Access to qualified talent is a challenge for many organizations. In fact, many skilled positions go unfilled because Canadian companies cannot gain access to job candidates with the proper experience and qualifications. It’s not that there is a job shortage; there is actually a shortage of skilled professionals.
The Canadian government took steps recently to remedy this issue and help Canadian organizations gain greater access to talent. In light of the tighter immigration rules in the United States, Canada launched a fast-track visa program for highly skilled workers. This will particularly benefit Canadian technology companies that are constantly competing with Silicon Valley.
“In a world where people are becoming more and more inward, where there is a rise in populism, there’s a lot of Islamaphobia, a lot of xenophobia, there’s a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment, Canada is uniquely positioned,” said Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains on the program’s launch at a tech startup accelerator.
“The Global Skills Strategy will allow Canadian employers, who are investing in people and skills here in Canada, to continue to grow by attracting top talent from around the world,” said Bains, via betakit.com. “Whether it’s developing a new product line or leading a new sales team, bringing in the best and the brightest from around the world will result in more good-quality, middle-class jobs for Canadians.”
Benefits of the Fast Track Visa Program
The program offers Canadian companies a number of key benefits:
- More talent: Making it easier for immigrants to get work visas provides companies with access to more talent, globally.
- More qualified talent: Companies will have access to the talent they need to help their business thrive.
- Compete on a global scale: With access to more talent, Canadian companies will be in a better position to compete on a global level.
- More investment in Canadian companies: Better talent will attract investors to the Canadian marketplace. “Investment follows talent,” said Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s minister of immigration, on Reuters. “Investment will not come to Canada if the talent is not there,” he said.
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