Dear Members,
BCHA is pleased to announce that we have received an invitation to attend the Destination Canada Mobility Forum taking place on Nov. 17- 23 in Paris (France) and Rabat (Morocco). The Destination Forum is organized by IRCC- Embassy of Canada to France and provides an opportunity for workers in France, Morocco and other French speaking countries to meet Canadian representatives looking to bring workers to Canada.
While employers have NOT been invited to participate directly this year, the BCHA received an invitation to attend on your behalf, with a goal of recruiting skilled and unskilled workers to your establishments. This event has been very successful for recruitment efforts in the past and we believe that it will be critical in establishing partnerships with additional countries to bring workers to accommodations in BC.
Background:
- IRCC will present the immigration programs as well as the Francophone integration pathway and will answer candidates’ questions, providing the opportunity for provinces to present their programs and meet candidates in person.
- The organizations responsible for language testing and credential evaluation will be present, as well as sector councils to vet candidates.
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Through the Francophone Mobility Program, skilled workers will be able to obtain work permits. It requires the employer to submit a job offer through the employer portal and pay a $230.00 compliance fee. This program does not require an employer to apply for a LMIA (it is LMIA exempt). Please note, this only applies to skilled workers; the job offer must be for positions that are NOC 0, A, and B ( i.e. front desk manager, assistant manager, housekeeping supervisor, food and beverage supervisor, cook, sous chef, chef, executive housekeeper, assistant executive housekeeper etc.).
- The workers that do not qualify for this program can still come to Canada but will require an approved LMIA. Work permits for both these programs would be issued for 2 years and are employer specific.
- Workers may also be eligible for a working -holiday permit (also LMIA exempt) depending on their citizenship and would be issued an open work permit for minimum of 1 year.
The Francophone program does NOT require an employer to apply a LMIA for some skilled positions (ie. Front Desk Manager, Assistant Front Desk Manager, Housekeeping Supervisor etc.).
The Involvement of Accommodators:
The support of the accommodation community will be necessary for involvement in this critical recruitment path and we are proposing the following process and cost to be included:
- $800 per hotel/restaurant/pub with a maximum of 3 positions per job order
- Candidates will be pre-screened and resumes and interview summaries will be provided to employers post event
- Follow up consultation for processing workers to obtain work permits
- Job orders from hotels must be received by Oct.14/22
Please reach out to BCHA Director, Member and Business Development Mike Macleod at mike@bcha.com no later than Friday, October 7 to confirm your commitment to this program.
We believe being involved in this event will provide another avenue to hire workers to fill your workforce shortages. The greater the profile BCHA has with other countries and the more partnerships we develop, the more the opportunities we have to attract talented workers to our industry. We want to be the province of choice for workers around the world!
