Hiring Foreign Workers – What You Need to Know

Many employers across Canada are experiencing skilled labour shortages with the decline of the Canadian-born work force. According to Statistics Canada, immigrants will play a majority role for labour force growth by the middle of the next decade. International trained workers (ITWs) are educated and trained in other countries, and most ITWs are ready and willing to work in Canada.

ITWs are:

• Immigrants
• Refugees
• Foreign students living in Canada
• Citizens of other countries willing and able to work in Canada
• Canadians who trained or worked outside of the country

Benefit of hiring ITWs:

There are many benefits for hiring ITWs but here are 4 major benefits ITWs bring to your organization:

1. Already trained, experienced, qualified and hard working

Even highly trained foreign workers face difficulty finding jobs in Canada due to the fact that English is not their first language. However, in many occupations, skills are indeed more important than English competency when it comes to getting the job done. Since there is less opportunity for ITWs in Canada compared to their home country, and they face high competition with local-born candidates, ITWs work hard to be successful in Canada.

2. Help develop new markets

Foreign workers usually speak more than two languages and have knowledge of multiple cultures, which gives them an edge to develop new local and global markets. ITWs may even be able to connect you with other workers and organizations both locally and globally.

3. Bring new perspectives

Foreign workers can bring fresh perspectives to your organization, delivered from their unique experiences. They can introduce innovative ideas and effective ways to do business.

4. Help meet your needs

In Canada, local people don’t want to work in remote areas and do highly physical work such as construction, housekeeping, farming, etc. Foreign workers are more willing to take these jobs.

Keep in mind:

The most important thing about hiring foreign workers is to understand their status in Canada. Always check their status before the interview, and upon hiring, ask them to show you their proof of status in Canada. Failing to check their status and see proof will get you into trouble if you hire someone to work illegally. ITWs have a legal status to work in Canada. However, if you want to hire foreign workers who don’t have legal status to work in Canada, you will need to sponsor them to obtain a work permit. For more details about sponsoring foreign workers, please visit CIC website and/or consult local immigration consultants or lawyers.