 We look forward to the discussion about the provincial nominee program. First off, I would like to begin by acknowledging the Laquanquan-speaking peoples on whose traditional territory I'm joining from today, and specifically that of the Songheeds and Iswaimalt First Nations, whose historical relationships with this land continues to this day, and we feel privileged to, or I feel privileged to be able to work and actually myself live and play on these lands as well. And I know that everybody on this call is joining from different areas of the province, and I certainly encourage you and welcome you to take a moment to acknowledge the territory that you're joining from if you wish to do so in our chat. And we can just pause for a moment. I know that there's also some people that are joining from other provinces as well, so those might be new names for some of us that are sort of used to seeing some of the names from British Columbia, so certainly welcome that as well. Joining us today as a part of our presentation and our agenda are a few presenters that I'd certainly like to introduce to you. So first we have Alex Stewart. Hello, Alex. Alex is a program advisor with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, an advisor in immigration services and strategic planning with that ministry. And also we have Darcy Bromley, hello Darcy. And Darcy is an outreach officer with the Domestic Network of Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada, so IRCC. And finally we have Joanne Morrell, hello. Joanne works with us here in the Child Care Division and she is the manager of professional excellence and outreach, specifically with the Early Childhood Educator Registry. So thank you to all of our panel members today and for being prepped to share your expertise and knowledge in this particular area. Before we get started, just a couple of housekeeping items. The presentation portion of this information session today will be recorded and we'll be saving it on our Child Care BC website, which is where you registered for this session today. So we'll have a recording of this session on there. At any time during the presentation you're welcome to submit questions through the QA feature, which you'll see at the bottom of your screen in about the middle of the screen. So we'll do our best to answer these questions as well as questions that have been submitted during the registration and this live portion towards the end of the session. If your question isn't answered, we'll have the contact details for the program available along with the presentation of recording on our website later this week and we'll do our best to make sure you get the information that you need. So just a little bit about Child Care BC. The number, you'll probably know that recruitment and retention is a big part of the Child Care BC program and it's a very important part of our strategy and we would like to say that the number of provincially certified ECEs and ECA assistants is increasing in British Columbia. However, the workforce supply challenges persist and I think we're quite familiar with what some of those workforce challenges are. So that's why we're continuing to focus on an array of recruitment and retention strategies, one of which is the information that we'll be sharing with you today. There's other programs that are available to support existing and potential ECEs, some of which you may be aware of, some of maybe not. So just to run through some of those, we have the ECE Educational Support Fund and that program provides bursaries for students who wish to become ECEs or to upgrade their credentials. We also have the professional development opportunities through our Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Centers and the Early Childhood Pedagogy Network. So there's a number of PD opportunities there. And of course, we have the ECE Wage Enhancement Program, which you may know is a $4 per hour wage enhancement for all ECEs that are working in licensed child care systems funded through the province. So we will continue obviously on those programs and focus on growing the ECE workforce and doing our best to ensure that the ECE profession is seen as valued and that it's a credible long term career option. And some of the specific initiatives in that place is you may well know that we're working towards developing a wage grid, which was a commitment of ministers and of the government. So developing a wage grid for the early care and learning professionals and also continuing to promote the use of the early learning framework, which will help our child care professionals reflect on their programs to ensure that they're providing quality program to children and families. So really supporting the work of early childhood professionals in their endeavors to make sure that they have high quality programming. So with that, I think if I'm not mistaken, we are probably ready to move on to the next part of the agenda. Yeah, I think that's me. Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for joining us. You're right, it is. I'm sorry, Alex, I was supposed to say take it away and I lost my mic. So as Shannon mentioned, my name is Alex Stewart. I'm one of the program advisors with the Immigration Programs Branch working in the Skills Immigration Unit. I'm joined today by a few of my amazing colleagues with the BCP MP, Maria Fernandez, Kirsty McGuire, Trina McKinley, and Irene Looney. I want to acknowledge as well that I'm joining you from the unceded territories of the Queningen people, also known as the Songhis and Esquimalt First Nations communities, where I have the honor to live, work, and play. We also recognize again that you may be joining us from different parts of the province and from other countries as well. So during the session, we'll be giving you a brief overview of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program and highlight some of the key program changes, particularly as it pertains to ECEs. Next slide, please. So during this information session, we'll provide an introduction to the BC Provincial Nominee Program. An overview of the eligibility requirements for early childhood educators. An overview of the skills immigration application process. And then our federal colleague Darcy Bromley will provide you with information about IRCC's federal processes. Next slide, please. So the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program is an immigration program jointly administered by the province and Canada under the Canada British Columbia Immigration Agreement. So through the BCPMP, BC nominates applicants who help address the province's unique labor market needs and contribute to economic development. Next slide, please. So now an overview of the BCPMP. The BCPMP is the province's only direct economic immigration tool for bringing in new British Columbians. The program allows the province to select a limited number of prospective immigrants and nominate them for permanent residency. If nominated, individuals are eligible to apply for IRCC for permanent residence for both themselves and for