My federal skilled worker immigration experience

[koolbnda]

Hello Canacit,
One of my relative wants to immigrate to canada on FSW. But I dont know where to start from?
Can you please guide me ?
He has 15 years of work experience in Coal Mines as a Manager. which category he falls under?
current country of his residence in India.

thank you.

 

[canacit]

Kool, I don't know much about the process now. Please check the forum or cic website for more info.

 

[koolbnda]

Kool, I don't know much about the process now. Please check the forum or cic website for more info.

okay...
from where can I start ? can you please let me know that....

 

[canacit]

I wanted to write about which province to land.

We choose The city of Mississauga in Ontario. It was not the wisest of choices. There is a very large number of immigrants there all very qualified and after the jobs you are after. So competition is very stiff.I suppose thIs is the case for most areas in the GTA most especially Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, etc. most newcomers choose these places because they want to be close to relations or have friends there or just want be close to where everything is happening. Unless you have a job waiting for you there or have good relations to guide you I would advise not to go there.
We eventually moved to Ottawa. The pace of life is very much slower and there isn't as much competition as in the GTA. But in Ottawa most people work for the federal government where 98% of the workforce are white Canadians with a sprinkling of one Or two Asians and blacks. There is high nepotism. Infrastructures in Ottawa are crumbling and roads are terrible. Most immigrants there are refugees with the exception of a few permanent residents and international students. The rest of the population are white Canadians that are on welfare and have given up on life. I notice that a lot of them who are able bodied but are on mobility scooters? There are a lot of drug addicts too.In Ottawa it is either you work for the federal govt and are comfortable financially or you are on welfare and have lost the will to live. Most immigrants have to go to college or university again inorder to have an opportunity to do internship as that is the only way you will be able to work as a civil servant. Upon completion of studies, there is a tendency that you will be offered a permenent position where you did internship.
A lot of immigrants that cannot get work after completing their studies also move to Alberta where they seem to get jobs.
Alberta is a province where immigrants go and are able to get a job with good pay.
When choosing a province to land, you should decide based on your ability to be able to get a job with reasonable pay. Being able to earn will determine your ability to settle into canada happily. If you really want to live in ontario then you can plan for that down the line.

 

[nishesh3003]

I wanted to write about which province to land.

We choose The city of Mississauga in Ontario. It was not the wisest of choices. There is a very large number of immigrants there all very qualified and after the jobs you are after. So competition is very stiff.I suppose thIs is the case for most areas in the GTA most especially Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, etc. most newcomers choose these places because they want to be close to relations or have friends there or just want be close to where everything is happening. Unless you have a job waiting for you there or have good relations to guide you I would advise not to go there.
We eventually moved to Ottawa. The pace of life is very much slower and there isn't as much competition as in the GTA. But in Ottawa most people work for the federal government where 98% of the workforce are white Canadians with a sprinkling of one Or two Asians and blacks. There is high nepotism. Infrastructures in Ottawa are crumbling and roads are terrible. Most immigrants there are refugees with the exception of a few permanent residents and international students. The rest of the population are white Canadians that are on welfare and have given up on life. I notice that a lot of them who are able bodied but are on mobility scooters? There are a lot of drug addicts too.In Ottawa it is either you work for the federal govt and are comfortable financially or you are on welfare and have lost the will to live. Most immigrants have to go to college or university again inorder to have an opportunity to do internship as that is the only way you will be able to work as a civil servant. After school there is a tendency that you will be offered a permenent position where you did internship.
A lot of immigrants that cannot get work after completing their studies also move to Alberta where they seem to get jobs.
Alberta is a province where immigrants go and are able to get a job with good pay.
When choosing a province to land, you should decide based on your ability to be able to get a job with reasonable pay. Being able to earn will determine your ability to settle into canada happily. If you really want to live in ontario then you can plan for that down the line.

Your posts are very interesting!

 

[SS66]

Ss66, I forgot to add that student loans is assessed based on the number of people in your family and your income. Usually you will get enough to pay the rent pay your fees and live on for the duration of your studies. As a rough guide. An applicant with a family of 4 can be given between 18 and 22 thousand depending on the program. Some are much more and some just a little less but not much less. Graduate programs are much more.so are professional programs such as engineering law medicine I think nursing and so on. But the amount is generally sufficient to see you through the studies adequately.in some instances both parents apply for osap and also their children that are ready for college. Each person is assessed individually.

