The Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) seems to be on the right track in retaining immigrants in the east coast provinces.
IRCC made a review of the AIP starting from March 2017 till the end of the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Their aim was to check whether the pilot was working as planned. The primary aim of the AIP was to assist in growing the population of Canada and meeting the demands of the labor market.
AIP is an employer-driven program. It lets employers from four Atlantic Provinces hire global talent without getting a Labour Market Impact Assessment.
The process of getting a Labour Market Impact Assessment is often said to be a lengthy and expensive process. With the help of AIP, newcomers enter the country with a settlement plan and a job offer. This job offer is from a designated service provider.
According to history, Atlantic Canada had to struggle a lot in the past to retain immigrants. Thus, retention of newcomers is a milestone for the pilot.
IRCC came to know that majority of the 5,590 applicants were still in their respective provinces. This is even after two years of landing. These applicants had immigrated to Atlantic Canada through the AIP.
During the survey, most of the AIP newcomers said that they were working for their original Canadian employer. Those who changed their employers were still there working in the same province.
After the first year, most of the AIP immigrants were staying in Atlantic Canada. These data prove that AIP comes with a higher retention rate. This is in comparison to most other economic programs in Atlantic Canada.
Almost 34% of the respondents were in Nova Scotia and 45% in New Brunswick. 10% of the respondents were found in Newfoundland and Labrador and PEI each.
The retention rates of AIP after two years are way higher for newcomers. This is applicable in New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Labrador. The retention rate is in comparison to various other immigration pathways.
The majority of the people in Canada during the survey said they intend to stay in the province of residence. On the other hand, less than a fifth said that they are unsure. 3% said that they do not wish to stay.
The primary reason behind respondents wanting to stay in the province was their fondness of their community. They also liked their jobs and their cost of living was also affordable. Around 33% of them said that they have their friends or family in the same province.
Those willing to leave said that they wish to make more money in some other province. At the same time, 40% of the respondents said that they failed to get a proper job offer in their province of landing.
According to the evaluation, the settlement plans were helpful when implemented. Most of the AIP principal applicants had no idea that they could access their services free of cost.
This is even though most of the employers said their companies offered settlement supports. IRCC agreed to come up with a strategy to enhance awareness of settlement services. This is for the principal applicants for AIP, along with their kids and spouses.
The AIP is nicely on track to become a permanent immigration program for Canada. There has been an extension of the pilot until December 2021. This will allow the IRCC to have more time in studying the mid and long-term impact of the program.
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