their dependents. We have control over the design of the program and in selecting workers and foreign entrepreneurs who have the skills to help grow BC's economy. So the federal government provides a nomination allocation annually to all provinces. You can see them in 2021. We were allotted 6,750 nominations for the calendar year. We expect to receive our allocation for 2022 from the federal government soon. Next slide, please. So all categories except for entry level and semi-skilled have an express entry option. So in order to be eligible for the express entry option, candidates must meet the BCPMP criteria and federal express entry criteria. So early childhood educators usually apply through either the skilled worker category here or the international graduate category. Next slide, please. Next, I'll give an overview of the eligibility requirements for the BCPMP as it pertains to early childhood educators. Next slide, please. So as you can see, the slide provides an overview of the general requirements for all categories of the BCPMP. So all applicants require an indeterminate full-time job offer with an eligible employer. I'll speak more to the requirements for employers later on. All applicants must be qualified for the offered position. You must meet the minimum language proficiency, which is Canadian level benchmark for, and meet minimum wage and income requirements. I'll provide an explanation of these points on the next few slides. So the certification requirements, it's a requirement that all applicants are qualified for the offered position. So this includes education, experience, and certification and licensing. It's a provincial requirement that ECEs are certified. Later on, our colleagues at Child Care BC will speak more about the certification requirements specific to BC. Next slide, please. We should be on the minimum language requirements slide. All right, now you're on the IRCC slides. Yeah, so I think we need to go backwards a few. Yeah, there we are. Yeah, perfect. That's a correct slide. So candidates must meet the minimum language requirements, as you can see here. So this is under knock skill level BC or D. They must demonstrate English or French language proficiency at Canadian language benchmark level four across all four competencies. So for occupations classified under skill level zero or skill level A, language test results are not required at the time of registration, but maybe requested during the assessment period later on to ensure that applicants possess the language abilities required to perform the duties of the position. Alex, I'm sorry to interject, but I'm wondering if you could maybe just take a moment to explain what knock level, what knocks are and skills level AB. I'm not sure if that's a common, a common understanding. Okay, so under the National Occupation Classification Guide, which is done federally, there's different skill levels. So that can include skill level zero, which is typically managerial occupations. And then skill level A, which is again, skilled, skilled workers. Skill level B is typically where ECEs would fall, which is also a skilled worker category. And then skill level C and D are entry level and semi-skilled categories. So typically that would not apply to ECEs and that would apply more to the entry level and semi-skilled category. We're looking at skill level B. Yeah, typically skill level B or for managers, we would be looking at skill level zero or skill level A. So next is the wage requirements. So the offered wage must be at the market rate and comparable to workers with a similar level of experience. And it also must be consistent with the wage compensation structure of the employer. There's a resources well called Job Bank, which is a federal resource which shows trends across Canada for salaries across all national occupation classifications. So it shows all salary ranges in different areas and particularly in BC in our case, it shows the data for that. Next slide, please. So we also ensure that an applicant meets the minimum income requirements and demonstrates an ability to economically establish in British Columbia. So applicants must be able to become economically established. In other words, must earn enough to support their family in BC based on minimum income thresholds. And they must demonstrate that they intend to permanently establish in BC and bring long-term economic benefits to the province. So for example, a family unit of one within the Metro Vancouver Regional District must earn at least $26,426. And then for outside of for the rest of British Columbia, the minimum for a family unit of one is $22,024. Next slide, please. So again, the skilled worker category is where most ECEs will fall. This is designed for experienced professionals who must have a minimum of two years of skilled work experience in the last 10 years. And it's open to all skilled occupations. So in addition to the general requirements, we do have specific requirements for each category. There must be a full-time job offer, which is at least 30 hours per week. The job offer must be indeterminate with no defined end date. For the purposes of the BC PNP, independent contractors are not considered as indeterminate employees, but rather only individuals who are on the company's payroll who are issued T-Force. And those are the unknowns who will be considered employees of the company. Next slide, please. The international graduate category is the other category where we may see ECEs. It's designed to retain recent graduates from Canadian post-secondary institutions. They must have graduated within the previous three years. And programs of study must have been at least eight months or two semesters. But this does not include co-op work terms, practicums, or internships. This also excludes English second language programs. Next slide, please. So who can support an application to the BC PNP? Because most of the skills immigration categories require a job offer, an employer plays an important role in the support of a BC PNP application. So the employer must be established in British Columbia for at least one year, have at least five full-time employees, or three if outside of Metro Vancouver. They must possess a valid license from the appropriate governing body. They must provide a job offer of a full-time indeterminate job. And they must satisfy recruitment requirements, which I'll discuss later. So the employer responsibilities are to provide accurate documents and notify the BC PNP of any changes in the employment status of the applicant, or if the business has closed or changed ownership. Next slide, please. So there is also a licensing requirement for childcare providers. The employer must have a valid municipal business license that allows employers and their employees to engage in business at a fixed location in BC. And also confirmation from the appropriate governing body, such as a public health authority that demonstrates the employer is allowed to operate in British Columbia. Next slide, please. So as an economic immigration program, all employer-supporting