Where to locate?
 

Hi Folks,

Firstly thanks for all the replies to my query about the football being on TV last week, it put my mind at ease!!

Now for my next question, what are the best locations in Canada jobs wise? I'm in the IT game with plenty of experience and my wife is a GP over here in England. We both want to remain in the same fields of work and were wondering which cities / provinces would suit us most.

Thanks in advance

Re: Where to locate?
 

Same here - I couldn't get a job in Toronto, managed to get one within six months of moving to Calgary, got laid off, got another one through contacts.

Looks on Workopolis and Monster, see what you can see, send some resumes and see if anybody bites.

The reason I'm in Calgary is that it's the only place I could get an interview when I first landed - I had been trying for six months to get a job in Toronto from the UK, landed and tried for a month, and achieved zilch.

Got your A+ yet? I'm not joking, at least you'll be qualified to fix PCs.

Re: Where to locate?
 

Cheers for the websites, I've been looking on Dice but they don't seem to have much in Canada.

A+ ? - not sure what you mean by that :confused:

Re: Where to locate?
 

I think what he means is that competition for IT jobs in Canada is very high.. one cause or reason of this has been some big American companies tendency of luring highly skilled Asians into the US with a promise of a green card and then replacing them with another highly skilled and willing Asian when the temporary visa runs out.. along with that several I.T. companies in North America have outsourced to India and the like.. Canada has been picking these surplus “expericanced north Americanized “ workers up and running them through the PR process..

Also bear in mid that your wife will need to re-qualify to work in Canada.. I not sure on the procedure, others here will know more about that..

Re: Where to locate?
 

Yes, everybody has given you very good advice. I am sure as a GP your wife could get a job anywhere in Canada.

Here is the website for the Canadian Medical Association

http://www.cma.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/121/la_id/1.htm

Perhaps you could scout around there for starters.

Every time someone asks where should they settle in Canada, I suggest that the answer is - where you can get a job. Every province has its advantages and disadvantages - but the job comes first.

Re: Where to locate?
 

Such a hard question for others to answer, Canada has so much to offer, so it really comes down to what are you looking for outside of work.

If your wife is a GP please come to Belleville Ontario, we need her! Ontario in general is short of GPs for sure, and I think the OMA is streamlining the cross over qualification steps at last. Quinte Healthcare corporation was offering cash incentives! dont know if they still are though but worth giving them a call to see the lay of the land (number on link below is for physician recruitment only) Unfortunatly IT is a bit dead, but from what I've read its picking up again in the GTA. Still lots of competition about though where ever you are. Smaller market means fewer jobs but less competition i guess, and thats maybe why TO is so tough, everyone heads there at first.


http://www.qhc.on.ca/physicians.html

http://www.greatplacetolive.com/

Have a good one

Iain

Re: Where to locate?
 

GPs' from other countries have to re-qualify to be able to practice in Canada. There was a program on CBC not that long ago where the feds are wondering if they should re-think the entire process of doctors having to re-qualify when there is such an incredible shortage in Canada.

I would certainly check out the website mentioned to find out exactly what process you have to go through to be able to practice in Canada.

Come to BC - not only would you live in paradise and the center of the universe (Victoria)!!!! and we need doctors desperately. We have lost a fair number of specialists to the States in the recent years.

Re: Where to locate?
 

Not sure how Victoria ranks as paradise:) The last time I checked Ontario was ranked with the highest "quality of life" in Canada, and the Quinte region was ranked #1 in Ontario until the Ontario Social Development council stopped ranking these things in the late 90s, early 00s. When I moved here in 98, Quinte was ranked (for quality of life) as #1 region in the #1 province of the #1 Country in the world. Couldnt really beat that back then. Probably changed a little since then, but still a pretty nice place all in all.

Just goes to show you can prove what you want with stats;)

Re: Where to locate?
 

Dice is pretty crap, it's mainly US jobs.

If you have time on your hands, go to agency websites and fille in the online profiles - how do you find the agencies? Have a look on Workopolis or Monster.

A+ is the basic PC qualification here - it's run by Comptia, you can sit the test in all the same places you sit MS, etc certification exams in the UK. It means that you're qualified to do basic PC support stuff - they also do Network+, Server+, Linix+, etc.

Have a look at the website: http://www.comptia.org/

Being A+ won't guarantee you a job, but it does mean you're qualified to handle a screwdriver in the eyes of a Canadian employer.

Re: Where to locate?
 

Whilst it is not a nice thing to say, your wife may well be the driver here. IT is in trouble everywhere in Canada, it's a matter of degrees of awfulness.

Check out provincial programs. Alberta and BC have both had at one time - and may still have - special fast track (provincial nominee) and financial incentive schemes for doctors, albeit mainly for rural areas. Other provinces have the same I'm sure. These schemes are, in my opinion, the absolute best way of getting into the country and setting yourself up.

Once in Canada you will be in a much better position to get yourself working.

Re: Where to locate?
 

Alberta is certainly crying out for doctors - I know we don't have dental or vetinary schools, don't know if we have a medical school.

We get most of our doctors via immigration - I think I've heard that we're heading for problems because a lot of our last intake are hitting retirement age. I used to work on intra-oral dental imaging systems and a lot of the dentists I worked with were UK trained. From what I gather Canadian doctors head to the US to wallow in the money down there.

Sorry mate, you're just another IT guy, she's a doctor, get her over here sharpish!

Re: Where to locate?
 

The process for a GP is for the application to be sent via an underserviced community putting forward your details (certificates & rota sheets) and a $100 fee. You will be on temporary work visa and the job is conditional of you obtaining the MCCEE. Don't quote me but thats roughly the procedure from the information sent to me.

www.northernhealth.ca are always trying to recruit via the BMA thats how I started looking for positions.

Re: Where to locate?
 

If you find out what the process is for a doctor working in Canada from UK then please let me know! My husband came here as a pharmacist and had to requalify - a very long, costly and painful process. His brother and his brother's wife are both doctors and may be interested in living here but they said they couldn't stand the thought of having to do loads of exams. Thanks in advance.

Re: Where to locate?
 

System for accepting foreign trained doctors certainly sucks. I cant believe with the shortages here that they make it so difficult.

Heres a couple of articles I found...one says alberta is more accepting than ontario, but even then the problem seems to be arranging an internship as part of the licensing, as first choice seems to go to canadian grads, and then all the foreigners have to fight over the few scraps left. Just idiotic if you ask me.
http://www.aipso.ca/doctors_in_waiting.htm
http://www.readersdigest.ca/mag/2004/08/doctors.html

I think that things will have to come to a head soon as GP and specialist shortages are becoming more and more the norm, so the politicians may sit up and take notice. I hope so anyway! there seems to have been a little political movement in that direction recently.

This one contains a few usefull links for doctors thinking of coming here.
http://www.pulsehr.com/Resources/Tip...ls.htm#Medical Doctors: Going to Canada

Iain

Re: Where to locate?
 

University of Calgary and University of Alberta both have medical schools. University of Calgary's works in Foothills hospital. Don't suppose that means much to you deep southerners!