Hi All,
I'm new to this forum - been going between the Oz forum and the Canadian one and although i have started the visa application for Oz, Canada is still at the back of my mind! Anyway just wondered if anyone has any idea what the job market is like in New Brunswick, specifically Fredericton for IT work? I have a degree in IT and over 5 yrs experience specializing in C# and .NET. Also what is the best way to go about getting sponsorship for a job if there were any?

Thanks in advance,
Sinead

Are you dead set on Fredericton? I can't comment on NB really but you'd probably find more in Halifax, NS - sort of the "capital" of the Atlantic region. IT industry is fairly boyant (though obviously its a smaller city than Toronto or Vancouver so fewer jobs in total). I know of a couple of open positions that would fit your skillset if you want to PM me I'll foward the details.

Hi,

We went to Fredericton on work permits with my wifes job (IT). It was a new start up and unfortunately after 6 months the company went under. She searched for positions for 4 months with no luck, so in the end we moved over to Halifax where she is now an IT Director. Fredericton is a nice town and there are a few jobs, for the person with the right amount of Canadian experience!

SAW 04

Hi,
Thanks for the replies, think we may start looking into Nova Scotia then rather than New Brunswick

Cheers,
Sinead

I'm going to Saint John (I landed last month and returned to sell my house). Someone of your experience would have no trouble finding IT work in SJ. Take a look at careerbeacon.com and see if anything fits in either SJ, Fredericton or Moncton.

That said - I (personally) am not moving to NB to further my career. I currently work as an IT Director in England, but couldn't care less what level I start at in NB, as I will de-stressing with the slower pace of life.

NB is great. Chill out Province.

Shhhh... don't say it too loud - we don't want too many Brits moving over and ruining it for us

Oh yeh, but have you heard - Canadian Affair will be flying from Gatwick to Fredericton direct as of next May! That will either be great for NB to attract British Tourists .. or there'll be a huge rise in immigration!!

Huge rise in immigration..... oh you are soooooooo funny.

Hmmm...it won't do immigration numbers any harm - it will certainly make it easier for relatives in the south of England to visit.

Personally the flight is neither use nor ornament (to me). I'd rather drive from Halifax to Saint John than from (near) Leeds to Gatwick <shudder>.

I was referring to that post which is pure bull. Are they aware how effing slow immigration is and, how effing empty NB is ?!?!?!?!?!?

Agreed - it is a long old haul trying to get into Canada (I was lucky with my timeline). Personally I prefer NB's population level's - I'm sick of being a sardine in the UK.

However, I reckon the flight is probably aimed more at immigrants and their families than tourists. Most of the visitors to NB are Americans or other Canadians - and the NB PNP Program supposedly has a higher retention rate for Brits and Europeans.

We originally picked up a brochure for NB at an immigration show in Belfast and it looked lovely. My only concern was getting a job there. If i was to secure a job though what kind of timeline would I be looking at to get a visa sorted?
Cheers,
Sinead

It will be easy for you and yours to get to NB - as there are regular flights to Halifax NS from Belfast (flew Zoom from there myself last month via Manchester - saved a wedge not going via Gatwick).

As for timeline - I was nominated at the end of June last year and had my visa by the end of October. So in theory I could have landed within 4 months. My application was business related (IT) - so job offer applicants would potentially go through even quicker.

During my interview I was subtley leaned on to pick Fredericton as a destination (personally I would have gone there - but Mrs Hood wants to live near the sea) - they are crying out for IT skills there:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswi...obs-thurs.html

The city was also ranked 5th in the recent (controversial) "best place in Canada to live" poll:

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/rank...olive/list.jsp

If you keep your salary expectations modest - it is probably possible to find work over there. Contact immigration in Fred - they may be able to point you in the right direction.