The upcoming need for healthcare workers in Canada stems from the prevalent labor shortages in the healthcare sector. This clearly indicates that the country will have a plethora of opportunities for skilled immigrants in this sector. Besides, the Express Entry category selection introduced healthcare as one of its categories because of the existing shortage.
The primary goal of this Express Entry category-based selection is to bring forth candidates with work experience and educational qualifications that will help address the labor market gaps.
IRCC selected five categories for these Express Entry draws, including transport, STEM occupations, trades, healthcare, agriculture, and agri-food. These categories came into place through various consultations with stakeholders and the public.
Category draws and standard Express Entry draws are quite similar in their function. The chief difference is that the standard draws emphasize the CRS scores, whereas the category-based Express Entry draws target a person’s recent work experience in a skilled occupation.
The reason for selecting Healthcare as an Express Entry category for targeted draws
Canada has been amidst a labor shortage crisis in the healthcare sector, particularly of Physicians and Nurses. This kind of shortage has even caused damage to emergency care.
For instance, in May 2023, Niagara Health stated that the urgent care centers available in Southern Ontario had stopped functioning overnight due to severe staff shortages of Physicians. In fact, in a similar instance, a hospital in Ontario had to close the local ER due to the staff shortage.
Additionally, Calgary’s 180 ER doctors felt compelled to send an open letter expressing the emergency care situation in the city.
Due to the acute shortage, the healthcare system primarily relies on immigration. In 2022’s final quarter, the Healthcare and Social Assistance category had around 143,695 job vacancies. The job vacancy rate was 6 percent.
The highest job vacancy rate in all category-based professions was in the healthcare sector during the final quarter of 2022.
Also, Canada comprised around 36 percent of Physicians and 25 percent of registered nurses who were not born there.
Medical professionals with international training have a hard time getting a proper license in Canada. Hence, IRCC has taken several initiatives to make Canadian immigration more convenient. In addition, these measures have also made it simpler for these professionals or Physicians to get work in their field. They must also access work opportunities in this sector to combat the labor shortages.
The upcoming need for healthcare workers in Canada
Employment and Social Development Canada offers a tool, COPS, which further provides information on the future prospects of occupations in different sectors. It also calculates the number of job positions available in a specific profession between 2022 and 2031.
Here’s an overview of a few healthcare professions, including the following:
- 155,400 job vacancies available – Registered Nurses and Psychiatric Nurses
- 27,800 new job vacancies – Licensed Practical Nurses
- 48,900 new job positions – General Practitioners and Family Physicians
- 29,800 new job vacancies – Specialist Physicians
- 23,100 new job positions – Nursing Coordinators and Supervisors
- 17,900 job positions available – Chiropractors, Optometrists, health diagnosis and treatment in other professional occupations
- 16,100 new jobs for Pharmacists.
- 14,300 new job vacancies available – Physiotherapists
The above figures make it evident that Canada will need to invite hundreds of thousands of new skilled workers in the healthcare sector. This is because the existing shortage is a bit too much, and only these individuals can fill the labor market gap.
Potential prospects for immigrants coming to Canada
The available healthcare professionals in Canada have been working harder consistently to offer world-class care to those in need. However, we can’t deny the fact that Canada is in need of more healthcare workers to provide excellent care to everyone. Fraser addressed these issues during the declaration of category-based draws. Furthermore, he stated that between 2017 and 2022, Canada invited nearly 21,000 healthcare workers to the country.
The country even invited more than 4,000 workers every year. Fraser also claimed that IRCC planned to multiply the number, which rounds off to 8,000 new healthcare professionals each year.
Even before these Express Entry category-based draws, most provinces have also conducted draws for healthcare professionals through PNP-targeted streams. For instance, Alberta comprises a Designated Healthcare Pathway under the AAIP.
Therefore, this means that healthcare workers seeking Canadian immigration might qualify for several immigration pathways. Potential candidates will have the opportunity to establish their careers in Canada while also being able to fill the labor gap.
Healthcare Express Entry draws so far
Until now, IRCC has already conducted two invitation rounds for healthcare workers for qualifying Express Entry candidates. This is because they have shown recent work experience in the healthcare professions.
On June 28, 2023, the first category-based draws took place for healthcare professionals. In this draw, 500 candidates received invitations to apply with recent work experience in healthcare occupations.
They had to score a minimum of 476 points under the Comprehensive Ranking System to get these ITAs. After 8 days, IRCC held the second draw for healthcare workers on July 6, 2023. This second draw issued invitations to 1,500 candidates with the lowest CRS score of 463 to apply for Canadian PR.
In 2023, the ITAs issued under the category-based healthcare occupations would contribute between 9 and 12 percent of all the Express Entry invitations.
Moreover, the upcoming need for healthcare workers in Canada will be immense.
Do you have more queries on Canada Express Entry? Get in touch with our immigration representatives at MakeHomeCanada by writing to us at [email protected].
