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Opportunity Lives Here

Canada Welcomes First Permanent Residents From Federal Skilled Trades Program – Canadian Immigration News

Canada recently welcomed its first successful applicants through the Federal Skilled Trades program, one of Canada’s newest Canadian immigration programs. Chris Alexander, Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister, was present to welcome the very first successful permanent resident applicant under the Federal Skilled Trades program. The applicant is originally from Ireland and will be working in Ontario as a plumber.

Mr. Alexander explained that his government is focused on creating jobs, growing the economy and long-term prosperity. He further explains that the new Federal Skilled Trades program will help achieve these objectives by attracting and retaining skilled workers to help address regional labour shortages that will in turn strengthen the Canadian economy.

The Federal Skilled Trades Program is said to be a significant improvement to Canada’s immigration system as there was previously no program specifically designed to attract skilled tradespeople that were in demand in Canada. Thus far, successful applicants under this new Canadian immigration program originate from countries such as India, Lithuania, Germany, Latvia, as well as Ireland.

The Federal Skilled Trades Program opened in January 2013 to assist with the immigration of skilled tradespeople who have the ability to contribute to Canada’s current and future economic needs. Given the nature of trades, applicants under this Canadian immigration program are assessed based on a number of different criteria including language ability, practical training and work experience rather than formal academic education. In order to attract and retain such workers, the government’s goal is to process applications as fast as possible. Applications so far have been processed within 3-4 month.

Many industry organizations, such as the Canadian Construction Association, are very pleased to see the implementation of this new program as it responds directly and effectively to the needs of their industry and skilled tradespeople that are in demand. The implementation of this new Canadian immigration program, as well other changes to Canadian immigration program, come as part of the government’s 2013 Economic Action Plan.

For a free consultation with a Canadian immigration lawyer, contact First Immigration Law Firm toll-free in North America @ 1 (855) 360-4333 or 1 (514) 360-4333 internationally.