christmasoompa

It is - the facts show that fairly easily. It used to be that the majority of LMO's were granted, now something like only 30% are. There just isn't the same need for foreign workers as there was a few years ago.

JonboyE

Done.

MarylandNed

I've worked in IT for most of the last 21 years in both Canada and the US.

Just because an occupation is taken off the FSW list does NOT mean that the occupation is not in demand. In fact, Canadian employers are having a hard time filling their IT positions and this situation is projected to get worse over the next few years.

Job applicants state that employers are often unrealistic in their job requirements - e.g. they want Java and C++ and .Net and SQL Server and ASP and Oracle and...yada yada yada. Job applicants also think that they lose out even when they do have the required skills because they are lacking "Canadian experience". This is a catch 22 for new immigrants - how can you have "Canadian experience" if you've never worked in Canada????!!!!!

Employers counter that they can't find job applicants that are skilled enough to fill their open positions.

Obviously something has to give here and I suspect that IT occupations were removed from the FSW list because the government agrees that Canada might have a large pool of skilled immigrants who are not being given a chance by Canadian employers.

It is still possible to get into Canada on a TWP and then progress through the immigration process that way (that's the route I took many years ago - TWP, PR and finally citizenship). The removel of IT jobs from the FSW list just means that you can't start off as a PR without a job (to avoid the "Canadian experience" catch 22). Again, it does NOT mean that IT professionals are not in demand.

helcat12

We certainly discovered that the adverts want the moon, but when you see them face to face it is different. You will still see the "LMO is hard" line repeated, even though it is just like PR - many people apply who are not fulfilling the criteria and so of course they get rejected. In the past they may have been more lenient, but that doesn't make it hard - it just means you need to have a good case. If you do, it isn't hard at all.
I know quite a few people now who have been granted LMO with no fuss at all, but then they had sensible companies who followed the rules and fulfilled all the criteria to get a foreign worker approved and YES, there was a genuine lack of skills in the role they were expecting to fill, so it was easy. What isnt easy any more is getting in when there isn't a need.
If you ask IT companies, they are still saying that there is a skills shortage and not just in the managerial roles, so there are still a lot of possibilities in the field to take advantage of. Specificity is the key to success.

Waggle

Hi MarylandNed,

I am a software developer with around 12 years experience programming primarily in Microsoft products (.Net from 1.1 through to 4.0, Windows apps and services, Web apps and services etc - and SQL Server 7.0 through to 2008).

I have a number of Microsoft development certifications, including the Microsoft Certified Professional Developer for Windows and Web under the recent 2008 tracks. I am hoping since these are internationally recognised they'll stand me in pretty good stead in Canada.

Anyway, we have an FSW1 application in the early stages of processing under my wife's industrial pharmacy experience, but obviously we'll need to be looking at a TWP/FSW2 situation as a backup plan if our FSW1 application fails.

Can you give me any info as to what the software development market is like, especially in and around Vancouver? How much more difficult is it to get a job if you need an LMO, than if you're a permanent resident?

Also any idea how good the recruitment agencies are? Or are you generally best to approach companies yourself?

Thanks for any info,
Wayne.

MarylandNed

Wayne

I don't know about the state of things in Vancouver specifically at the moment. In a recession, there is obviously going to be stiffer competition for jobs so being a PR is definitely going to help even more in a recession as employers are less likely to need to go the LMO route.

I would definitely suggest that you approach companies directly as much as possible. There are a few reasons for this:

(1) it demonstrates resourcefulness as well as an interest in the company on your part
(2) it saves the company money as they don't need to pay a fee to a recruitment agency and this might give you an advantage over other candidates
(3) it removes the possibility of something going wrong between the employer and the recruitment agency (I lost a job offer in Vancouver many years ago because of such a problem).

So do as much of the ground work yourself. Approach specific employers directly. Also use job search sites (e.g. monster.ca)

You can always supplement your own ground work with the use of recruitment agencies but I wouldn't depend solely on the agencies. Make sure the agancies know which employers you've already contacted directly yourself and make sure that they don't try to approach these same employers on your behalf.

Good luck!

Waggle

Hi, my CV is already on monster.ca

However, I just seem to get UK recruitment agencies phoning/emailing me because my address is listed as being in the UK.

When I am in a position to consider applying for positions (maybe next Easter onwards) I am wondering if it's worth amending this to a Canadian address of some kind to attract the attention of Canadian employers searching the site?

Anyway thanks for the good advice,
Wayne.

RedKev

Hey, I'm a .net guru and don't have the experience that you have. I recently moved to Vancouver, under the WHP, and got work immediately with Tek Systems. Just a 3 month contract but something to get me started. The recruitment agencies over here don't seem too proactive, which is weird as you kinda assume it's an important part of their job.

reddy001

Hi ABW + ALL I.T FRIENDS

I would much appreciate if you could advice me on which area in I.T presently good.I recently received my PR and moving from london to toronto. I have some experience in JAVA and SAP portals...

Your response is much appreciated