Canada extends temporary jobs to skilled foreigners

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz

The Province of Alberta in Canada has extended its Temporary Foreign Worker Pilot (TFWP) project to include welders and six other skilled occupations, according to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Citing a report by the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, Baldoz said Alberta had expanded its TFWP project effective July 16.

The TFWP allows eligible foreign workers to take jobs in Canada for an authorized period.

The report, conveyed to Baldoz through a letter by Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Patricia Ann Paez, said that Alberta employers had been allowed to hire highly skilled foreign workers in certain in-demand occupations other than steamfitters or pipefitters.

Manpower

Alberta’s TFWP project will include welders, heavy duty equipment mechanics, iron workers, millwright and industrial mechanics, carpenters and estimators.

“The expansion of this pilot project will enable more employers in Alberta to hire foreign workers on a temporary basis to fill short-term skills and labor needs when Canadians or permanent residents are unavailable,” said Baldoz.

Baldoz said Canada’s Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney had announced a temporary pause on new applications to the Federal Skilled Worker Program  and the Federal Immigrant Investor Program to allow Citizenship and Immigration Canada to make important changes to its economic immigration programs.

Monitor development

Consequently, Baldoz instructed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to monitor further developments in the Canadian labor market and to issue an appropriate advisory on the decisions of the Canadian federal government.

She also warned prospective overseas Filipino workers to check with the POEA regarding accredited employers and approved job orders in Canada.

“This is to ensure that applicants undergo the correct and legal process of worker migration,” Baldoz said. Tina G. Santos