10-05-2013
This week, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) launched reforms to the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), thereby ending the moratorium (temporary suspension) on the program’s older version. The new TFWP is believed to be more efficient and friendly towards young applicants with a high level of language proficiency.
Previously, the FSWP faced a troubling backlog with a projected 1.5 million applications in progress and a 15-year wait time by 2015. To reduce the backlog, CIC stopped accepting new applications to the program last year in the beginning of July . To date, the backlog has been mostly eliminated.
“The government’s number one priority remains jobs, economic growth, and long-term prosperity. Our changes not only ensure that Canada can select the immigrants most needed by our economy, but that they are best positioned for success,” says Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism.
In accordance with Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2013, the primary goal of the FSWP is to fulfill labour demands in the Canadian economy through welcoming skilled individuals into the country, as well as to ensure that these professionals are able to transfer their credentials and become economically stable in Canada.
With this purpose, the Canadian government has introduced the Educational Credential Assessment, which informs prospective immigrants of the assessed value of their credentials in the Canadian labour market, lending insights into their decisions to immigrant. In addition, the points grid of the FSWP has been changed to reflect the findings of a large body of research on the economic conditions of skilled immigrants. This modified points system now favours young people with substantial communication skills in either English or French.
To further prevent a significant backlog from occurring again, CIC has also published a list of eligible occupations that indicates specifically the kinds of professionals and the number of skilled immigrants that Canada aims to accept each year.
FWCanada is a Montreal-based law firm that provides professional legal service on Canadian immigration. For more updates and tips on Canadian immigration, visit www.canadianimmigration.net. Don’t forget to like FWCanada on Facebook and follow the firm on Twitter.
