This past year—let alone the past two years since the outbreak of COVID—has been particularly tough for businesses struggling with labour shortages. Between those who retired during the pandemic and those who switched career paths during The Great Resignation, many industries continue to remain short staffed. And yet, also since the pandemic, many have struggled to find employment, like international students here in Canada. And while it’s ideal for students to not have to work during their studies, the rising costs of living have left many without another choice. So the Government of Canada is offering a deal for 2023 that may resolve both issues at once!
The Latest News for International Students in Canada
According to CBC reporter Ben Andrews, the Canadian government is running a pilot program that will lift the current restriction on international students working more than 20 hours per week off-campus. This program will start November 15th of this year and will run until the end of 2023. It will also, according to Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, apply to an estimated 500,000 students in the coming year.
And while Andrews notes this program aims to resolve labour shortages across the country, this is surely good news to the student workers themselves, too. After all, inflation has been reaching all-time highs and has only slightly cooled (if temporarily) as of September. And between country-wide rises in rent, food, heat, internet, and even the rising costs of school itself, this relief is overdue.
What This Means for Students Wanting to Work in Canada
As long as this program is running, international students will be able to work more than their previously allotted 20 hours per week at off-campus jobs. And certainly, it is important that this means students will be earning more each year they stay in Canada and contribute to the local economy.
However, perhaps more importantly, this also means that they will now be able to apply for more jobs than previously. After all, they will no longer need to worry about being overlooked for a job because of their international student status.
And as Devika Desai offers for the University of Toronto’s newspaper The Varsity, international students regularly face countless obstacles when trying to find employment abroad. Desai offered this article in 2014, when the Canadian Government changed the requirement for international students to have a work permit to them simply needing a Social Insurance Number (SIN).
And while a few regulations have changed since 2014, many facts remain the same for international students. Namely, as Desai states, “Unlike domestic students who do not need extra paperwork to work on or off campus, international students have always had to take an extra step to obtain the same work opportunities.”
This, at the very least, seems to be a step in the right direction towards equality.
Resources for Students Looking To Work
If you’re one of the many international students in Canada who will be job seeking starting November 15th, check out all Workwolf has to offer you in your job search!
1. An online, pre-verified resume builder
Start by creating a free Workwolf personal account. This is where you’ll find all the best tools for starting your job search, including your tamper-proof Digital Work Passport. Think of this as a digital resume, where you can have credentials, such as your degree(s) and previous places of employment, pre-verified. And unlike a standard resume, this resume can showcase the real you with its many options for personalizing your information. This might be using our feature that allows you to create your own introductory video. Otherwise, it might be adding your LinkedIn profile or pre-verified letter of reference.
2. A free soft skills assessment
Once you’ve signed up for Workwolf, you’ll also gain access to Packfinder, our soft skills assessment for free. Like the Digital Work Passport, your Packfinder results are securely maintained and attached to your Workwolf profile. But unlike your verifiable credentials, your Packfinder results determine your soft skills—that is, what you innately have as an individual. And these results will determine how suited you are for a given work position or environment personality and behaviour-wise.
3. Access to the Workwolf network
Once you’ve completed Packfinder, your results can match you to an active job posting that suits your personality and abilities as a worker. Simply head over to the “Jobs” tab to discover jobs that are automatically ranked in how well suited for you they are based on your Packfinder results. It’s basically like having a career counsellor by your side when job hunting. Let’s see LinkedIn or Indeed try and do that!
Ready to kickstart your career (or even just find a job to keep you afloat during your studies)? Join the Workwolf network today! Click here to get started.
