Hiring Internationally Trained Workers

As New Brunswick faces a labour shortage, immigration can benefit employers like you to retain existing talent and attract and hire new foreign talent. Internationally trained workers, which includes economic immigrants, refugees, international students, asylum seekers, temporary foreign workers and Canadians who trained or worked outside of the country, are a valuable source of skills and talent you can tap into for your labour needs.

Additional benefits to hiring internationally trained workers include:

• Meeting your specific labour needs.
• Increasing your global competitiveness.
• By bringing in new markets these workers may speak different languages and have knowledge of different cultures.
• Making your organization more effective by bringing in new perspectives.
  Connecting you with other valuable workers and organizations.

Attracting new, skilled talent to New Brunswick is crucial to our province’s long-term success and is a key component of the government’s population growth strategy. We want and need skilled workers from all over the world to consider making New Brunswick their home, to be part of our workforce, and to help build the fabric of our communities.

If you’re an employer who’s looking to hire a candidate from outside of Canada, here are the steps you should take:

1. Contact your regional WorkingNB office to learn about the services available to you as an employer.
2. A WorkingNB workforce consultant will conduct a workforce needs assessment and connect you to available employment services.
3. If immigration is identified as a workforce need, you’ll be referred to an Immigration Workforce Development Officer, who will contact you to discuss the province’s economic immigration programs. They may also invite you to apply for provincial designation.
4. Participate in our recruitment missions. Contact the province’s Immigration Workforce Development team to discuss possible recruitment events.

Before Extending a Job Offer

Before extending the job offer to a candidate who is a foreign national living outside of Canada, ensure that your company meets the employer eligibility criteria, and that the job offer meets the necessary requirements. It is important to consider if the candidate meets the minimum requirements for one of the Provincial Immigration Programs such as language, education, and work experience before the candidate submits their application. It is also important to consider some aspects of retention.

New Brunswick’s Provincial Streams allow candidates to apply for permanent residency and receive a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)-exempt to come to New Brunswick and start working before a decision on their permanent residency is made on their federal application.

Temporary Foreign Workers and the International Mobility Program

In some situations, you may not be able to support your candidate through one of our Provincial Programs. Temporary or seasonal employment does not qualify for New Brunswick Provincial Programs. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) are important to the process of hiring temporary foreign workers. They not only decide whether the candidate is eligible for a work permit but also if the hiring supports Canada’s economic growth. To hire a worker temporarily, you must decide whether to use the Temporary Foreign Worker or the International Mobility Program.

Usually there are four steps involved in hiring a temporary foreign worker. These will vary depending on the job offer, the worker’s country of citizenship, and last permanent residence.

These four steps are:

• Determine if a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESCD) is required.
• Apply for a LMIA from ESDC. If it is not required, you can go to step 3.
• Select and hire a foreign worker.
• The worker applies to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for a work permit.

For further information:

Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Website: www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers.html

Employer Contact Centre: 1-800-367-5693.

The International Mobility Program

Website: www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/hire-temporary-foreign/international-mobility-program.html

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Client Support Centre

Website: www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/contact-ircc/client-support-centre.html

Telephone: 1-888-242-2100 (Canada only)

Sometimes, the new skilled talent New Brunswick needs isn’t that far away. International students who have graduated from a Canadian university, their family members, and other temporary and permanent residents already in Canada have the talent and skills employers like you need.

New Brunswick’s public post-secondary institutions teach, train, and develop the workforce of today and tomorrow. There are opportunities for New Brunswick employers to welcome students and graduates into their businesses and into their communities. There are mentorship, experiential learning, and co-op placement programs, and most colleges and universities have career development, employment services, and job boards where you can post your job vacancies or recruitment campaigns.

Why hire international students?

Every year, international students graduate from NB colleges and universities. These graduates have advanced Canadian education and credentials and are often easier to retain as they have already established connections to the community and the province. In addition, these graduates bring:

• Diversity and new perspectives to your workplace.
• Proficiency in multiple languages.
• The capacity to adapt to new environments.

Did You Know?

• Eligible students may work for any eligible Canadian employer for up to 20 hours a week while class is in session, and full-time during scheduled breaks. If you have hired international students, they may be eligible to work more than 20 hours per week off campus under a temporary public policy. You can find out if they meet the requirements here.
• International grads may be eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). This permit lets them work for any eligible employer in Canada for up to three years, depending on the length of their study program.
• Spouses of international students are eligible to apply for a Spousal Work Permit. This work permit will authorize the spouse to work full-time for any employer in Canada for the same period as their partner’s study permit.
• Are you making a job offer and noticed the international student has an expired work or study permit? That’s OK. As long as the student applied to renew their work or study permit before their permit expired, they are considered to be in “maintained status,” previously called “implied status.” This means that even if their study or work permit is expired, their original temporary status (whether as a student, worker, or visitor) continues until a decision is made in their new application, and they are notified. You can learn more about hiring international students here.

An Open Work Permit allows a foreign national to work for any Canadian eligible employer over a specified period of time (duration of the work permit). Open work permits are only granted in specific situations, for individuals who are also exempt from the LMIA requirement. Some examples of open work permit holders are:

• Spouses of skilled worker.
• Spouses of international students.
• International students on a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP).
• Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency travel (CUAET) holders.

Restricted Work Permits may restrict the kind of job, employer, and location in which the foreign national may work.

If you would like to extend a job offer to an individual on a Restricted Work Permit with another employer, the candidate will need to apply for a new work permit.

A visitor visa does not allow a foreign national to work in Canada. Most foreign nationals will need a work permit that allows them to apply for a Social Insurance Number to work. There are specific requirements they will need to meet to ensure eligibility to apply for a work permit. Normally, visitors can’t apply for work permits from inside Canada. Due to a temporary policy valid until February 2025, visitors who receive a valid job offer in Canada may apply online for an employer-specific work permit.

Please visit www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/permit/temporary/apply.html for more information.

Newcomers with permanent resident status in Canada have the same working rights and hiring process as Canadian citizens. All permanent residents are authorized to work for any employer they wish to.

Permanent Resident status is a priority for most temporary newcomers who want to settle in New Brunswick. If you currently employ international students/graduates or other employees on a temporary work permit, you can help them to transition towards Canadian permanent residence through one of New Brunswick’s provincial immigration programs. Supporting your employee’s immigration application is a great way to improve retention and create a thriving workplace.

If you want to learn how you can support your eligible employees to attain Canadian permanent residence, reach out to your provincial immigration program officer or get in touch.