applications to the BC PNP are required to demonstrate that they have attempted to recruit from the local labor market. The genuine and bona fide recruitment requirements are assessed against, but not limited to the following. Specific efforts made to identify a Canadian or permanent resident for the position. Recruitment methods and duration are consistent with industry standards and practices. And the qualifications listed in the recruitment ads are reasonable and sufficient to allow a Canadian or permanent resident to qualify for the position and do not require a candidate to have a foreign network or foreign work experience and are not specifically catered to a particular candidate. We also look at the level of scrutiny exercised when verifying the qualifications of all potential candidates and determine if the employer has used the services of a third party to conduct the recruitment effort. And if so, if the third party meets provincial licensing requirements. Next slide, please. The next will provide information about how to register and apply to the BC PNP. So we'll go through the application process. Next slide, please. So we've improved access for private health care and childhood providers by selecting care economy occupations such as early childhood educators in targeted draws. Early childhood educators have always been eligible through our program, but typically did not complete well in our general draws. So targeted draws ensure that employers have access to the workers with skills needed to deliver these essential services for all British Columbians. Next slide, please. So for our registration, we use a point-based intake management system to invite candidates to apply for the BC PNP. Registrations are scored based on a number of factors and it's based on information provided by the applicant. Invitations to apply are issued to the highest scoring registrants in the pool. The following factors outline how scores are awarded. Occupation, wage, location, language, work experience, education, and specific additional points for directly related work experience in Canada, post-secondary education in Canada, and an education credential assessment or any trade certification. Once invited to apply, all information provided in the registration is verified against the information provided in the application. So if points are being claimed for language proficiency, a copy of valid language test results must be submitted at the time of registration of application. These must be from within the last two years. So for NOx skill level, NOx skill type zero and skill level A, language test scores are not category requirements, but as I mentioned, it may be required at the time of application and it's also required if points have been claimed in the registration for language abilities. Next slide, please. So we invite people who are in the registration pool to submit an application to the program. Invitations to apply are based on the information provided in registrations. Information provided in the registrations will be used to rank, select, and invite candidates who are most likely to meet BC's economic and labor market needs based on the following attributes. Education, so level and field of education where it's completed, language abilities, occupation, duration and skill level of work experience, wage and skill level of job offer, intent to live, work, and settle in a specific region, and strategic priorities, so factors that address specific labor market needs in BC or support government pilot projects and initiatives. Again, invitations are sometimes targeted to support BC government priorities, such as supporting certain care economy occupations like early childhood educators. Next slide, please. So here's the skills immigration process. So the process starts with an indeterminate full-time job offer from an eligible BC employer. Once the candidate has accepted the job offer, they can submit a BC PMP registration. If the BC PMP issues a candidate an invitation to apply, they have 30 days to submit an application. When the candidate submits an application, an application fee must be paid and all required documents must be submitted. The fee currently is $1,150. A list of the required documents can be found in the BC PMP technical guide on our website. If the application is approved, the applicant becomes a nominee and they can apply to IRCC for permanent residence. So if nominated, the nominee may be eligible to receive a work permit support letter issued by the BC PMP so that they can apply to obtain or renew a work permit from the federal government to start or continue working in BC for the employer. Work permit support letters allow nominees to apply for a work permit from the federal government without the need for a labor market impact assessment. If the candidate does not currently have a valid work permit, they must apply for one within three months of the nomination date in order to commence employment with the supporting employer in British Columbia. So looking at this process slide, the STAR illustrates how draws support ECEs and childhood educators to attract and retain needed talent. We currently do targeted draws for other care economy occupations as well, such as healthcare occupations, veterinarians and the BC PMP tech program. Next slide, please. So lastly, there's more information available for employers and applicants if needed through the emails listed on the slide here and there's resources available as well at welcomebc.ca slash PMP. On behalf of the BC PMP and my colleagues, I'd like to thank Childcare BC for hosting us today and I'd like to now turn it over to Darcy Brownlee from IRCC to share information on federal immigration codes. Great. Well, thank you so much, Alex, and you've provided all of that information about the provincial nominee program and so now we're going to take a step further back and understand how processes work from a federal immigration perspective. And so my name is Darcy Brownlee and I'm an outreach officer with Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada. And my role is to help Canadian employers learn how Canada's economic immigration programs can be used to support hiring needs and help drive economic growth. And so just as we are waiting for the slides to come up, I just want to say a big thank you to Childcare BC for hosting today's event. And I'd also like to begin by acknowledging and appreciating the fact that today I'm on the traditional territory of the Semiamu, Katsey, Proquitlam, Quantlin, KCAT, and Swassan Nations in Surrey. And as outreach officers throughout Canada, we provide information sessions to help employers understand the economic immigration options that you can use to access global talent and meet your hiring needs. So thank you so much for your interest in learning about this very complex subject. And some of you who are new to this field may be asking yourselves, why hire global talent? And so we did hear earlier about the workforce and supply challenges. And that is the obvious answer is to fill skill shortages. The Canadian