Just In : Canada announces tech job opportunities for Nigerians, others
The first-ever immigration tech talent mechanism in Canada has been unveiled, creating new employment opportunities for people from other countries, including Nigeria.
A few days after Germany passed an immigration law intended to encourage more people from outside the European Union to come to the country for work, the new job openings were announced.
The talent strategy, which was unveiled at the 2023 Collision Conference in Toronto, introduces new initiatives and enhances existing ones to support Canadian businesses in thriving in a cutthroat environment.
“Over this year, Canada is going to be developing a specific stream for some of the world’s most highly talented people that will be able to come to Canada to work for tech companies whether they have a job offer or not,” Sean Fraser, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said on Tuesday.
“We are going to be launching a digital Nomads strategy which is going to allow people, who have a foreign employer to come and work in Canada for up to six months,” he said.
Fraser revealed that talented people will live in local communities, spend money there, and, if they are given job offers while they are here, be permitted to stay and work in the nation.
“Finally, we have been watching very closely what has been going on in the tech sector in the United States where we have seen a public narrative about layoffs.
We have been having private conversations about opportunities” he added.
The minister announced that starting on July 16 there will be a stream that will permit 10,000 Americans with H-1B visas to enter Canada and work there..
“The reality is that you have the ideas but you need the talents. You have told us that and we have been listening.
We are going to do everything we can to push Canada as the destination where your ideas can become a reality,’ he said.
Because of its aging population and declining birth rate, Canada has been forced to step up its efforts to attract large, young, and vibrant immigrants by implementing immigration-friendly policies.
According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the nation welcomed 437,120 Permanent Residents (PRs) in 2022, an increase of almost 8% from the total number of PRs in 2021.
For Nigeria, it increased to 22,130 last year from 15,595 the year before, a 41.9 percent increase.
The Canadian federal government unveiled a massive plan last year to welcome 500,000 immigrants annually by 2025, with nearly 1.5 million new arrivals over the following three years.
“We’re enthusiastic about the ambitious goals we have set in immigration because they aren’t just about numbers—they are strategic. With this strategy, we’re targeting newcomers that can help enshrine Canada as a world leader in a variety of emerging technologies,” Fraser said.
Just a few days after the UK announced that it would restrict foreign students from bringing their families into the country starting next year, Canada last month announced new measures to make it easier for families of recent immigrants to relocate to the country.
In order to combat labor shortages and boost the economy, the nation declared that express entry would now use a category-based selection.
