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Facilitated Processing for Information Technology Workers

In response to the need of employers to fill critical shortages in the software industry, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) collaborated with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), Industry Canada and the Software Human Resource Council (SHRC) on the development of a pilot project to streamline the entry of workers whose skills are in high demand in the software industry and whose entry into the Canadian labour market would have no negative impact on Canadian job seekers and workers. Under normal circumstances, a foreign worker who wishes to work in Canada requires an employment authorization from CIC and a validated job offer from a local HRSDC office. If the HRSDC office determines that there are no Canadian citizens or permanent residents available to fill the position, the job offer to the foreign worker is validated and the worker may then apply for an employment authorization for admission to Canada.

Under the pilot project, the job-specific confirmation was replaced by a national confirmation letter which states, among other things, that certain software positions cannot be filled by Canadian citizens or permanent residents. The national confirmation letter removed the delay associated with the job-specific confirmation process.

To qualify for this expedited process, the job being offered must fit within one of these job descriptions.

An evaluation of the software development worker pilot project completed by Ekos Research found:

1. that the pilot project contributed to alleviating the skills shortage problem;
2. no evidence that Canadian workers were being displaced;
3. no downward pressure on wages paid to Canadian workers in the same industry; and
4. evidence of skill transfer from foreign workers to existing staff.

The expedited processing will continue while the redesign of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is finalized. The redesign process looks at several different approaches to make the admission of temporary foreign workers more efficient. The aim is to develop a model that will allow us to extend the benefits of the positive elements of the software pilot project to other sectors experiencing shortages. The facilitative process remains strictly targeted at workers entering the software sector on a temporary basis. It does not apply to individuals seeking permanent resident status in Canada.