labor market is tighter now than before the pandemic and job vacancy historic peak in the third quarter of 2021. Much of the unmet demand is in lower wage occupations. And according to Statistics Canada, November 2021, the following sectors were facing the highest number of vacancies in accommodation and food services, healthcare and social assistance, retail, trade and manufacturing are some of the highest vacancies. So just before we continue today, I wanted to make a note that the information is relevant as of today's date, but policies often change. And over the last while, we've seen a lot of changes happen quite quickly. So please refer to the IRCC website for the most up to date information. Also, if you wish, the presentation slides are available in both French and English. So we'll move on to the next slide and look at what is our agenda for today. And as I said, immigration is a complex topic. And my goal is to provide you with a basic overview. And the most important thing I'd like you to take away is this is IRCC provides services to help employers navigate the immigration system. At the end of the presentation, I will share contact information so that you can reach out to us when needed. So here's a snapshot of what we'll cover today. We'll talk about some of those key concepts. You heard some of them already mentioned about the NOC and the LMIA. So we will go a little bit more into detail about that. We'll provide an overview of the work permits and permanent immigration programs. Where to look for skilled workers and resources to help support you. Next slide, please. So first, let's start with some key concepts. What is work? What you and I might define as work may be different than how the Immigration Act defines work. But immigration refugees and citizenship defines work as an activity for which wages are paid or commission is earned or that competes directly with activities of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in the Canadian labor market. So to work in Canada, a foreign national requires a work permit unless there is an exemption. Next slide, please. And I wanted to make sure that we're all familiar with this key resource that is used in immigration. You've heard of Alex speak to it already. It's often referred to as the NOC, which stands for the National Occupational Classification. This tool classifies all occupations in the Canadian economy by skill type and level. And it's important for our purposes is to understand the jobs classified as NOC-O, which is managerial. NOC-A, professional, usually requiring a university degree, and NOC-B, technical or skilled trades, which require post-secondary education are considered skilled. This is a key concept as this classification is used by IRCC when we're assessing eligibility for various immigration programs. If you want to hire a foreign worker, you'll need to know the NOC code before you make a job offer and before they can apply for a work permit. We have an online tool that can help you and it's called find your NOC and the link is provided here. For example, if you go to this link and you enter early childhood, you'll get a result for NOC 4214 for early childhood educators and assistants skill level B. And examples of some of the titles that are included under this category are child care workers for daycare, a daycare helper, early childhood assistant, preschool supervisor. So there's a list of close to 10 titles under that category. It also provides a description of duties under this code. And so what you need to do is you need to ensure that the duties match what the title also says. So this one says early childhood educators plan, organize and implement programs for children between the ages of infancy and 12 years of age. Early childhood educators assistants provide care for infants and preschool to school age children and it just goes on to describe some of the duties. And so it's important that you familiarize yourself with the NOC and what are the duties listed under the different categories that you may wish to hire some foreign talent. And I'd also like to point out that later this year we're looking forward to having the NOC system be replaced by a new system called tier and this stands for training, education, experience and responsibilities. Our website will be updated to reflect this change once it has been implemented. Next slide please. So how can an employer hire a foreign worker? If the need is temporary or immediate, you can support the temporary foreign worker to apply for work permit. And if the need is permanent, you as the employer can also support them as they apply for permanent residency. Next slide please. Now what is a labor market impact assessment, otherwise known as an LMIA? An LMIA is a document from Employment and Social Development Canada, also known as ESDC, that gives employers permission to hire temporary foreign workers. ESDC will assess the employer's LMIA application to determine what impact the hiring a temporary foreign worker would have on the on Canada's job market. ESDC will issue a positive or negative LMIA to the employer. And the employer should give their foreign worker a copy of this letter to include with their work permit application. The LMIA is usually given for a specific period of time. And the work permit issued will match that period. If a foreign worker wants to renew their work permit beyond this period, they will likely need a new LMIA. Now there's a few other acronyms that are always important to know. And ETA is an electronic travel authorization that was introduced probably in about the last five years, where people traveling to Canada who may not require a visa to come to Canada, they still require an electronic travel authorization and they need to submit an application for that online. Temporary resident visa allows someone to travel from their home country to the Canadian border. A visa application centre is where someone over abroad would submit their application. And the port of entry is what we refer to as the border, so at the airport or the land border where someone may enter Canada. The next slide, please. So another important question to ask as an employer is, does the foreign worker need a work permit? As indicated, if the need for a foreign worker is temporary or immediate, you can support the temporary foreign worker to apply for a work permit. While there are some exceptions for global talent to enter Canada without a work permit, for the majority of workers in the early childhood educator field, a work permit will be required. And just to note that under the global scale strategy, workers in that knock-o, which is professional or managerial or A, professionals may enter Canada without a work permit for a short-term work of up to 30 days in a calendar year. Next slide, please. So once it's determined that a work permit will be required, then the next question is, which program should I use to support a foreign worker to apply for a work permit? Now, there are two different pathways to obtaining a work permit in Canada. One is the temporary foreign