If English is a problem then you could look at intensive English as a second language courses to improve that will be funded by student loans. Pls check the universites and colleges for such programs. I have little knowledge of them.

Thank you for these valuable information.
Best regards.

 

[apple_08]

Hello,

Thank you for posting your experience. It will surely be a great help for us applying for FSW.

I was just wondering, may I know where did you study your undergrad/college? May I know from what country were you from before you moved to UK?

Also, regarding the landlord asking you to moveout after you paid her for a year's rent, why didn't you sue her for that? She had no right to kick you out of the apartment because you are already paid for a year's rent. And not refunding your paid rent after she kicked you out is clearly illegal.

 

[h1canada]

Thanks foe sharing your thought.

I am at USA and working in IT. I am having green card issue in USA so planing to apply for this category canada visa. How's the job oppertunity for IT people? Can I work for USA client and stay in Canada if we don't find any job in Canada?

Please advice your thought.

Yes you are, many IT Software companies work for USA. We have couple of clients from Canada. I am also in USA H1B and facing same issue EB3 GC sucks our blood... Nicknj are you Indian..

 

[pk2ca]

Thanks foe sharing your thought.

I am at USA and working in IT. I am having green card issue in USA so planing to apply for this category canada visa. How's the job oppertunity for IT people? opportunities in IT are generally good but will depend largely on your specific field and the level you work on. Try doing some searches on job sites to get an idea of number of openings in your field. Having US experience will definitely be a plus for your. Can I work for USA client and stay in Canada if we don't find any job in Canada? again depends upon the kind of work you are doing and it's requirements. if you can work remotely with your clients, then great. But if you have to travel then there will be other things to consider e.g. your residency obligations on top of general things like travel cost, maintaining multiple residence etc (unless one is living in Windsor and driving each day to Detroit or something)

Please advice your thought.

hope it will help

 

[sharedknowledge]

I wanted to write about which province to land.

We choose The city of Mississauga in Ontario. It was not the wisest of choices. There is a very large number of immigrants there all very qualified and after the jobs you are after. So competition is very stiff.I suppose thIs is the case for most areas in the GTA most especially Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, etc. most newcomers choose these places because they want to be close to relations or have friends there or just want be close to where everything is happening. Unless you have a job waiting for you there or have good relations to guide you I would advise not to go there.
We eventually moved to Ottawa. The pace of life is very much slower and there isn't as much competition as in the GTA. But in Ottawa most people work for the federal government where 98% of the workforce are white Canadians with a sprinkling of one Or two Asians and blacks. There is high nepotism. Infrastructures in Ottawa are crumbling and roads are terrible. Most immigrants there are refugees with the exception of a few permanent residents and international students. The rest of the population are white Canadians that are on welfare and have given up on life. I notice that a lot of them who are able bodied but are on mobility scooters? There are a lot of drug addicts too.In Ottawa it is either you work for the federal govt and are comfortable financially or you are on welfare and have lost the will to live. Most immigrants have to go to college or university again inorder to have an opportunity to do internship as that is the only way you will be able to work as a civil servant. Upon completion of studies, there is a tendency that you will be offered a permenent position where you did internship.
A lot of immigrants that cannot get work after completing their studies also move to Alberta where they seem to get jobs.
Alberta is a province where immigrants go and are able to get a job with good pay.
When choosing a province to land, you should decide based on your ability to be able to get a job with reasonable pay. Being able to earn will determine your ability to settle into canada happily. If you really want to live in ontario then you can plan for that down the line.

+1 for you canacit for sharing valuable experience.

 

[susana]

Every situation is diferent, not everyone has to experience the same as you did, I believe it depends on the province you land, do your research in the provinces and check the unemployment rate. If you decide to land in Ontario and BC , of course is going to be hard to find a job.

In my case , I could say i got better luck than you, and I can assure you that I'm not the only one , I got a great job the same as my husband and we have never experienced any racism or discrimination , all the opposite, Canadians have been our friends and family and they have supported us as you can never imagine.

You need to find people from your own background as they always help you out to have a good start. Networking is the key ! Go to your church, get to know any community groups ....

