Canadian employers will find it easier to hire employees from the Philippines
The Department of Immigration has announced the launch of a new pilot project for foreign workers.
The Philippines-Canada Friendship Week, organized by the local office of Immigration Canada, will kick off in Manila on October 23. At the same time, officials are launching the CAN Work Philippines pilot program, which will simplify the process of obtaining work permits for Filipinos.
Canadian employers will in turn be able to schedule group appointments for health screenings and biometrics for potential employees to expedite the onboarding process for qualified workers. The project will affect Canadian employers who hire 50 or more employees at a time, as well as employers seeking critical talent in the health care, construction and agri-food industries.
Canada is contributing CA$ 200,000 to the project, which will go towards organizing trainings and ensuring ethical hiring.
The Philippines has long been an important supplier of labor to Canada. According to the 2021 Census, there are 960,000 people of Filipino descent living in Canada. And in the first six months of 2023, one in ten work permits under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program were issued to Filipino nationals.
On June 6, 2023, Canada gave Filipinos visa-free access to the country — for those who either had a Canadian visa within the last 10 years or have a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa.