worker program, and the other is the international mobility program. The temporary foreign worker program can be considered a measure to fill temporary skills and labour shortages in Canada. In this program, employers must obtain a labour market impact assessment from employment and social development Canada to hire the foreign workers. Now, the second way to get a work permit is through the international mobility program. This program supports talent attraction and economic growth and does not require employers to obtain a labour market impact assessment before hiring a foreign worker. And the reason why Canada has these LMIA exemptions is because the work that falls in this program brings either social, cultural or economic benefit to Canada. And the next slide, please. So let's talk a little bit more about the temporary foreign worker program. Again, this is a program that falls under the jurisdiction of ESDC, Employment and Social Development Canada. So this program allows employers in Canada to hire a foreign worker when no Canadians or permanent residents are available. A positive LMIA from ESDC indicates that there are no Canadians available to do the job and that there is a need for a foreign worker. And here's a quick summary of the steps and costs associated with the temporary foreign worker program. So the employer needs to pay $1,000 fee per position. And then the employee pays $155 dollar fee for their work permit. The employee is also responsible for the biometrics fee. And in total, there is a cost of $1,240 for a work permit under the temporary foreign worker program. The temporary foreign worker is also required to provide their biometrics, which is their fingerprints and their photos. And it's important to note that a medical exam is required for immigration purposes for workers in childcare and educational settings. And so that's an important distinction that you need to be aware of is that under the ECE, all workers would require a medical exam for immigration purposes. Next slide. So now we'll talk a little bit about the International Mobility Program. This falls more under the jurisdiction of IRCC. And this program supports talent attraction and economic growth to be eligible for a work permit which is exempt from the LMIA requirement. Foreign workers must demonstrate that their work will result in significant or reciprocal benefits to Canada. Under this program, employers need to use the employer portal to submit the offer of employment information and pay a $230 employer compliance fee. And then they must give the offer of employment number, which we often refer to as an A number, to the employees so they can submit their work permit. So just to note around the employer portal, as an employer, you would need to go in, you would need to register an account in the employer portal. And that's where you put in all the information around your job offer to the individual. And so it's important that you put in all the details around the job because that is what is assessed later on in regards to the work permit. So to recap for you, before they apply for their work permit, a foreign national must have one of either two things. Either the labour market impact assessment or an offer of employment in the employer portal. The only exception to this is that they're eligible for an open work permit which allows them to work for any employer. They can apply for their work permit online or at a visa application centre. And those who do not need a visa to travel to Canada also have the option of applying upon arrival at a Canadian port of entry. Many, but not all work permits can be extended from within Canada. And it's very important that the application be submitted before the current work permit expires. And this is in order for them to get what is called maintained status, which means the worker can continue to work in their job while a decision is being made if they continue to work for the same employer under the same conditions. And let's move to the next slide, please. So there are a variety of labour market impact assessment exemptions that an employer may use. An LMIA exemption can help employers save time and fees when hiring skilled foreign workers. So how do you know if you can use an exemption? So you can check the complete list of exemptions on the immigration website. And if you're still not sure, IRCC offers a free service called the International Mobility Workers Unit, which provides opinions on whether or not you, the employer and the temporary foreign worker you want to hire are exempt from the labour market impact assessment process and whether or not a work permit is required. So just to let you know, I think there's over 50 exemptions that can be used. So I'll just highlight a couple of the ones and bring a few to your attention today. The full list is on our website. Under a program called the International Experience Canada, employers can hire youth aged 18 to 35 from around 35 countries who are looking to gain international work experience. IAC is intended as a cultural exchange program. And I'll provide more details about this shortly. Now, we've already heard about the Permission Nominee program. And once a candidate that you're supporting through the Permission Nominee program is nominated, they will be able to get an LMIA exempt work permit and start working while they're waiting for their permanent resident application to be processed. Canada also has a variety of free trade agreements with other countries that contain provisions for reciprocal talent mobility provisions. And they set out the details regarding nationalities and professions qualifications where somebody might be able to enter Canada without the labour market impact assessment. Another exemption that I'd like to bring to your attention is something that we called open work permits. And so there's many people who are already in Canada who might have an open work permit. And an open work permit is not employer specific. So it will say it does not have an employer's name on it. And it will often say on it that the person can work for any employer in Canada. But we'll get a little bit more into some of these exceptions later on. So there are a number of other LMIA exemptions that exist because of the significant benefit that certain skilled talent brings to Canada. And I'll move on and talk about that. So let's move to the next slide. So one of these exceptions and exemptions is the Franco-Foremobility program, which was created to facilitate the immigration of skilled French speakers to strengthen minority official language communities outside of Canada. And Canada has a goal of increasing these minority communities outside of Quebec to 4% in close to 4% by 2023. So for employers, it's quite beneficial for several reasons. It can be used to hire a skilled foreign worker of any age from any country to fill any skilled job, knock, be or above. And to qualify the foreign worker's language of daily use must be French. So the language spoken in the Canadian workplace does not need to be French. Though can be good for