The Temporary Foreign Worker Program aims to work for helping employers in Canada hire workers with specialized skills when they fail to find skilled workers among the permanent residents in Canada or Canadian citizens.
Why does Canada need a Temporary Foreign Worker Program?
TFWP is specially developed and curated to meet the essential requirements of the Canadian labor market. A situation arises when permanent residents and citizens in Canada cannot fill the vacant job positions and counter such a situation, TFWP comes into action.
The main reasons for the labor shortage are the aging population nearing their retirement and the lower birth rate.
Suppose an employer in Canada cannot find a suitably skilled individual in Canada, he progresses with the LMIA process under the Employment and Social Development Canada. If the LMIA returns positively in the process, the employer will be allowed to hire a foreign worker to fill the urgent job position.
Learn about the LMIA process
The Labour Market Impact Assessment confirms EDSC whether there is an urgent need to hire a foreign worker and the kind of impact it will create on the Canadian labor market, which could be positive, negative, or simply neutral.
However, whether the request to hire a foreign worker will be accepted or not depends on the situation in Canada; if it is observed that appropriate Canadian citizens or permanent residents are available to fill in the job vacancies, then the request will not be accepted.
Requirements for advertising
The LMIA process is a bit tedious and complex as it demands the employer to prove that they have made a genuine effort to hire a Canadian employer through intense research.
This process of proving itself requires a few steps, they are as follows:
- Employers must advertise the job vacancies for at least four weeks across the Canadian labor market.
- Employers must post the job vacancies on the Job Bank.
- Employers need to prove that they recruit workers through at least two hiring methods including local newspapers, specialized websites, and regional job fairs.
- Employers must also attest to the rule of not cutting off the hours of those workers who are currently employed under them.
Taking expert guidance will do a great deal as there could be possible exceptions to the rules stated above. The situation could vary depending upon the job vacancy; therefore, it is recommended to meet the compulsory advertising requirements.
LMIA streams- High and Low Wage
There are two primary reasons to recruit a Temporary Foreign Worker which are also responsible for determining the LMIA type to be submitted by an employer.
The high-wage position stream applies to those seeking a high-end job paying equal to the provincial median age or more than that.
The low-wage stream applies to seasonal, factory, tourism, or agricultural workers. Essentially, most low-wage positions consist of only 20 percent of workers can be Temporary Foreign Workers. This cap is currently 20 percent and is expected to rise to 30 percent depending on the industry type.
Canadian immigration through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Once an employer successfully hires a temporary foreign worker, the candidate should proceed toward applying to IRCC for getting a permit. Other things to be included with the application are an employment letter, LMIA copy, contract, and the LMIA number.
One must note that the processing times for IRCC will differ.
Work permits under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are also known as Closed Work Permits. Closed work permits imply that Canadian workers are not permitted to work with other employers and their work duration will depend upon the time in the contract.
