Despite 'considerable investment' in skills development, province relies on immigration to fill 'a number of high-skilled positions’
Saskatchewan employers who sponsor foreign nationals through the province's immigrant nominee program will need to adjust their recruitment and compliance processes ahead of Jan. 2.
That’s because on that day, new eligibility rules take effect that merge two existing nomination streams and create a separate category for foreign workers already living and working in the province.
The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) is combining its family referral and skilled worker categories into a single international skilled workers category, according to a report by The StarPhoenix.
The merger consolidates two application streams into one, a change that alters how HR departments and immigration counsel will need to classify pending and future nominations.
To offset the elimination of a stand-alone family referral stream, the province says applicants in the merged category with existing family connections in Saskatchewan will receive additional weighting under the program's points assessment system.
Restriction on family nominations
The changes do not alter a rule introduced in May 2012 limiting sponsors to nominating one family member at a time, rather than multiple relatives simultaneously, The StarPhoenix reports.
That 2012 rule was introduced without advance notice or a transition period.
The restriction remains a factor for employers and sponsors who use family-referral pathways to source workers, since the one-at-a-time nomination limit will continue to apply under the newly merged international skilled workers category.
New stream created
Beyond the merger, the province is creating a distinct nomination category specifically for foreign workers who are already living and working in Saskatchewan.
Bill Boyd, the minister responsible for immigration, said in a news release that the province continues to depend on immigration to meet workforce needs. "Saskatchewan's labour market has high demand for workers in a variety of occupations, and even with considerable investment in training and skills development for people in the province, we still rely on immigration to fill a number of high-skilled positions," Boyd said.
Boyd said the changes are intended to make it easier for the province to attract and retain skilled workers from around the world, framing the restructuring as a measure to support Saskatchewan's economy.
Electronic-only applications
Alongside the eligibility changes, the SINP will stop accepting paper applications starting in January, moving to an electronic-only submission process.
Employers and immigration consultants who have relied on mailed or in-person filings will need to transition to the electronic system before the rules take effect.
The province has not indicated any exceptions to the electronic filing requirement.
Some Prince Edward Island employers are cutting staff hours and pushing remaining workers into longer shifts as federal immigration cuts shrink the temporary foreign worker and international student pool, according to a recent report.
Meanwhile, nearly half of Canadians say current immigration levels are too high - even as most acknowledge its role in addressing labour shortages, according to a previous report from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