We did not have any furniture when we arrived , we only paid 2 months in advance for rent , we got nice used furniture, tv, and lots of kitchen items for free from people we never met.

We currently own a beautiful home and have a better standard of living than before we came to Canada. Here you can still have a decent and well paid job if you are over 40 years old, in my own country i'll be struggling to find one.

I work for a great company that supports and encourages diversity, I manage two stores and I train new managers (Canadians and Immigrants), i did not have to go back to school in order to get this job, is not true that everyone has to experience what you did, the immigrants I know are AWSOME and always willing to help newcomers to settle. It is not fair to say that we all want newcomers to suffer hardship, is a bad generalization.

Networking is a key, we did not have any friends or any family in Canada when we arrived and I can say that My current friends which I met since we came to Canada are part of my Canadian family.

I'm really sorry that you had such a terrible experience , but not because it happened to you , is going to be the same for others.

I agree that you need to do research before you come and select the province that gives you a better opportunity to find a job in your field . Do not go to Ontario, Toronto or Vancouver as for sure you are going to experience hardship, and about the survival job, what will you do if you don't have enough money to survive ? Starve ? Welfare ? I would never say not to take it , a friend of mine who was a univerity teacher took a job in a daycare cleaning toys, she got a grant from the government to take the courses needed to open a day care and now she is the proud owner of two. If she hadn't taken that job , who knows what she sill be doing now ? She was never depressed as she knew she couldn't teach anymore and took a very positive attitude to start all over.

I another friend with a bachelors in business took a job as a barista, 3 months after she was a shift supervisor and less than a year she was a Store Manager.

Survival jobs are good if you have an opportunity to grow !! Find one that you enjoy doing and you will never be depressed.


I still don't understand why you left your appartment if you paid a year in advance, your landlord took advantage of you and you allowed it. Your rent was paid, why you have to leave ?

I have encountered marvelous people in this Country, same as some canadians that oppose immigration, I just stay away from them and enjoy the friendship of all those who embrace diversity.

So for those who are not already here, start networking from your current country, look for your community in thr place you are planning to settle and comunicate with them by mail or skype , and a few months before you land, start looking for a job, this is what I did and paid off.

Good luck to all

Susana,

 

[pie_vancouver]

canacit, what is you profession and your husband's?

 

[Hope1957]

Before I give my opinion I’d like to say that establishing yourself in Canada is truly hard work (and that’s an understatement) but it’s not impossible.

I’d also like to add that when people plan on immigrating to Canada, a lot of us (including me) do not really understand just how hard life is over here. Some of the crucial factors to consider before immigrating to Canada are your economic disposition in your home country, family and friends. If you are economically well off and there is no real threat to your security, you really do have to carefully evaluate your decision to move to Canada, more so if you do not know anyone in Canada. Employers mostly prefer hiring people who have had Canadian work experience. Now this is the paradox, how can an employer expect a new immigrant to have Canadian work experience? It’s obvious that this new immigrant will not have Canadian work experience! It makes sense to you and me, but an employer will always give preference to someone who has Canadian work experience/Canadian education. It’s advisable to consider pursuing an education here before you land here as an immigrant. It’s advisable to pursue a course which has a mandatory co-op or internship program because in such cases the college/university will help you find a job. It’s a great start to get your foot in the industry of your choice. You can also check with your current employer if they have an office in Canada and if they do, check with your current employer if they can hire you in Canada (therefore be nice to your existing employer).

Some of the important facts that various immigration consultants/lawyers and even CIC will not disclose to you is the kind of work that is available. Here in Canada, any job is considered work. It may not mean the same thing to you, but in Canada any kind of a job is work. So when people tell you that there are many jobs available in Canada, there’s no shortage of work in Canada, you really have to carefully understand what kind of work is available in Canada. You also need to evaluate the prospects specific to your occupation, training and education in Canada. You maybe a highly qualified person with several years of work experience from your home country or wherever, but it means squat when you move to Canada. This is something that people have to understand and make peace with before you move to Canada. If people expect to get the same kind of job they currently have, expect severe disappointment. It might take years before you manage to successfully establish yourself in this country. So is Canada really worth it if you have a well paying job (another myth – one makes a LOT of money in Canada. Not always true) in your own country and you have lots of family and friends? Think about it very carefully.