business to have bilingual employees who can offer services in both of Canada's official languages. Next slide, please. So as mentioned, Canada Canadian employers can hire youth participating in international experience Canada. You do not need a labour market impact assessment to hire an IEC participant who may be on an open working holiday work permit or who you can support for employer specific work permits under the young professionals category. Now there are three streams under the international experience Canada. One is international co-op stream, which we do not see a whole lot of people participating in. But the young professionals is a category where as an employer, you could give a job offer. And the job offer needs to be related to the individual's education. So if they've received education abroad in early childhood education and you want to offer them a job offer, you can make that submit that in the employer portal. And then they would get an employer specific work permit without having to go through the labour market impact assessment process. The other program which is used most often is the working holiday program. And often just to give you an example, we see people on the ski hills who are participating in the working holiday programs. And so there's many Australians who come and work on the Canadian ski hills during their summer and our winter. And then they go back to Australia for the winter and they get to ski 12 months of the year. But people can work in any profession as long as they meet the criteria of this program. It is important to note that due to the current global events, applicants may find it difficult to find an available biometrics appointment, which could delay the processing of their application. It's also important to note that the international mobility program, which does include the working holiday program aims to promote Canada's broad economic, social and cultural interests. And it's not designed to be to fill labour shortages. So the temporary foreign worker program is designed to allow employers in Canada to hire foreign workers when there are no Canadians or permanent residents. So really this program is a cultural program. But if you're looking to the immigration to fill their needs, you need to use a variety of different programs. Next slide please. So where does a worker apply for a work permit? Does a candidate need a visa to travel to Canada? And if they require a visa, if the answer to that question is yes, they need to apply for a work permit online or at a visa application centre. If the answer to that question is no, they can apply for a work permit at a Canadian port of entry, so at the airport or at the land border when they enter Canada. And the next slide please. So employers hiring foreign workers must comply with all applicable recruitment and employment laws. This includes ensuring that workplace is free of abuse and providing duties, wages and working conditions consistent with the job offer and the work permit. So in a work permit application, employers will be evaluated on whether the offer of employment is genuine, past history of compliance with commitments outlined in the offer of employment, compliance with federal, provincial or territorial laws, and if the employer has been banned from hiring foreign nationals as per immigration regulations. So in cases where the employer is bound to have not complied with previous commitments to foreign workers, the employer may be deemed ineligible to hire a foreign worker for up to two years. Next slide please. So before we continue, I'd like to address our processing times on all of the lines of business, including work permit applications. So in addition to the pandemic, global events such as Afghanistan and Ukraine has stretched our processing capacity and widespread travel restrictions, local public health measures and constraints on our partners have all had a significant impact on foreign workers ability to provide complete applications or to travel. So measures taken to protect the health and safety of employees also affected IRCC's ability to process applications, which has lengthened our processing times. So there is a commitment on behalf of the government to reduce the wait times and improve the client services. But it's always important that when you're making your HR plan, that you look online IRCC has checked my processing time tab on the website and you can see how long it takes to process the various applications. Next slide please. So let's move on to talk about permanent residents. Did you know that in 2021 Canada welcomed over 400,000 new permanent residents? Traditionally economic immigrants make up about 60% of the newcomers who arrive in the country. Access to Canada's permanent residents is often an incentive for foreign workers to move to Canada. Canada has a range of economic immigration programs, both national and regional, which all contribute towards strengthening Canada's labour market. So the permanent resident pathways that early childhood educators may wish to investigate are the skilled worker, the Canadian experience class and the provincial nominee program, which we heard about earlier, and they're all accessed through the express entry program. There are other permanent resident programs which address regional or industry specific labour markets needs such as the two pilot programs in purple on this slide, such as the home care provider and home support worker pilot. Now these two pilots are for the knock codes 4 4 11 and 4 4 12, which are for live in caregivers in private residences. So they probably do not meet your needs right now for who you are, who you would be hiring. But employers can support skilled workers from abroad by helping them qualify for permanent residents through express entry. And the next slide please. So what is express entry? Express entry is a portal through which people from around the world can express interest in immigrating to Canada. And more than that is Canada's flagship system for managing applications from several key economic immigration programs. Applicants create an express entry profile. And those who appear to meet the criteria of one or more of these federal immigration programs, manage their express entry are then automatically entered into the pool of candidates. So when a candidate is accepted into the pool, they're given a comprehensive ranking system score. And top ranking candidates are then invited to apply online for permanent residents. And I'll give you an overview of a couple of the programs under the federal skilled worker program as well as the CEC program. So federal skilled worker to be eligible, they have to have within the last 10 years had at least one year of continuous work to experience in the NOC A, O or B occupations. Again, they have to have a higher level of language proficiency. And their language needs to be at intermediate to advanced level. Under the Canadian experience category, work experience needs to have, the applicants need to have 12 months of skilled work experience completed in Canada in the last