Canada Calling

Easy PR rules and jobs attracts Indian students to British Columbia,Saskatchewan and Manitoba 

Earlier,Indian students used to choose Toronto in Canada because of the job opportunities and the Indian community stronghold in this city.However,now Indian students are breaking grounds and heading to colleges in British Columbia,Saskatchewan,Manitoba and some very cold provinces.Sanjay Laul,President and Founder of Kampus Landing,a study abroad consulting organisation with offices in USA,Canada and India says,"The quality of education is very good in all Canadian community colleges and one should not rush just to Toronto.There are many advantages of studying at provinces in British Columbia,Saskatchewan and Manitoba.While the students' Canada PR applications are fast tracked if filed under Provincial Nominee Program,Manitoba and Saskatchewan require minimum 8 months of study and British Columbia requires 12 months of study at Diploma or higher level to file for PR under Provincial Nominee Programs in comparison to Ontario which requires a student to complete a Masters or a PhD to file under its PNP.Most of the Indian students who complete their Diploma or Post Graduate Diploma from a community college in Toronto relocate to Saskatchewan to become eligible for PR.The Saskatchewan Graduate Retention Program (GRP) provides eligible graduates with a refundable income tax credit to rebate,over seven years,upto $20,000 of tuition fees they have paid if they move to or live in Saskatchewan."

Regarding mature students applying under SPP,Sanjay Laul says,"Canada welcomes mature students' applications.One can file at the age of 35 but should have a genuine reason to study at this age in Canada.If the mature student is not able to provide ample evidence,the application is more likely to be rejected.We have had several applications between 30 and 35 which have successfully received Canada student visas under SPP and are presently studying in Canada."

On the trend of hiring a consultant for filing a study permit,Sanjay Laul says,"The Canadian Government encourages the use of licensed consultants only.So,the students and parents need to check whether the consultant is a member of Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council - ICCRC or not.It is then only that the consultant can represent the student application at CIC."

    

B.C. Premier seeks to cash in on international education

B.C. Premier Christy Clark announces new skills and training money as part of her BC Jobs Plan Tuesday during a press conference in Kamloops, BC at the Thompson Rivers University International Building.

Photograph by: KEITH ANDERSON, Kamloops Daily News

VICTORIA — British Columbia could add as many as 9,000 jobs over the next four years by wooing more international students from countries like China, India, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, Premier Christy Clark declared Tuesday as she rolled out the second major portion of her provincial jobs plan.

“Today, I’m announcing that the province is setting an aggressive target to grow our international student population in B.C. by 50 per cent in just the next four years,” Clark announced during a speech in Kamloops.


“If we can meet those targets we can put 9,000 people to work and put another $500 million into our economy,” she added.

Although she didn’t specify what kind of jobs she envisions, the government has promised a full international education strategy later this year.


The announcement came on the second day of Clark’s election-style tour of the province this week where she’s been previewing elements of a jobs plan she will release in full on Thursday.

Clark said there are currently about 94,000 international students in British Columbia, and that in 2010 those students collectively spent about $1.8 billion in the province.


To attract more students in the coming years, Clark said she would establish an international education council to help build stronger relationships with other countries, and that she would ramp up British Columbia’s overseas marketing efforts.


“I intend to be the best salesperson that British Columbia has ever had,” she said.


But New Democratic Party MLA Carole James questioned the effectiveness of the strategy, saying the promises are all similar to moves made by former premier Gordon Campbell. Plus, James said, B.C. already has a council on international education: the British Columbia Council for International Education.


“I don’t disagree with bringing international students here, but the premier made a very big deal about these rolling announcements,” said James.


“This was going to create jobs and solve the economic challenges. Instead, day two we’re seeing repeat announcements, we’re seeing panels that are already in place.”


Minister of Advanced Education Naomi Yamamoto said there is a clear difference between the existing council and the one announced Tuesday by Clark.


She said the new one will “be responsible for the finalization and the implementation of our international education strategy.”
“It will be dealing with things the BCCIE doesn’t really touch on,” Yamamoto added, citing things like visa issues and making sure host communities are welcoming to international students.


“The council we are talking about today has a much broader mandate.”


On Tuesday, Clark also announced new initiatives for skills training.


“We expect we’re going to have one million job openings over the next 10 years and 70 per cent of those will require some kind of post-secondary education,” she said.


“We have to have our workforce primed and ready to go, and we have to start working at this now or it won’t be ready.”


Clark said her government will set up regional workforce tables where industry leaders, first nations, labour leaders, educators and others can help the province determine the training needs best suited to their region.

“They’ll have real input and they’ll have real dollars in their pockets so they can go out and help influence how the province develops skills development programs on a regional basis,” she said. “That will include $15 million annually for post-secondary institutions to help make sure we are meeting the needs of local economies.”


Clark added the government will provide up to $6 million each year to certain industry groups to help them identify training needs specific to their sectors.


“We’ll provide them with up to $6 million to make sure they have all the information they need to be able to tell us who they’re going to need to have educated over the next 10 years in order to meet the demands they will create as they grow our economy,” said Clark.
James was critical of the plan, saying it doesn’t do enough, especially in light of cuts already planned for training programs in the province.


A recent budget document shows the Industry Training Authority plans to cut about $4.7 million from its training budget this year, and another $4.3 million next year, a reduction the B.C. government attributes to government stimulus funding drying up. The authority’s core funding will remain.


Jim Sinclair, president of the British Columbia Federation of Labour, said he’d welcome an an improved relationship with the province on training issues, but will wait to see how the government carries out Clark’s commitment to involve labour in the regional workforce tables.


“We’ve got 10 years where we really haven’t been at the table in any real form. If they’re interested in changing that, we are too. But it’s got to be more than words,” Sinclair said.


“The apprenticeship system — there is no question it’s in shambles. Despite the biggest building boom [in B.C. history] we’ve seen a drop in the number of apprentices who are successful,” he added.


“We’re interested in having a new relationship around training with the government, but they’ve got to be interested in listening and they’ve got to be committed to putting resources back into building the system with us as partners, otherwise it’s just part of the photo opportunities I’ve been seeing this week.”

Source: The Vancouver Sun