Lastly I’d like to say that moving to Canada is a life altering lesson. It’s a decision that should not be taken lightly without carefully weighing out the pros and cons and without extensive research. At the end of the day it is YOUR decision to move to Canada. Don’t blame the country for not having enough work (the kind you are looking for) and for making your life miserable. Remember, it is your decision to move to Canada, be prepared for hardships and learn to deal with it.

Morale of the story: The grass is not always greener on the other side.

 

[canacit]

Susana I advise you to open a new thread and write whatever you have experienced. You are not welcomed on my thread. I am posting my experience and how to avoid the mistakes we made. I will always advise anyone NEVER to take any survival job. It is their choice if they chose to. I had a fantastic life in uk and my home country an have never suffered as much as I have here in canada. Please read my post carefully before you start to write rubbish. And again please feel free to open a thread of your own and post about how wonderful survival jobs are. I did jot leave my home country to buy second hand furniture,( not that there is anything wrong with it)I did not leave my country or uk to work survival jobs. If that is what is wanted here before being eventually successful then I think it is a good thing to let people know before they leave a good life thinking they will be able to walk into the level of comfort they are used to and not be deceived, it's good for people to know what a they have to face and prepare themselves. Maybe people don't want to work survival jobs. Just because it's good for you does not mean it will be good for everyone else. If people know there is a choice then what is wrong there. Must everyone do survival jobs?

You cannot shut me up. People need to know that they don't have to come here and do survival jobs first. Education is there and funded and an option for permenent residents even if your just getting off the plane. It is there right and important for them to know it's an option. I have never met anyone in mississauga who was happy working survival jobs never. I am only talking about those that left their homes and well paying jobs. Who would want to leave their homes and good life to wash dishes to slave driving employers that treat you like shit.

 

[canacit]

Before I give my opinion I'd like to say that establishing yourself in Canada is truly hard work (and that's an understatement) but it's not impossible.

I'd also like to add that when people plan on immigrating to Canada, a lot of us (including me) do not really understand just how hard life is over here. Some of the crucial factors to consider before immigrating to Canada are your economic disposition in your home country, family and friends. If you are economically well off and there is no real threat to your security, you really do have to carefully evaluate your decision to move to Canada, more so if you do not know anyone in Canada. Employers mostly prefer hiring people who have had Canadian work experience. Now this is the paradox, how can an employer expect a new immigrant to have Canadian work experience? It's obvious that this new immigrant will not have Canadian work experience! It makes sense to you and me, but an employer will always give preference to someone who has Canadian work experience/Canadian education. It's advisable to consider pursuing an education here before you land here as an immigrant. It's advisable to pursue a course which has a mandatory co-op or internship program because in such cases the college/university will help you find a job. It's a great start to get your foot in the industry of your choice. You can also check with your current employer if they have an office in Canada and if they do, check with your current employer if they can hire you in Canada (therefore be nice to your existing employer).

Some of the important facts that various immigration consultants/lawyers and even CIC will not disclose to you is the kind of work that is available. Here in Canada, any job is considered work. It may not mean the same thing to you, but in Canada any kind of a job is work. So when people tell you that there are many jobs available in Canada, there's no shortage of work in Canada, you really have to carefully understand what kind of work is available in Canada. You also need to evaluate the prospects specific to your occupation, training and education in Canada. You maybe a highly qualified person with several years of work experience from your home country or wherever, but it means squat when you move to Canada. This is something that people have to understand and make peace with before you move to Canada. If people expect to get the same kind of job they currently have, expect severe disappointment. It might take years before you manage to successfully establish yourself in this country. So is Canada really worth it if you have a well paying job (another myth – one makes a LOT of money in Canada. Not always true) in your own country and you have lots of family and friends? Think about it very carefully.

Lastly I'd like to say that moving to Canada is a life altering lesson. It's a decision that should not be taken lightly without carefully weighing out the pros and cons and without extensive research. At the end of the day it is YOUR decision to move to Canada. Don't blame the country for not having enough work (the kind you are looking for) and for making your life miserable. Remember, it is your decision to move to Canada, be prepared for hardships and learn to deal with it.

Morale of the story: The grass is not always greener on the other side.

Fantastic! Well said.