Saskatchewan is launching two new immigration pathways, one for the agricultural industry and the other for the healthcare sector, under its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
“Saskatchewan continues to align its immigration program with current labour market needs, and these new pathways will attract international skilled workers with industry specific experience to fill in-demand jobs in healthcare and agriculture,” said provincial Immigration Minister Jeremy Harrison.
“With labour shortages reported across the country, creating new provincial immigration pathways and streamlining our credential recognition process will help employers in Saskatchewan acquire the workforce needed to grow their businesses.”
The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program’s (SINP) Agriculture Talent pathway is being launched to help meet farmers and other employers in the agricultural sector cope with the current labour shortages.
“A skilled and flexible agricultural workforce is essential to our increasing role in global food security as a supplier our markets can rely on which keeps our producers competitive and profitable and keeps our economy strong and growing,” said Agriculture Minister David Marit.
“Labour shortages are a constraint to growth for agricultural producers and by supporting them in filling critical jobs through this new pathway we will strengthen the agricultural sector and enable producers to meet growing demands.”
Applicants for the Agriculture Talent pathway are eligible if they live outside Canada or have proof of legal status in Canada, are not a refugee claimant, and:
- have language scores of at least Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4. Some employers or regulators may ask for scores that are higher than CLB 4.
- have completed secondary school (high school) or higher level education.
- have at least one year of full-time work experience in the past three years in their intended occupations or six months (780 hours) of full-time (30 or more hours per week) work experience in the job with the employer that has provided the job approval letter. The work experience does not need to be consecutive work experience in either case.
- attest to an intent to work and reside in Saskatchewan.
- have an offer for an eligible permanent, full-time agricultural sector job in Saskatchewan.
The following National Occupational Classification (NOC) coded agricultural and related occupations are eligible through this stream:
- 75101: material handlers
- 84120: specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
- 85100: livestock labourers
- 85101: harvesting labourers
- 85103: nursery and greenhouse labourers
- 94140: process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing
- 94141: industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
- 94143: testers and graders, food and beverage processing
- 94204: mechanical assemblers and inspectors
- 95106: labourers in food and beverage processing
The Health Talent pathway is being touted as an important resource for the healthcare sector to recruit and retain skilled workers. All healthcare recruitment through the SINP will be consolidated and streamlined under this single stream.
“The SINP plays an important role in building a stronger healthcare system,” said Health Minister Everett Hindley.
Recruitment for healthcare jobs will be done under Health Talent Pathway
“Streamlining immigration and credential recognition processes for internationally-trained healthcare workers will help improve our recruitment efforts and enhance access to healthcare services for Saskatchewan residents.”
Under the non-Express Entry sub-category of the Health Talent pathway, applicants can be eligible if they live outside Canada or have proof of legal status in Canada but are not a refugee claimant and have an English and/or French language score of at least CLB 5 and meet the following work experience requirements:
- if applying from in Saskatchewan: Currently working in Saskatchewan and have worked six-months (780 hours) of full-time (30-plus hours per week) work experience in the job with the employer that has provided them the job approval letter. The work experience does not need to be consecutive work experience in either case.
- if they have not been working for their supporting employer full-time for at least six months, then they must have at least one-year of work experience in their occupation within the last five years.
- be eligible for Saskatchewan licensing if applicable to their occupation.
- have a post-secondary education that relates to the job they have been offered, a master’s or bachelor’s degree, or a three-year degree at a university or college, or a diploma that requires two years at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other post-secondary institution.
- intend to work and reside in Saskatchewan.
- have an offer for an eligible permanent, full-time health sector job in Saskatchewan.
The following high and intermediate-skilled health occupations are eligible through this stream:
- 30010: managers in healthcare
- 31100: specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
- 31101: specialists in surgery
- 31102: general practitioners and family physicians
- 31103: veterinarians
- 31110: dentists
- 31111: optometrists
- 31112: audiologists and speech-language pathologists
- 31120: pharmacists
- 31121: dietitians and nutritionists
- 31200: psychologists
- 31201: chiropractors
- 31202: physiotherapists
- 31203: occupational therapists
- 31204: kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy and assessment
- 31209: other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating
- 31300: nursing coordinators and supervisors
- 31301: registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- 31302: nurse practitioners
- 31303: physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals
- 32100: opticians
- 32101: licensed practical nurses
- 32102: paramedical occupations
- 32103: respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
- 32104: animal health technologists and veterinary technicians
- 32109: other technical occupations in therapy and assessment
- 32110: denturists
- 32111: dental hygienists and dental therapists
- 32112: dental technologists and technicians
- 32120: medical laboratory technologists
- 32121: medical radiation technologists
- 32122: medical sonographers
- 32123: cardiology technologists and electrophysiological diagnostic technologists n.e.c
- 32124: pharmacy technicians
- 32129: other medical technologists and technicians
- 32200: traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists
- 32201: massage therapists
- 32209: other practitioners of natural healing
- 33100: dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants
- 33101: medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations
- 33102: nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
- 33103: pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants
- 33109: other assisting occupations in support of health services
- 44101: home support workers, caregivers and related occupations
Foreign nationals who have been accepted into the federal government’s Express Entry pool with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) are also eligible through the Express Entry stream of the Health Talent pathway and can get priority processing for permanent residency.
The expected permanent residency application processing time for this stream is six months or less.
These candidates from the IRCC’s Express Entry pool qualify for this sub-category if they live outside Canada or have proof of legal status in Canada but are not a refugee claimant and:
- have a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker code.
- have an English and/or French language score of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 or higher.
- meet the following work experience requirements:
- if applying from inside or outside of Canada:
- one year of high-skilled related work experience in the past five years in their intended eligible occupation.
- be eligible for Saskatchewan licensing if applicable to your occupation.
- have a post-secondary education that relates to the job they have been offered, a master’s or bachelor’s degree or a three-year degree at a university or college or a diploma that requires two years at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other post-secondary institution.
- if applying from inside or outside of Canada:
- attest to their intent to work and reside in Saskatchewan.
- Have an offer for an eligible permanent, full-time health sector job in Saskatchewan.
The following high-skilled health occupations are eligible through this stream:
- 30010: managers in healthcare
- 31100: specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
- 31101: specialists in surgery
- 31102: general practitioners and family physicians
- 31103: veterinarians
- 31110: dentists
- 31111: optometrists
- 31112: audiologists and speech-language pathologists
- 31120: pharmacists
- 31121: dietitians and nutritionists
- 31200: psychologists
- 31201: chiropractors
- 31202: physiotherapists
- 31203: occupational therapists
- 31204: kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy and assessment
- 31209: other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating
- 31300: nursing coordinators and supervisors
- 31301: registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- 31302: nurse practitioners
- 31303: physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals
- 32100: opticians
- 32101: licensed practical nurses
- 32102: paramedical occupations
- 32103: respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
- 32104: animal health technologists and veterinary technicians
- 32109: other technical occupations in therapy and assessment
- 32110: denturists
- 32111: dental hygienists and dental therapists
- 32112: dental technologists and technicians
- 32120: medical laboratory technologists
- 32121: medical radiation technologists
- 32122: medical sonographers
- 32123: cardiology technologists and electrophysiological diagnostic technologists
- 32124: pharmacy technicians
- 32129: other medical technologists and technicians
- 32200: traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists
- 32201: massage therapists
- 32209: other practitioners of natural healing
- 33100: dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants
- 33101: medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations
- 33102: nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
- 33103: pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants
- 33109: other assisting occupations in support of health services
