The Quebec health network is looking for global nurses to fill the present shortage. The French-language media, Radio-Canada, made the confirmation about this information.
As per the information, the recruitment sessions will be in Belgium and France. The recruitment will continue over the next few months. Their target is to attract a minimum of 1,700 nurses and at least 200 orderlies.
The shortage of orderlies and nurses is nothing new in Quebec. However, the recent pandemic made the situation worse since many people are either retiring early or leaving the job.
Due to this fact, the province will be hiring more global nurses this year. This will be almost five times higher than the recruitment data two years back.
Other provinces are facing similar issues to Quebec. Several provinces have sent out warnings across the country about the severity of the situation. Shortages of nurses were there even before the Covid-19. The pandemic makes the situation worse.
The Globe and Mail report that there has been an increase in the nursing job vacancies by almost 50% last year. This is mostly in the emergency rooms and intensive care centers.
The latest data on job postings by Statistics Canada shows a trend towards a rise in employment in the health care sector.
In November 2020, the Health Care sector vacancy rate was higher in comparison to other industries. This rate comprised almost 1/5th or 112,700 of the total job vacancies.
The high number of job vacancies in the health care sector may be due to immigration restrictions due to the pandemic. Immigrants play a crucial role in this sector.
According to the January Labour Force Survey, the following percentages were immigrants in the sector:
- 41.3% of nurse orderlies and aides
- 42.8% of medical specialists
Ways to Go To Canada as a Nurse
If you wish to work as a nurse in Canada, you need to prove that you are equally qualified to work in this profession in the country. The process shall involve:
- Getting your credentials assessed.
- Reviewing your earlier experience.
- Proving that you fulfill the criteria to meet Canada’s licensing needs.
Nurses may go to Canada as skilled workers. It needs to be through one of the various federal or provincial economic immigration programs.
As a global nurse, you may be eligible for Express Entry (EE). This shall be under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP). You need to meet specific requirements for this. The process involves two primary steps:
- Submit your profile to a pool of candidates.
- After submission, you will receive a CRS score. This score will be based on specific factors:
- Age
- Language skills
- Education
- Work experience
- Those who score the highest receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence.
There is no fee to enter the Express Entry pool. The standard processing time after receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) is around six months.
Global nurses may also immigrate to Canada through a Provincial Nomination Program (PNP). All the provinces and territories in Canada administer their PNP.
Their primary aim behind the program is to bring in skilled workers from across the globe. This helps to strengthen their local economies.
Thus, most of the PNP streams are designed to address shortages of skilled workers in a province. PNP also lets different provinces welcome global skilled workers. These workers have prior work experience in jobs that are in demand in the region.
Different provinces hold their draws and also target specific occupations in these draws.
If you have a profile in the EE pool and manage to obtain a provincial nomination, you will get an additional 600 CRS points. This will ensure that you receive an ITA for permanent residence.
Global nurses who wish to settle in Quebec need to apply to immigrate under the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QWP). Those who are successful under this program will also receive permanent residence in Canada.
Those who immigrate as Quebec Skilled Worker should have a genuine reason to settle in Quebec.
Get in touch with us on WhatsApp or Call us at 905-671-4442. You may even email us at info@immigrationterminal.ca if you have any queries about your Express Entry or PNP application.