three years. Again, language proficiency is at that intermediate level in order to apply for permanent residents. Applicants can also get up to 600 additional points by receiving the provincial nomination. And so that will increase, significantly increase their likelihood of being successful. Next slide please. So now the next question is where do I find talent? And a couple of places to look for talent is international students may be eligible to work off campus. And newcomers to Canada as well. There are IRCC funded organizations like the immigrant employment council or other immigration settlement organizations in BC that have programs to help newcomers find employment. And the next slide please. So just to let you know that international students, you can hire them while they're studying in Canada. If they meet the eligibility criteria, they can work for up to 20 hours a week while classes in session and full time during scheduled breaks. And so the criteria is listed on the slide here as to what the criteria is that they need to meet. Next slide please. Did you know that you can hire an eligible international student after they graduate? So the postgrad work permit program otherwise known as the PGWP allows students who have graduated from eligible Canadian designated learning institutions to obtain an open work permit. And they can get this work permit from anywhere from eight months up to three years depending on the lengths of study. And so our schools are a great place to go and recruit foreign talent if you're looking for people in order to meet your workforce supply needs. And the next slide please. So let me tell you about a way to connect with skilled workers who may be eligible for francophone mobility or the international experience Canada work permits. Destination Canada is a government of Canada event held every November in Paris and Brussels. And the embassy partners with public employment services in Belgium, France, Morocco, Tunisia and other countries. And they post vacancies and pre-screen candidates against the job requirements on behalf of Canadian employers. And that's at no charge to you. So you can get a short list of qualified candidates as well as assistants to set up interviews in person or via video conference. You don't need to attend in person. But if you need more information about it, the contact information is there on our website. And the next slide please. So there are a few resources listed here. If you want to use a temporary foreign worker program and have questions about the LMIA process, please contact that phone number, the 1800 phone number. And also the international mobility workers unit, which can help you assess whether or not the applicant and the position is available, eligible for an LMIA exemption. And the next slide please. So for more information, if you want to find out more about any of these topics, you can reach out to an outreach officer like me strategically placed across Canada. Our website also has a wealth of information. And I'd really recommend that you start there if you're new to this process. And online, we also have an employer's roadmap that takes you and walks you through the entire process. So we'll have time for questions in a little bit, but I just want to end there and we'll take the questions later. So thank you so much for your time and attention. And I am going to pass it over to our next presenter. Our next presenter is Joanne. So Joanne, please from our ECE Registry overview. Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us. I realize it's now usually some people's supper time. So thanks for sticking with us here. My name is Joanne Morel. I'm the manager of the professional excellence and outreach team within the ECE Registry. My team kind of has a dual function here at the ECE Registry. Firstly, we work with our post-secondary programs. So those are the recognized ECE programs that have been reviewed and approved by the registry. And then our second piece of work is that we complete all of the equivalency applications and reviews within the ECE Registry. I have two of my team with me here this afternoon. So I have Deanna Elliott and Amy Dua, who are both program ECE program coordinators. I just wanted to acknowledge that I'm joining from the lands of the Lacongan speaking peoples known today as the Songhees and the Squymalt nations. Next slide, please. So just sort of a quick overview of what we're going to talk about. So types of the ECE certificates, international applicant process, and obviously then we'll sort of roll into the questions at the end. Next slide, please. All right. So there are five levels of certification in BC. And I know many of you are ECEs. And so you'll have been through this process with us, possibly on the other side through our certification process, which is a little bit more streamlined and a bit more complex. We'll focus a little bit more today in terms of the ECE one year certificate and the equivalency process. But basically just sort of to give you a bit of a synopsis of this, we have ECE assistants who work alongside ECE and or ITE in licensed childcare programs for children birth to five years of age. ECEs are able to work alone and or as the primary educator in licensed childcare programs for children three to five years of age and may work alongside an infant toddler educator in licensed programs for children under 36 months. We also then have two specializations, one being the infant toddler educator. And these folks are able to work alone and or as the primary educator in a licensed childcare program for children birth to five years of age. And then also special needs educators who are able to work alone and or as a primary educator in licensed childcare programs for children three to five years of age, as well as inclusive childcare environments where children in attendance have special needs and diversibilities. Certification is based on legislation requirements, which is the sorry, I'll go into that a little bit more in a bit and but as well the the BC childcare sector occupational competencies. The focus, as I mentioned of today's discussion will be on the ECE one year certificate as this is typically the certificate level that the majority of our international applicants apply for, primarily because it doesn't require them to have 500 hours of work experience under a Canadian certified ECE. Next slide please. All right. So in addition to the academic requirements, there are some character and skill requirements. So basically all applicants are required to demonstrate that they have good character. They have the personality ability and temperament necessary to manage or work with children and then training experience and skills necessary to carry out assigned duties. And this is under the childcare licensing regulations. The ECE one year certificate again under the childcare licensing regulations are required to have either a BC education from a BC recognized ECE program or an equivalent program and we'll talk more about that. So for individuals who have completed their early childhood