The Hard-To-Fill Skills Program
For key industries in Saskatchewan, a worry over the lack of properly skilled applicants has led to the province expanding its Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program, or SINP, with the new Hard-To-Fill Skills pilot program. The program, which first began accepting applications from employers on January 15th of this year, is designed to help attract high-skill labor to critical industries in the province. Employers looking to take advantage of this program to help shore up their labor force will need to prove that they’ve faced hardship in recruiting from the domestic labor pool. They’ll also be responsible for helping any employees coming in under the program get settled. This means assigning them an on-the-job culturally sensitive mentor who can help them adjust to life in the province.
You’ll also be required to provide at least two of four so-called “Action items”. These actions can include taking intercultural training or related seminars, telling newcomers about the gamut of services offered by settlement services, offering workplace activities to help promote understanding and awareness of cultural differences, and providing your new employee a flexible schedule that allows for them to get used to and take advantage of any of the services offered to them, such as language training. A full list of eligible occupations is available on the province’s website, but will likely change along with the demand for labor. For those that don’t meet any of the requirements for this new program, there are others you may be able to take advantage of.
More Opportunities for Immigration Under SINP
Due to the high need for skilled labor in the healthcare sector, Saskatchewan has also recently launched a program known as the International Healthcare Worker EOI. This “Expression of Interest” form functions as a pre-application for the SINP program, helping workers connect with prospective employers that would be interested in sponsoring their immigration process to the province. If you’re a healthcare worker that has already received an offer, then you won’t need to fill out an EOI. Other skilled workers that don’t fall under any of the above categories will have to apply under one of the pre-existing programs under the SINP, but with labor demand growing every day, now seems to be a great time to apply.
