Conference Board Of Canada Stressing On Prevention Of Labour Shortages

09 Jul 2010

Conference Board of Canada stresses on the importance of skills of prospective immigrants to match Canada’s labour needs.  This recommendation leads to the point that Canadian immigration policies should continue to evolve to prevent labour shortages that could stunt future economic growth. Canada has a steady job growth which tends to be the norm and its large baby-boomer generation is approaching retirement age.  Recently, Canada has introduced a change in the qualifying occupations of Federal Skilled Worker (professional) to better reflect and respond to the labour market needs.

Countries like Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore are strategic in linking immigration to long-term economic development. United States allocates 6.5% of visas for highly skilled workers but Canada reserves 55% visas for employment related purposes. With appropriate immigration policies, Canada will not be able to maintain its workforce.

The report mentions that provincial government is concentrating on business and economy at regional level by emphasizing on immigration processes and policy. The recommendations by Conference Board of Canada include streamlining of immigration processes & policies between levels of government, improving the recognition of foreign professional credentials, streamlining the process by which temporary foreign workers and foreign students become permanent residents. 

According to Statistics Canada, British Columbia shows the strongest growth rate of all provinces. Canada’s population now exceeds 34 million. The birth rate needed to sustain a population is 2.1 but the current birth rate in Canada is 1.66 children per woman.