Foreign nationals qualified as engineer officers on ships are facing an ideal situation to gain their permanent residence in Canada as the demand for these Canada jobs is expected to skyrocket.
Job Bank, the federal government’s job-hunting and career-planning website, is forecasting there will be a shortage of 6,000 qualified engineer officers in the water transportation sector, categorized under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 system with the code 72603, over the coming nine years.
“For transportation officers and controllers, over the period 2022 – 2031, new job openings arising from expansion demand and replacement demand are expected to total 17,100,” notes Job Bank.
“With the quick post-pandemic demand recovery for this occupational group, the projected number of job openings is expected to substantially surpass the projected number of job seekers, significantly enough to not only eliminate the temporary surplus situation seen over the 2019 – 2021 period, but to also turn it around to a shortage situation over the 2022 – 2031 period.”
Indeed.ca, another job-hunting website, had 140 job listings for water transport engineers in mid-July. And industry insiders are projecting a growing demand for employees on ships.
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The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), a shipping industry organization, notes that most of the people who work on ships throughout the world already come from the Philippines, Russia, Indonesia, China and India.
“The forecast growth in the world merchant fleet over the next ten years, and its anticipated demand for seafarers, will likely continue the trend of an overall shortage in the supply of officers,” notes the ICS.
“This is despite improved recruitment and training levels and reductions in officer wastage rates over the past five years.
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“Industry and relevant stakeholders should not expect there to be an abundant supply of qualified and competent seafarers without concerted efforts and measures to address key manpower issues, through promotion of careers at sea, enhancement of maritime education and training worldwide, addressing the retention of seafarers.”
Job Bank is forecasting the job prospects for engineer officers in the water transportation sector to be moderate to good in all provinces in Canada for which there is data – and that have oceanfront.
IRCC Has Opened Up 82 Occupations To Express Entry Draws
With Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announcing earlier this year that Canada’s Express Entry system will begin targeting 82 jobs in healthcare, technology, trades, transport and agriculture this summer – including engineer officers in the water transportation sector – foreign nationals hoping to immigrate to Canada are now looking at a new opportunity to immigrate to Canada.
The flagship Express Entry selection system has previously only conducted draws based on immigration programs, not by targeting specific occupations.
Candidates will need at least six months of continuous work experience in Canada or abroad within the past three years in one of these occupations to be eligible, experience that can have been gained while working in Canada as temporary foreign workers with a work permits or as an international student with a student visa.
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In Canada, the median hourly wage for engineer officers in the water transportation sector – think tugboat or fishing boat engineer – is $41 but that varies from a low of $25.51 right up to $55.77, reveals Job Bank.
Based on a standard, 37.5-hour work week, that means these workers could expect to earn a top median annual income of $108,751.
Under the changes announced at the end of May, the Express Entry streams, including the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program, Federal Skilled Trades (FST) program and Canadian Experience Class (CEC), as well as parts of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) will now be more responsive to labour market needs.
Immigration Minister Cites Chronic Labour Shortages
“Everywhere I go, I’ve heard loud and clear from employers across the country who are experiencing chronic labour shortages,” said former Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.
“These changes to the Express Entry system will ensure that they have the skilled workers they need to grow and succeed. We can also grow our economy and help businesses with labour shortages while also increasing the number of French-proficient candidates to help ensure the vitality of French-speaking communities.”
Canada first signalled its intention to start occupation-specific draws through Express Entry in June last year, when changes were made to the Immigration, Refugee and Protection Act to allow invitations based on occupations and other attributes, such as language ability.
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The majority of Canada’s provinces have been issuing occupation-specific invitations for several years.
Under the changes to the act, the immigration minister is required to consult provinces and territories, members of industry, unions, employers, workers, worker advocacy groups, settlement provider organizations, and immigration researchers and practitioners, before announcing new categories.
IRCC must also report to parliament each year on the categories that were chosen and the reason for the choices.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) says the number of occupations facing shortages doubled between 2019 and 2021. From 2018 to 2022, federal high skilled admissions accounted for between 34 and 40 per cent of overall French-speaking admissions outside Quebec, which manages its own immigration intake.
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