CANADIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

Foreign students needed to boost Canada's productivity

Tuesday, 22 January 2008

The proposal to extend work permits for gifted foreign students trained in Canada has just been laid on the Canadian government's table.

This proposal is one of six recommendations forwarded by the Certified Management Accountants of Canada (CMA Canada) to Canada's new Competition Policy Review Panel. This panel is aimed at putting Canada's productivity back on track and making the country more globally competitive.

This report issued by CMA Canada to the Ministers of Industry and Finance is geared toward enhancing Canada’s industrial and financial competitiveness focusing on human capital, physical capital, and innovation.

One of CMA Canada's main recommendations is to emphasize attracting and retaining foreign students by recommending a government-established scholarship program aimed at attracting top foreign students in order to assimilate their innovation, talent, and intelligence into Canadian research.

CMA Canada has also suggested that a longer term work permit be introduced in conjunction with the scholarship initiative. They believe that a longer permit would encourage gifted foreign graduates to remain in Canada, which will, in turn, help Canada’s economy benefit from this educational investment.

The current maximum duration of a temporary work permit is two years, and CMA Canada is proposing a longer duration.

Migration Expert will keep you abreast of the latest developments of this student work permit issue.

If you are interested in studying and living in Canada, you can fill in our free visa eligibility assessment to find out if you qualify.