I just found the BC Provincial Nominee semi-skilled project (took some searching for though!)

Alberta has a similar one.

These are references to the old temporary foreign workers low skills pilot project.

Bunac to Low-skills pilot project

Temporary pilot project, low skills.

Pilot project for Occupations C & D (Human Resources Canada)

I did find a couple of useful government websites for temporary workers (that I have never come across before) which may be of help to you.

"... If you are interested in working temporarily in Canada, this section will help you find out what you need to know about temporary resident visa requirements, getting a work permit, hiring a foreign worker and programs to help foreign workers..."

Working temporarily in Canada

Tool for ascertaining what jobs are available where, wages etc.

Expedited labour market opinion project (BC and Alberta)

Temporary foreign worker program

If you can find a way of working temporarily for 2 years in Canada in one of the NOC jobs, you may be able to apply under the Canada Experience Class.

..."Frequently asked questions:
Canadian Experience Class
Canada has agreements with several countries to allow their citizens to work in Canada temporarily under a working holiday program. If part or all of my work experience in Canada was gained under such a program, can it be counted toward the work experience requirement in the Canadian Experience Class?
Yes — However, your work experience must still be classified as NOC 0, A or B under the National Occupational Classification system.

Otherwise you could look at the Provincial Nominee Program.

Hope that is of some help anyway!

I haven't read all of that stuff but I imagine that the same rules would apply regarding requirement for a positive LMO etc, the links are always useful to have though, the CIC site isn't always the easiest to navigate.

I've never seen that working in Canada tool thing before by the way and I find it quite odd that Hotel front desk workers, salesmen and retail workers are entitled to an expidited LMO for BC but people who work in IT, HR etc aren't.

I know, I had to delve very deeply into several government websites to find the BC links! Yes, there still would be a requirement for a positive LMO etc., but the low skilled - semi-skilled LMO's would be (I believe) easier to get.

The reason that they are doing expedited LMO's in those occupations is because there is a shortage and, particularly in the case of hotel/tourism, BC rely on that industry for economic growth. (That's what I read anyway!).

Hope those links are useful anyway.

Many thanks for the links Siouxie.

I'm curious about the percentage of LMO's that get approved when it comes to lower qualified professions like front desk workers and salesmen? Even though there might be a shortage of labour for some of these professions, I would think there would be a difficulty for the employer to claim to the authorities he/she couldn't find a Canadian with that kind of competence level? I would be interested to know on what grounds LMO's get approved...

Many thanks in advance.

But apart from certain regions, BC and AB for example, approving LMO's for lower skill levels as well, LMO's can generally only be based on a job offer that is secured in NOC categories 0, A, or B?

People may be able to give you ratios based upon their experiences on here but I'm not sure if the CIC actually release those figures unfortunately.

I'm not sure really, my comments were based upon BC and NS as they seem to be slightly more open than Ontario (our first choice).

You are very welcome.

For percentages of NOC class temporary work permits, some overview figures are available online, there is also an email address that you can send a request to get a copy of the breakdowns from the Facts and Figures 2008 Digital Library. There is also a semi-breakdown of foreign workers by territory / area but it doesn't specify which NOC codes.

They may be useful for ascertaining which areas are taking the most temporary workers.

I believe that BC and AB find it difficult to get workers in those industries and that is why they have expedited LMO service.

Those are really useful links, thanks Siouxie.

OK.

There are 3 criteria that determine a successful Labour Market Opinion with regards to securing a temporary work permit. Please note this is for the normal temporary work permit route and not necessarily for PNP.

1/ The employer has to have made reasonable effort to recruit a Canadian.

2/ The wage being offered for the job is neutral or positive. It cannot be less than the average wage in the province.

3/ The job normally has to fall under NOC categories 0, A or B.

It is not really a question of proving you can do a job that no Canadaian can do but more a question of proving that there is not enough Canadians to do all of the jobs under that NOC code in that province.

As an example when I first came to Canada I was one foreign worker doing the same job as 180 Canadians, however it was proven that when I applied for the job the company did everything by the book and out of the 33 applicants I had the most suitable skills.

My application was however rejected because my basic salary was $10k than the average wage being earned for the NOC Code in the province of Ontario. It was irrelevant that 180 canadians did exactly the same job as me on the same wage. When they looked at the whole province I was on less than the average. This meant that I was being exploited as a foreign worker and the temporary work permit was rejected.

I hope this helps cover the requirements.