Canada declares shortage of manpower, invites Nigerians, others to fill one million vacancies

The Canadian government has announced an acute shortage of manpower and invited Nigerians and other foreign nationals to fill existing vacancies in various sectors of the country’s economy.

In a report by Statistics Canada seen by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday, the government said the labour shortage has reached an all-time high of one million.

The North American country has an aging population with declining birth rates and immigration remains one of the avenues employers of labour are employing to fill the existing vacancies and support economic growth.

Here are a couple of strategies the Canadian government is using to fill the available vacancies:

– International Students

To make it easier for foreign students to remain in the country and gain local work experience, the government allowed the extension of Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs). This allows international students with expiring PGWPs to extend for an additional year and a half (18 months).

As Express Entry draws paused in September of last year, many international students were worried that their status would expire before they could apply for Permanent Residency.