HRSDC Assessment for Labour Market Opinion

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To assist your company in the application process, below is a description of the factors that HRSDC takes into consideration when reviewing your job offer. Submitting a complete application and providing information on these factors can result in faster decisions by HRSDC and CIC officers and reduce delays in the recruitment of your foreign worker.

When assessing a job offer, HRSDC considers primarily :

• the occupation that the foreign worker will be employed in;
• the wages and working conditions offered;
• the employer's advertisement and recruitment efforts;
• the labour market benefits related to the entry of the foreign worker;
• consultations, if any, with the appropriate union;
• whether the entry of the foreign worker is likely to affect the settlement of a labour dispute.

For your information, please note that CIC may also require additional criteria when issuing work permits to foreign workers in regulated occupations.

Occupation

HRSDC and CIC use the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system to categorize the job you are filling based on the majority of duties you expect the foreign worker to perform. HRSDC also uses the NOC occupation to identify wages and labour market trends when assessing your job offer.

The NOC system can help you as an employer more accurately describe the duties and identify the occupation that the foreign worker will be expected to perform, noting that HRSDC officers will work with you if the NOC does not precisely reflect your employment needs.

• Find a detailed NOC job description .
• Learn more about the NOC  in general.

Wages and Working Conditions

HRSDC reviews the wages that you are offering the foreign national, and compares them to wages paid to Canadians in the same occupation based on labour market information from Statistics Canada, HRSDC, provincial ministries, and other reliable sources. If you are offering wages below rates paid to Canadians in the occupation, HRSDC will not confirm your job offer.

HRSDC also expects you to provide working conditions that are consistent with federal and/or provincial standards for the occupation and workplace.

• Learn more information about federal and provincial labour standards in Canada .

Advertisement and Recruitment

HRSDC generally requires evidence of recruitment efforts to find qualified Canadians before applying to hire foreign workers.

You will be asked to provide copies of advertisement in local and national newspapers, recognized INTERNET job banks, job-specific and professional publications, along with receipts to show how long the advertisements were published. The advertisements must clearly show the job duties, position requirements, wages and working conditions.

In some situations, evidence of recruitment of Canadians through other means such as job fairs, co-operative education programs, and apprenticeships may be acceptable.

• Learn more about Government of Canada supports for employers on human resources planning and recruitment .

Labour Market Benefits to Canadians

HRSDC will consider direct labour market benefits from the hiring of the foreign worker(s). Showing how the entry of the foreign worker(s) will transfer skills and knowledge to Canadians, fill a labour shortage, or directly create or retain job opportunities for other Canadians will support your application.

Union Consultation

If the position being filled by the foreign worker is part of a bargaining unit, the following information will support a positive HRSDC decision and will reduce delays in the recruitment of the foreign national:

• An explanation of the union's position on hiring a foreign national for your job. If you have not contacted the union, explain why you have not done so.
• An indication of whether you actively work with union officials to identify unemployed Canadians.
• Confirmation that the conditions of the collective agreement (e.g. wages, working conditions) will apply to the foreign worker.

Please note that HRSDC may contact the applicable union for additional information when reviewing your application.

Labour Disputes

Please be aware that HRSDC and CIC will not confirm the hiring, or issue a work permit to the foreign national if you are making an offer to a foreign national for a position that may affect a labour dispute at your workplace, or affects the employment of any Canadian worker involved in such a dispute.

Regulated Occupations

Also, please be aware that CIC will not issue a work permit if the foreign worker does not meet certification and licensing requirements for regulated occupations in Canada (e.g. doctors, engineers, tradespersons). Making the necessary arrangements with the regulatory body for certification and licensing is the employer's and the foreign worker's responsibility.

• To learn more about regulated occupations in Canada, please visit Work Destinations .
• To learn more about the requirements to work in specific regulated occupations, visit the Regulated Occupations Data Base .