Canada to allow international students to work more hours due to labour shortage
Posted October 7, 2022 7:58 am.
Last Updated October 7, 2022 10:47 am.
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says Canada will temporarily allow international students to work more than 20 hours a week to help address ongoing labour shortages.
Speaking at a coffee shop in Ottawa this morning, Fraser says the changes will start on Nov. 15 and be in effect until the end of 2023.
The labour market remains exceptionally tight, with nearly one million job vacancies reported in the second quarter of 2022.
“With the economy growing at a faster rate than employers can hire new workers, Canada needs to look at every option so that we have the skills and workforce needed to fuel our growth,” Fraser said in a statement. “By allowing international students to work more while they study, we can help ease pressing needs in many sectors across the country, while providing more opportunities for international students to gain valuable Canadian work experience and continue contributing to our short-term recovery and long-term prosperity.”
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The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations welcomed the announcement, saying it was a step toward improving international students’ educational experience.
“Allowing international students to work more off-campus hours will help students afford their education and increase educational experiences,” said Christian Fotang, the alliance’s chair.
“This is not only a win for international students, but also for Canada.”
Fraser also announced a pilot program to help automate the application process for students to extend their study permits.
That will allow for some applications to be automatically approved, but the new process will not automatically reject claims.
Fraser says the pilot is aimed at reducing immigration backlogs and freeing up officers to work on more complex applications.
