By Jeremy Hainsworth, BNA News |
Canada will launch its Global Talent Stream initiative June 12 to simplify work permit and immigration processes as a way to help high-tech companies attract skilled foreign labor, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Patty Hajdu said May 25.
By Jeremy Hainsworth, BNA News |
Canada will launch its Global Talent Stream initiative June 12 to simplify work permit and immigration processes as a way to help high-tech companies attract skilled foreign labor, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Patty Hajdu said May 25.
“We’re positioning ourselves as a world-class leader for innovation,” Hajdu told a Vancouver news conference.
‘Competitive Global Race’
The initiative, which will allow designated skilled workers to obtain work permits within two weeks of applying, is aimed at helping innovative companies grow by ensuring they can quickly access skilled talent. The new system will provide eligible employers with access to a streamlined 10-day labor-market impact assessment and 10-day employee work permit processing. In the past, Hajdu said, those processes have taken seven to 10 months.
This expedited process will allow Canadian employers to better compete for employees other countries want to recruit.
“In the 21st century knowledge-based economy, cities attract smart capital, smart talent and smart companies in a highly competitive global race,” Vancouver Economic Commission CEO Ian McKay said in a May 25 news release. “We are delighted by the upcoming implementation of the Global Talent Stream.”
Speaking in March, Council of Canadian Innovators Executive Director Benjamin Bergen said the strategy will help high-growth Canadian technology firms by making it easier and faster to attract the global talent they need to scale up and compete on the world stage.
Additional information on the Global Talent Stream initiative and access to a dedicated website will be available when the initiative is launched, Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Canada spokeswoman Amélie Maisonneuve told Bloomberg BNA June 25.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeremy Hainsworth in Vancouver at correspondents@bna.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rick Vollmar at rvollmar@bna.com
For More Information
For more information on Canadian HR law and regulation, see the Canada primer.