these causes.
Moreover, most Canadian families are either single-parent families or dual-income families, which means both parents work. Therefore, there is a demand for more childcare. Some families rely on daycare or private childcare in their homes because they lack family nearby to assist with childcare.
Canadians continue to employ social workers and healthcare professionals to meet these needs. Over 7,000 immigrants were hired in January 2023 despite there being still 131,800 openings on the job market according to the latest labor market census.
