Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has announced that more skilled migrants to Canada will be able to obtain assistance to jump-start their credential recognition process via expanded overseas orientation services.

'We want newcomers to be able to use their skills as soon as possible in Canada. This funding will help them jump-start the credential recognition process before they arrive in Canada. It’s good for them and good for the Canadian economy', said Kenney.

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) operates the Canadian Immigration Integration Project (CIIP) which will receive additional funding of $15 million over the next three years to expand services in the UK, with a new office to open in London in the Autumn of 2011. The service will also be available to India, China and the Philippines.

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Canada to fund overseas foreign credential recognition services in UK

Plans to speed up the visa processing time for skilled workers were announced by Quebec’s immigration minister, Yolande James at the Montreal Science Centre recently.

The announcement was made at a conference for business representatives from Montreal. The purpose of the conference was to provide an opportunity for industry leaders to raise any concerns they had, in particular regarding skills shortages.

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Canadian Immigration to accelerate applications for foreign workers

A continued shortage of skilled labour will mean that more than 700,000 people in Ontario will be unemployable by 2021, according to Seneca College President emeritus Rick Miner.

That figure would add to the 5% of people who are traditionally unemployed, boosting the total of jobless to 1.1 million, he said in a speech to the Canadian Club of Toronto.

Although Miner’s study focused on Ontario, a similar trend has been noted in separate studies Canada-wide. A lack of skills coupled with the retirement of the baby-boomer generation may mean the country will have to rely on immigration to fill the available jobs, reports have found.

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Canada ever more reliant on migrant labour

The Canadian immigration department has advised that the processing time for Skilled Worker applications is currently 12 months, however, additional staff are being hired in order to speed up processing time, so this should hopefully be reduced.

200 C-50 cases are being received per week, and the annual target for 2010 is 17,000, up from 14,000 previously.

The top C-50 applications are as follows: accountants & financial managers, physicians, registered nurses, college instructors, managers according to C-50 list.

Canada may be vast beyond the imaginings of many Europeans, but for Anna, a science student who migrated there from Slovakia, the scale of the country is just another part of what makes Canada so special.

'I remember coming here and being amazed at how big Canada is', says Anna. 'In Europe, travelling two hours gets you into a whole other country. In Canada, it’s a quick trip in the same province, sometimes just to the town next door.'

Anna spent six months learning English upon her arrival, at which point she embarked on an outstanding academic career made possible by the opportunities the county's education system has to offer.

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Anna's story - a migrant's experience of Canada

The Canadian Government is continuing to focus on immigration as a key means of furthering economic growth. The immigration policy Action Plan aims to attract 250,000 new permanent residents in 2010, with the focus being on finding skilled migrants to contribute to the current economic revival.

Adjustments to the admission ranges for 2010 have allowed provinces and territories to set the numbers of skilled workers and investment requirements that each region requires.

The Government believes that provinces and territories should be key participants in shaping immigration policy and that they should take more responsibility for implementation.

The Government hopes that by supporting a regional program of immigration, they will ensure that the economic benefits of migration are applied across the country. The Action Plan also aims to speed up immigration by allowing provinces and territories to assist in clearing the current backlog of federal skilled worker applications.

The Canadian immigration department has announced a new online application process for those seeking Canadian work permits. Temporary residents in Canada will also be able to use the new system to extend their visas.

Jason Kenney, the Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, says that the new system will fix a number of problems in the existing process and the result should be a faster, and cheaper, service.

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New online visa application system announced for Canada

Canada maintains its positive attitude to migrants in 2010, and the country will continue to welcome a quarter of a million new immigrants every year.

This is in contrast to the attitude of several European countries, including Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic and Spain, who have been actively trying to lower migrant numbers.

“We are planning for the economic recovery”, says a spokesperson for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who is upbeat about Canada’s growing economy.

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Canada remains migrant friendly in 2010

According to a new survey, Canadian small businesses are keen to employ new staff in 2010.

Statistics from the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey have shown that 15% of businesses are planning to increase their staffing levels in the first three months of 2010.

The survey found that only 13% plan to make reductions, with an additional 2% still unsure. The vast majority, 70%, plan to maintain their current 2009 levels.

Business opinion is that they expect a "favourable hiring climate" over the course of the year, and they expect the country’s labour market to continue the same upward trajectory that saw 79,100 new jobs being created back in November.

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship has stated that the Government will maintain the immigration levels of previous years while increasing its effort to target skilled migrants such as plumbers, electricians, nurses and other occupations currently in high demand.

The new guide is titled ‘Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship’. The purpose of the guide is to educate citizenship test applicants as well as Canadian citizens themselves about the country’s views on human rights, free speech, equality, social cohesion and political participation.

The history of Canada also features prominently in this new version.

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Immigration Canada introduces new guide to Canadian citizenship test