Alexandra Miekus - 17 January, 2022
Due to record growth in the technology sector and resulting need for skilled labour, the Canadian province of Alberta has introduced a new immigration program to recruit technology workers.
The program, called Accelerated Tech Pathway, was announced by Alberta's Minister of Labour and Immigration Tyler Shandro on January 13. However, the province had already began application intake for this new program in December.
The new pathway falls under the Alberta Express Entry Stream of the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP), one of Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs).
In order to be eligible, tech professionals need to have a profile in the federal government’s Express Entry system with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 300, meet requirements for the Alberta Express Entry Stream, and have a job offer in an in-demand tech occupation.
To apply to this program, candidates who believe they meet the above requirements are invited to submit information to the AINP about their Express Entry profile and their employment in Alberta or their job offer with an Alberta technology employer by completing an online form.
The AINP then assesses their eligibility and invites them by email to submit a complete application for a provincial nomination. Complete applications are placed in a pool of eligible applications to be considered for processing. Applicants who receive a nomination can then use it to obtain Canadian permanent resident status.
Alberta has stated that the objective of the program is to give priority to applications from highly skilled technology professionals who wish to live and work in Alberta. The program is intended for technology professionals from Canada and abroad.
“The faster we can fill these jobs with skilled and qualified workers, the stronger our overall recovery will be – and that helps all Albertans, no matter where they live or what they do. With our low taxes, amazing quality of life and reasonable cost of living, Alberta is already becoming a magnet for people seeking opportunity. We’re taking action to make Alberta even more attractive for tech workers,” Shandro said in a press release.
Alberta is home to more than 3,000 technology companies, according to the Alberta Enterprise Corporation. Alberta's technology sector has grown 233 per cent since 2012, and the proportion of firms with 25 or more employees has increased by 12 percentage points to 25 per cent between 2018 and 2020, according to the 2021 Alberta Technology Deal Flow Study. At the same time, technology companies are struggling to find workers, particularly for sales and technical jobs, according to the same study.
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