CANADIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

Canada to Accept More Federal Skilled Workers in 2012

Friday, 4 November 2011

According to the latest news from Citizenship and Immigration Canada ( CIC), the government will accept more federal skilled workers in 2012.

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney who made the announcement, emphasized the key role of Canadian immigration to the country's labour market. "We value the contributions of skilled immigrants who add to our international competitiveness," indicated the Minister.

The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) is the primary route to permanent immigration to Canada and CIC has set a goal to attract 55,000–57,000 federal skilled workers in 2012, up from 47,000–47,400 in 2011.

Another achievement of the FSWP was made this year when CIC reduced the backlog of visa applications by more than 50 percent two years ahead of schedule. The higher Immigration Levels Plan for 2012 is supposed to help the labour market in Canada to become more responsive and maintain the progress on backlog reduction.

Following an extensive evaluation of the FSWP carried out by CIC in 2010, the FSWP is evaluated to be working well and selecting immigrant workers who perform well economically. The report showed that about 89 percent of FSWs were employed or self-employed three years after coming to Canada. 95 percent of employers questioned stated that FSWs were meeting or exceeding their expectations. The findings indicated a continuing demand for Canadian skilled immigrants in Canada.

Minister Kenney once indicated that:" CIC will continue to ramp up efforts to modernize our immigration system to make it more nimble and responsive to labour market needs,". He also showed commitment on actively exploring policy options to enhance the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

If you are interested in Immigration to Canada, contact Migration Expert for information and advice on which visa is best suited to you. You can also try our visa eligibility assessment to see if you are eligible to apply for a visa to Canada.