Fact Sheet — Hiring Internationally Trained Workers: Programs for Employers

Hiring internationally trained workers provides many opportunities to Canadian employers, including helping to meet labour needs, increasing competitiveness, and developing new markets, both locally and globally. Immigrants, refugees, foreign students and citizens of other countries willing to work in Canada can bring valuable skills and experiences to the Canadian labour market.

Employers can hire a foreign worker temporarily or offer a full-time job to support a skilled worker’s immigration to Canada. There are several programs available to hire internationally trained workers.

Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP): allows employers to fill short-term gaps in the labour market with workers from abroad. Whether employers require general labourers or highly skilled workers, the TFWP can be used to hire foreign nationals for up to four years. Processing times for work permits vary depending on where and how the application is made. Details are available on our website.

Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP): is one of the main avenues to permanent immigration. Current applicants are processed within 12 months, and those with a qualifying job offer are given priority processing.

Arranged Employment Opportunities (AEO): can be offered to employees currently working in Canada under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program or to those recruited abroad. Arranged offers benefit employers by allowing them to quickly hire the skilled staff they need. CIC places priority on new FSW applications with qualifying job offers.

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): gives provinces and territories an active role in immigrant selection as it authorizes them to nominate for permanent residence individuals who will meet specific local labour market needs. Provinces and territories have various streams in their PNPs, but they tend to fall into five clusters: skilled workers; semi-skilled workers; business/investors; international student graduates; and family/community connections.

Canadian Experience Class (CEC): allows temporary foreign students who graduated in Canada and foreign workers with the right mix of knowledge, skills and Canadian work experience to apply to stay in the country permanently. CEC applicants can keep working while their application for permanent residence is processed, and employers can keep benefiting from this supply of skilled talent. The program has streamlined application requirements and a high acceptance rate. Currently, a case is processed in about 14 months.

International Student Program (ISP): offers two programs to hire foreign students. Foreign nationals studying full-time at participating publicly funded post-secondary institutions, or in certain programs at private post-secondary institutions, are eligible to apply for an Off-Campus Work Permit (OCWP); and foreign nationals who have completed a program of at least eight months at a participating Canadian university or college may apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP).

Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO): offers information and services on the Canadian labour market and Canada’s credential assessment processes. FCRO develops tools for employers and regulatory bodies to help them integrate internationally trained workers into the labour market.

Detailed information on these programs is available on individual fact sheets. For information online, see the Employers page on the CIC website.

Last updated: October 1, 2012