In 2017 the federal government implemented Canada’s Global Talent Stream program to help Canadian companies meet the growing demand for highly skilled technical employees. Using this program, companies can quickly and easily hire foreign tech workers to help scale up their businesses.
Originally established as a two-year pilot program, the Global Talent Stream has been extended. It now looks to remain a part of our country’s immigration and economic plans for quite some time. You can read more about how to apply to the program, here.
With the first two years of the program behind us, it’s time for some reflection. How effective has the Global Talent Stream been at attracting and growing Canadian companies? How will it work moving forward? We explore these questions below.
Thousands of employment visas granted through Canada’s Global Talent Stream
The Global Talent Stream is designed to help companies sponsor more foreign tech workers to join their Canadian offices. In just two years, the initiative has proven to be a success. To date, over 20,000 visas have been granted to workers across 13 different occupations.
The government estimates that the country’s tech sector will face a 200,000-role talent shortage in upcoming years. As a result, it’s very likely that the number of jobs we fill using the Global Talent Stream will rise.
In addition to visas granted to foreign workers, the Global Talent Stream has also created a significant number of jobs for Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
According to a budget estimate released in early 2019, companies using the Global Talent Stream have collectively committed to creating over 40,000 jobs for Canadians. The budget also outlined a nearly $100-million commitment from companies to invest in skill training for their existing Canadian employees.
Over 1,000 companies have participated
To date, over 1,000 Canadian companies have made use of the Global Talent Stream program to sponsor foreign workers. And over the next few years, the number of participating employers will grow significantly.
From a pilot project to a permanent resource
The demand for skilled tech workers is only increasing. Because of this, the Canadian government has made the Global Talent Stream program permanent with a budget of $30-million over the next five years.
While it’s impossible to say that the program will exist forever, we believe that because of the growing importance of the tech industry for the Canadian economy, it will be around for quite some time.