Work visa,s to canada are easier to obtain.

aztec says on Jul 7, 2008, 07:56:

How about providing details on how it works in Canada. Can you just show up in Canada?

There are good people in Colombia who may want to seek a better life there.

Thanks

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jinksmiester says on Jul 7, 2008, 10:53:

First thing needed is a job offer from an employer.
The employer must apply through HRDC (human resources and development canada) and prove the job cannot be filled by a canadian worker...that means advertising and posting the job in news papers and on the canada job bank website for specific time after which if unable to find staff you begin the process of appling for workers outside canada.Alberta is very busy and there are worker shortages everywhere from oilfield tradesman to truck drivers and hospitality workers...big shortage everywhere here.It takes 5 to 6 months to get the go ahead to hire workers outside of canada.Then a job offer letter is sent to the prospective employee along with a work visa application and annex papers showing authorization to hire is approved by HRDC.From there the application is put in at the nearest embassy to canada...(in colombia thats Bogota.Then is a waiting game also likley to require an interview by the embassy..(average wait time for bogota is 6 weeks for approval or refusal).Some english skills are most likley required for any job in canada and for certain work good english skills are required.That said ive met manny people here that have very poor english or none at all but still recieved a visa.Note however that immigration canada will say right in the work application that written and verbal english skills are required so depending on the work poor english might mean no work visa.
There are agencies that companys hire from but in my case i sought out and hired my workers direct as they are people i know in colombia and i did not care to pay a third party a few thousand bucks just to provide leads to prospective employees.If a person wanted to look for work in canada they could start by doing a websearch of the different trade unions(if they workered as an electricion..sheetmetal...painter...etc..or perhaps industrial insulator (as thats my trade i know of lots of forien workers who are working ...some had no exsperience and still obtained work visa,s)....some are from colombia...anouther place to look would be the huge fast food franchises etc...hotel chains...etc...although oilfield work is where the best paying jobs can be found..

A man is not old until regret takes the place of dreams

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Mononoke28 says on Jul 7, 2008, 13:33:

I've heard from different friends of my husband's that they are planning to move to Canada because they will find better jobs up there and that the government will go out of its way to help them when it comes to housing, education and employment. I keep saying that it's hard to believe and that there is some kind of catch but they insist that's the way things work in Canada. Any truth to this or are they being misinformed about what the reality is?

Thanks!

Diana

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adrimm says on Jul 7, 2008, 18:08:

Refugees get access to a great deal of support (social housing, ESL, other education, financial aid) *for their first year, perhaps two*... but even so there is no guarantee of good employment later on. Without accepted education and solid English or French skills the sorts of jobs with will get are menial and low-paying (compared to the cost of living) at best. A life in social housing, working several minmum wage jobs is hardly a life to dream about.

Of course your husband's friends would have to qualify as refugees for the above to hold true... unfortunately there are many scammers out there who abuse the program, and I personally believe that a great many of the so-called "refugees" are not, while those who truly have the need for the program have likely never even heard about it, or are hardly in a position to take advantage of it.

As for regular immigrants, they enter on a points systems. Yes we definitely need highly skilled people in technical and professional fields, but again for them to survive successfully they need to have those english or french skills, and then be able to support themselves until they can have their credentials validated. There is far less in the way of support for regular immigrants.

Newcomers of both varieties also have far greater success in smaller and more isolated communities, but most aren't willing to make that trade-off and leave the cultural comforts that exists in the larger centres.

My cousin in Florida had a bunch of friends who all thought it was a bowl of roses based on what they'd "heard".... It ain't so.

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gimmedub says on Jul 8, 2008, 05:21:

lol - no there are no handouts in canada... unless you have a solid university education and work experience OR a canadian post-secondary education you will not find that pot of gold under the rainbow... on my way down to Bogota I met a costena who has is working in ft. mc murray... very good pay but who the fuck wants to work in ft. mc murray...

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Mononoke28 says on Jul 8, 2008, 09:12:

That's what I thought because they made it sound like Canda was just handing out visas to anybody who wanted them. I kept thinking that there was some kind of catch or that they were misunderstood but they thought I was being a "pessimist". Like you said adrimm, they may think now that it's a bowl of roses but I'm sure they will be facing reality pretty soon.

Thanks guys!

Diana

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adrimm says on Jul 8, 2008, 17:57:

That's a smart costena - I'll bet she's learning English much faster than her metropolitan counterparts, and on top of the good pay she is padding her resume with Canadian work experience & some references. Hopefully her job is meaningful to whatever her career/training is.

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jinksmiester says on Jul 8, 2008, 19:42:

I myself have lived and worked in fort mcmurray...and no i don,t like the place much but its a definite way to build up a little cash and exsperience.Most forien workers there are either recieving an allowance for living exspenses or or staying in work camps so there is no cost for food..rent etc..On top of that there flights to and from there country of origin are paid for.If they have any kind of trade at all they are likley earning 35 buck an hour with a minimum of time and half on fri/sat/sun...manny recieving double pay for sat/sun.A smart guy could sock away a 100 thou canadian in perhaps a year or year and a half and return to colombia and buy himself a nice house with cash....not bad i,d say..
On the other side of the canadian coin its true that some credentials may not be automatically accepted in canada...a doctor in colombia would have to meet canadian standards and training to be a doctor in canada.
There is quite a lot of support for for refugies...regular new immigrants get free english courses but other than than im not sure what they would recieve.
There is a point system for new immigration that in my opinion is B.S. and should be done away with.In the case with my workers they are lower skilled workers so are coming on a temp contract basis of two years.If i can prove i can not find a canadian worker to fill the job i can offer and apply to make the job a permanent position.The workers i am bringing will not be making big big bucks as they will be bartending and helping run my hotel.Never the less i don,t feel its that bad a deal either as accomadations /meals/travel etc are all looked after by me.They could realistically make more in tips and wages on one fri or sat night than they would earn in pay for a month in colombia.I,LL be teaching a few of them the managment end of the business as well as i need people to work in that capacity.They will gain some exsperience and earn better cash if they can handle the managment end when im away.
I want them to earn some money and feel good about the entire exsperience of coming to canada and working.I,LL Have three workers when the next one arrives...two are my wives sisters and the third is good friend.Two of the three were unemployed and earning nothing in colombia...the other worked at stop jeans making perhaps 4 to 5 hundred thou col a month....they have nothing to lose by trying a job here.True the cost of living may be higher but opportunitys are everywhere for those that apply themselves and are willing to work and use there brain to get ahead.

A man is not old until regret takes the place of dreams

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