A Skilled worker, is any worker who has "some special skill", "knowledge", or (usually acquired) ability in their work. A skilled worker may have attended a college, university or technical school. Or, a skilled worker may have learned their skills on the job. An example of a skilled labor job is game making and computer manufacturing.
The Canadian Government, in agreement with provincial Immigration Ministers, will establish a pool of skilled-worker candidates by the end of 2014 from which employers will be able to select potential immigrants to fill Canada’s regional labour shortages.
Canada’s Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney, announced last week that he will work with his provincial counterparts to implement the Expression of Interest (EOI) system, whereby employers will be able to screen and assess potential migrant workers from a pool of applicants.
“We’ve had very fruitful discussions about the future of immigration in Canada,” Kenney said after the annual federal-provincial immigration conference in Toronto.
Provincial government representatives, apart from the absent Quebec Immigration Minister, agreed the immigration system should be quick and responsive to employer and regional economic needs.
Kenney was cautious on Ontario’s immigration plan to substantially increase the number of skilled immigrants the province to 2,000 next year, and to 5,000 in 2014.
Ontario only gets a 5 per cent of the 20,000 provincial nominees accepted across Canada each year.
“The concern for Ontario is that the number of immigrants coming to Canada is going down … Moving forward, we do have to find a way to co-operate and collaborate to rectify the situation,” said Ontario Immigration Minister Michael Chan.
“All provinces want their provincial nominee programs expanded because immigrants coming in are successful in getting jobs that match their skills.”
Full details of the EOI system, based on a system used in New Zealand and Australia, are not yet available. But Kenney said a formula will be developed to decide the “distribution of skilled immigrants across the country.”
The total number of economic migrants admitted to Canada in 2013 will be between 240,000 and 265,000, but the government wants to expand its “Canadian Experience Class” scheme, which gives permanent residency to international students and workers in the country for two years on temporary visas.