James Skinner
James is the Founder & Chief Executive of
CANZUK International in Vancouver, Canada
A major business association in Canada has encouraged the Canadian federal government to reform its immigration laws by expanding skills recognition and advancing the availability of Canadian visas.
In its latest report, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade has recommended multiple reforms in provincial and federal laws to tackle the ongoing challenges of labour shortages following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are proposing a comprehensive strategy to develop and attract the talent required for the jobs of an increasingly digital world, leveraging existing data and industry expertise,” said Bridgitte Anderson, President and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. “Government, educational institutions, and the business community need to form a new partnership and embrace innovative approaches to ensure our economy can manage an aging demographic while becoming a global hub for technology and innovation.”
“We are proposing a comprehensive strategy to develop and attract the talent required for the jobs of an increasingly digital world, leveraging existing data and industry expertise,” said Bridgitte Anderson, President and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. “Government, educational institutions, and the business community need to form a new partnership and embrace innovative approaches to ensure our economy can manage an aging demographic while becoming a global hub for technology and innovation.”
The report articulates a series of recommendations for the provincial government of British Columbia, with the most notable for the CANZUK campaign being to, “Work with professional associations/bodies to demand faster recognition of credentials”. This would consider a “credential fast pass” system that would sign mutual recognition agreements with jurisdictions that have comparable training standards, such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Furthermore, the report also recommends that the federal government:
• Continue policies that help skilled immigrants in high-demand sectors to come and stay in Canada and accelerating processing for occupations identified as ‘in-demand’, targeted to National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes; and
• Follow the UK, New Zealand and other jurisdictions to refine work experiences for individuals under the age of 35, including extending the validity period to 3 years and considering lifting caps.
CANZUK International has continually called and lobbied for the Canadian government to increase visa age-limits for citizens of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom – a policy which the Australian government has recently announced that it will be considering in the months ahead.
Granting greater visa access for CANZUK citizens is also widely supported by the Canadian public, with recent polling indicating that 82% of Canadians support reciprocal visa arrangements being negotiated with the UK as part of the upcoming Canada-UK Trade Agreement.
The full report by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade can be viewed and downloaded here.
CANZUK International welcomes the report from the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and will continue to engage with business associations across Canada to advance free movement and trade policies supportive of CANZUK.
Furthermore, the report also recommends that the federal government:
• Continue policies that help skilled immigrants in high-demand sectors to come and stay in Canada and accelerating processing for occupations identified as ‘in-demand’, targeted to National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes; and
• Follow the UK, New Zealand and other jurisdictions to refine work experiences for individuals under the age of 35, including extending the validity period to 3 years and considering lifting caps.
CANZUK International has continually called and lobbied for the Canadian government to increase visa age-limits for citizens of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom – a policy which the Australian government has recently announced that it will be considering in the months ahead.
Granting greater visa access for CANZUK citizens is also widely supported by the Canadian public, with recent polling indicating that 82% of Canadians support reciprocal visa arrangements being negotiated with the UK as part of the upcoming Canada-UK Trade Agreement.
The full report by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade can be viewed and downloaded here.
CANZUK International welcomes the report from the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and will continue to engage with business associations across Canada to advance free movement and trade policies supportive of CANZUK.
Heading photo: Storeys.com
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