New New Brunswick immigration pilot for international graduates

New Brunswick immigration pilot for international graduates has been launched with the aim of facilitating the permanent residence of international students who have graduated from one of the 19 eligible courses of study.

New Brunswick has announced a new immigration pilot project for international students graduating from four vocational colleges in the province.

As of April 1, 2022, international students who graduated from Business College of the Atlantic, Eastern College, McKenzie College or Elton College and who are majoring in one of the 19 target occupations can apply for the Provincial Preference Program (PNP).

The Provincial Selection Program allows Canadian provinces and territories to identify immigration applicants who are able to meet the needs of the local economy. Many PNP streams are aimed at and specifically designed for international students.

Details and specific conditions of this project will be announced in the fall of this year. However, the Government of Canada emphasized in a news release that the pilot project is aimed at new graduates of authorized educational institutions who are currently eligible for the federal post-graduate work permit program. In addition, participation in this pilot program will be limited to New Brunswick authorized educational institutions that have maintained these authorized conditions for a period of at least 5 years and have offered eligible courses of study in the following areas:

social and community service workers;

early childhood educators and assistants;

educational assistants;

health-care aides;

home support workers;

licensed practical nurses;

paramedics and related occupations;

medical laboratory technologists;

medical laboratory technicians and pathologists’ assistants;

medical administrative assistants;

computer programmers and interactive media developers;

web designers and developers;

computer network technicians;

user support technicians;

accounting technicians and bookkeepers;

payroll clerks;

shippers and receivers;

supply chain and logistics supervisors; and

production logistics coordinators

This new pilot program is a partnership between Opportunities NB (ONB), New Brunswick’s leading business development company, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

This new initiative is in line with the priorities established by business groups and organizations in this province. Last week, a New Brunswick business association presented a set of priority policies for Canada’s upcoming federal election.

The group, made up of the New Brunswick Business Council, chambers of commerce, the St. John’s Chamber of Commerce and Canadian manufacturers and exporters, identified three priority areas, including immigration, where action by the federal government is needed.

Among these priorities, the federal government was asked to reach the goal of 10,000 immigrants by 2021, 30% of whom are French speakers, to facilitate and speed up the entire immigration process, especially for international students, and to increase investment in Housing and starting life services should allocate more space to immigrants.

According to the Minister of Labour, Education and Post-secondary Education, Mr. Trevor Holder, newcomers are the key to New Brunswick’s labor market challenges, and by accommodating this new immigration flow, more post-secondary institutions will be able to provide the skilled workforce needed. To nurture the needs of this province.

Over the next decade, the province expects approximately 120,000 New Brunswickers to leave the workforce.

Prior to the pandemic, immigration was a major driver of New Brunswick’s population and labor force growth. This province recorded the record of accepting 6,000 permanent residents in 2019. By 2020, this number had decreased to 2,740 applicants, and from January to June 2021, 1,470 new permanent residents arrived in this province. This drop in admissions is largely attributed to travel restrictions imposed to control the spread of Covid-19 and delays in processing applications by IRCC