alexandra.patience

Hi,

I am new to this but hoping for some help!

My partner is in the process of applying for a job at the nuclear power station based in Chalk River in Ontario and therefore we are looking at a potential move from North East England to Ontario.

I have looked online and come to the conclusion that either Pembroke or Petewawa are the closest options for living and working - but I am open to any other suggestions. I don't know if anyone has any advice on either town or any other places that may be worth considering?

We are obviously in the very early stages of this process so any other advice would be massively appreciated. I currently work as an English Teacher in the UK but would be looking to find work in Canada as a teacher (hopefully!) once out there.

Thanks in advance!

Engineer_abroad

Does your husband already have the right to work in Canada? If not under what scheme is he applying for the job? It isn't typically possible for a Canadian employer to employ a foreign worker without first making sure there are no Canadian residents or citizens that can do the job.

Tirytory

Welcome,

It would be worthwhile searching the forum for threads on teaching. I'm not a teacher, but have gathered from here it is exceptionally difficult to get work as a teacher. I do also know several great Canadian teachers who struggle to get anything more than casual work.

alexandra.patience

Thank you for the reply. He hasn't got the right to work in Canada yet but he is looking at the express entry route into Canada as a permanent resident. The company he is applying with is BHI Energy - he has a telephone appointment with them on Thursday to discuss the requirements etc. but he has a lot of experience in his field of work so they have expressed their interest in employing him.

alexandra.patience

Thank you for your response. I will have a look into it!

Engineer_abroad

Sounds like he is looking at the FSW program. Most employers will not wait as long as is required for a PR application (takes up to 12 months all in). he may want to ask about them doing an LMIA and employing him as a TFW on a work permit.

To qualify for FSW you will need to check you score at least 67 points on the calculator below:
Selection factors: federal skilled workers

Assuming this is ok you will then need to to check your CRS score to see if you are likely to be selected for PR.
Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) tool: skilled immigrants (Express Entry)

A score of around 415 to 430 has been enough recently to be selected.

alexandra.patience

Thank you very much for the advice. We will have a look into what you have suggested and hopefully make some progress.

Do you know roughly how long to FSW Program takes to complete before he would commence work there?

Engineer_abroad

In total it will take around 12 months but is highly dependent on what your CRS score is (i.e. how long you sit in the pool waiting for selection).

My breakdown is below as a guide:

1) English language testing - Say 1 month to arrange and sit
2) Gather data and apply for EE pool entry - 1 month
3) Wait for ITA - anywhere from 1 week to 12 months
4) Receive ITA and gather data, apply for PR - 3 months
5) processing - 6 months
6) conclude affairs move to Canada - this will depend how quickly you can move

dbd33

There is a poster here who recently spent several months in Chalk River. I'm sure she'll be along to tell you that it gets cold. With snow.

HGerchikov

That would be me. My husband was there for 18 months and I lived there full time from the beginning of January to the beginning of May this year. Many people do go with the Pembroke or Petawawa options. Pembroke is a nice little town, very friendly but there isn't much there. Having said that there is more there than anywhere else in the area. Petawawa is predominantly a military town, has a fabulous gym apparently and that's about all I have heard people say. Deep River (where the offices for the Chalk River site are located) is an option too, has library, hospital, school, one supermarket, lcbo and a beer store.

We went more rural and the other side of Deep River than Pembroke and Petawawa. First we rented a cottage on an island which was actually in Quebec, then moved to another more solidly built place on the Ontario side of the River for winter. This was in Mackey, which was part of a township with an area the size of metropolitan Toronto and a population of 286.
There is nothing but trees, trees, water, trees and more trees. The countryside is spectacular, you can drive anywhere you want with no traffic jams and can always park. I liked it, but it's definitely not for everyone, plus I had lived in Canada for 12 years by the time I went up there, so I was somewhat aclimatized. Not sure how I would have felt about it if I went there straight from the UK, like a whole other world. The snow was half way up the patio doors for most of the time I was there, the house was on the water front but we didn't see the water until two weeks before we left. The day I arrived to live there full time it was -27 C without the wind chill. If I hadn't just driven for 7 hours I would have turned right round.
I don't live there now, it was never going to be permanent and we moved back closer to Toronto, although still rural. If you want more detailed info, don't hesitate to ask, you can send me a pm if you want.