education, pardon me, and training outside of BC, they may apply to the ECE registry through what we call our equivalency process. As early childhood training programs around the world, as well as in Canada actually, vary in structure, length, hours and content, the ECE registry requires information about the program completed so that we can determine if their education meets the educational requirements in BC as required by the legislation. And I'll just note that applicants who are minors do require additional parental consent, parental or guardian consent. Next slide please. So to be considered equivalent education must be completed at an institution. Firstly, that's approved by a province, state, national or another government body. It must include content and hours that are comparable to a recognized ECE program in BC. The courses must cover topics that relate to the education and care of children focused on birth to five years old. And this is consistent with the BC childcare sector occupational competencies. So basically we're assessing to make sure that these folks who are coming from any other country have basically the skills, the same skill sets, and can complete the same competencies as those who have been trained in BC. So that includes practicum placement hours that provide opportunity for the student to practice what they learned in the classroom with children birth to five. And to determine if an applicant's education is equivalent to BC standards, the ECE registry requires information about the specific program or the education completed by the applicant. Next slide please. So the early childhood educator certification application, so through equivalency, sorry, so these are primarily the things that we actually require as part of the application. So basically we're asking for character reference, obviously the application, a detailed course, or sorry, detailed course outlines and or syllabi, a program confirmation form, which basically outlines kind of what the content of the of the program was and it spells out quite clearly kind of what type of practicums the student actually participated in. We do require official transcripts. We also require an international credential evaluation service comprehensive report. So that's through BC IT. So it is, and I will kind of specify that it is a comprehensive report there, the basic report is not adequate for what we need. We do have fee waivers that are available to eligible applicants to cover the cost of one credential evaluation. And that obviously depends on their being funding available. We also require two pieces of government issued ID. And I'll just sort of say a couple more things about the course outlines and syllabi. So this is kind of where we're getting the crux of the information to really be able to assess has this person actually sort of covered the content that we require in British Columbia. So this includes detailed descriptions of course content, learning goals, outcomes and expectations. It has to be from the year the applicant completed the course. The program confirmation form provides critical information regarding the institution. Is it recognized by a government body, the program, so the instructional hours, curriculum, practicum hours and locations. And it also provides information regarding the ECE profession in that specific country. We do require that information in English. So it is an additional expense that applicants do have to consider when they are applying is actually getting that information professionally translated. Next slide please. So this just kind of gives you a bit of a picture in terms of what it looks like to put in an application. So we receive the application, the assess the applicants assessed on their suitability to practice. If they meet the requirements, the certificate is issued. If they don't meet requirements, they get a what we call an assessment decision letter, which basically outlines the reason for the denial. At that point, the applicant can and typically our ADLs will outline the areas of the program that weren't covered in the course content that we reviewed. And so at that point, we typically lay out for the applicant the options available to them, which may be contacting an ECE, a recognized ECE training program here in BC. And they are able to take additional courses at that point. And then they're able to come back to us and apply it again. Should they choose if they believe that the decision was incorrect or that they have, you know, information that we haven't reviewed, they may decide to put in a reconsideration and could go to appeal at that stage if they wish. So basically, we're reviewing the application once it comes in. We are verifying most of the information and possibly contacting references and educational institutions to confirm that the information is correct and what we've received is adequate. I guess just in terms of this assessment of the suitability. So this is kind of a key piece. ECEs and ECE assistants often work alone with potentially up to eight children for extended periods of time. They may have limited administration. There may be sort of a few colleagues if any in some cases. And children at this, you know, children are at their most vulnerable at this age and stage and often unable really to fully articulate for themselves what's happening to them, you know, to them in their life. And so, you know, so it's really critical that we've made sure that anybody who is coming in to do this type of work, you know, has been rendered to be suitable for this type of work. And ECEs are obviously often the first people that children have contact with outside their home. So we certainly see our role in kind of looking through all of these aspects as kind of a critical piece to make sure that we've ensured those folks have all of the skills, knowledge and ability in order to do the work appropriately. Next slide, please. So that's really the end of my presentation. I will sort of encourage you to take a look at the ECE registry website when you have an opportunity. It is new this year. It does include a lot more information, particularly about the equivalency process than it did in the past. There is information there about the feed waivers that I mentioned in the presentation. And there are new sections in there for anybody who does go looking. Basically, you'd be looking for the sort of find your pathway stage, go to the section that says I completed my education in another country, and it'll basically walk you through and it actually shows you, excuse me, a specific pathway and it explains kind of step by step all of the information that's going to be required as part of that equivalency application. So I think I will stop there, Shannon, and turn it back to you. Thank you, Joanne. That was a lot of information, and I know that we got through it fairly quickly, so it wouldn't surprise me if there's a little bit of what does all of this mean. So please feel free to put your questions into the QA function, which, as a reminder, is at the bottom of your screen in the ribbon.