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Canadian province New Brunswick starts new immigration pilot program

The Government of New Brunswick announced a new immigration pilot project: the New Brunswick Essential Worker Pilot Project (NBCWP) on 7 November. The immigration pilot program will be held through selected employers of the province. The pilot program will last initially for five years.

The details of this plan were announced on Monday, in Saint-Quentin, as part of the 10th National Immigration Week. The province is thus seeking to continue to fight against the major labor shortage that is hitting it hard.

In northwestern New Brunswick, there is a record increase in immigration. This is good news for this region, which has already experienced a decline, but which brings with it several challenges.

The main purpose of the pilot project is to address the critical labor shortage in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The astonishing feature of the pilot project is that it will not only provide economic immigration to the province but will also guarantee settlement services (including vocational and language training) for new immigrants.

In addition to addressing a critical labor shortage, New Brunswick is concerned about retaining newcomers and recognizes that meaningful work is essential to achieving this; this pilot project is the first step towards solving both problems. The NBCWP will work with six selected employers across the province. These were selected because of their excellent performance in the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP), their good practices in recruiting immigrants, and because they already have the necessary settlement programs.

Following are the participating employers’ names:

  • Cooke Aquaculture,
  • Groupe Savoie inc.,
  • Groupe Westco,
  • Imperial Manufacturing,
  • J.D. Irving Ltd.,
  • McCain Foods.

The participating employers must:

  • have strong relocation plans to secure candidates in new jobs and new communities, with a strong commitment to long-term retention;
  • offer advice and support to candidates wishing to obtain the equivalent of Canadian high school education;
  • have comprehensive workforce planning to attract and hire qualified foreign specialists, as well as to improve skills in the workplace.

Up to 200 hours of language training are also offered to candidates who need it, as well as advice and support for those wishing to obtain the equivalencies of a post-secondary diploma.

There are many websites that list available positions in New Brunswick. Some of these could be;