Everything you wanted to know about Canada’s GTS Program

Canada is making every effort to welcome immigrants to fill the need for skilled workers. It has devised various immigration schemes to encourage more workers from foreign countries. The Canadian government came up with the Global Talent Stream (GTS) program to solve the shortage of skilled tech workers. The GTS program was started in June 2017 as a two-year pilot program. The latest information suggests the Canadian government intends to make it permanent.

 

This program was introduced to help Canadian companies look for external talent and overcome the dearth of local tech talent. Under this scheme, companies can fill in their talent requirements quickly. The visa processing time is reduced from six months to only ten business days. This also helps applicants get a quick response to their application. Their work permit and visa applications will be processed in a short time.

 

The GTS was introduced to help Canadian startups deal with the issue of talent shortage. Companies registered for the program must commit to creating jobs for Canadians. They should make efforts to transfer the knowledge to Canadian workers under the Labor Market Benefits Plan.

 

Key features of the Global Talent Stream (GTS):

• GTS is a dedicated scheme to help companies create jobs in Canada.
• There is no work permit requirement for highly skilled workers
• They are given work permits for 30 days or less in a 12-month period
• Transfer of skills from highly skilled foreign workers to their Canadian counterparts

The GTS program has two categories:

Category A:

High growth companies that can validate their requirement for specialized talent are included in this category. These companies must give the reasons for the need to recruit unique specialized talent from abroad. They must be validated by a designated referral partner to utilize the GTS program.

 

Companies using the GTS program under Category A must provide an annual salary of 80,000 CAD for the first two applications while subsequent applications require an annual salary of CAD 1,50,000.

 

Category B:

Companies that want to hire highly talented foreign workers for occupations on the Global Talent Occupations List come under this category. These openings must be in high demand. The skills required for them must be scarce among the local talent.

 

Professions that figure in this list are computer engineers, IT analysts, software engineers, digital media professionals etc.  The list gets updated based on the changing labor or skill requirements.

 

The salary requirements for this category are usually based on prevailing conditions.

 

Conditions of the GTS scheme:

The priority should be for Canadians and permanent residents before offering the job to foreign workers.

 

Salary paid to employees recruited under the GTS program must match the payment for Canadian and permanent residents. They should be working for the same job and location and have similar skills and experience.

 

The maximum time of employment is two years for employees hired under the GTS scheme. The employees can Apply for a Canadian Permanent Residency after this period.

 

Benefits of the GTS program:

The GTS program has emerged as a quick and effective solution for access to specialized talent which is not available in Canada.

 

The scheme promotes diversity in the workplace and results in better output and engagement

 

The scheme will be beneficial to Indians with a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) background especially those in the US. They can make the best use of new job opportunities in Canada.

 

Individuals hired under the GTS program will gain the job experience that will help them gain some crucial points if they are applying for permanent residency in Canada through the Express Entry route.

 

The GTS program allows Canadian companies to field talented and skilled employees from across the world, diversify their staff, and strive for innovation.

 

Since its introduction in 2017, more than 2000 workers have been approved under the GTS scheme.

 

The 2019 Canadian budget mentions that tech companies are committed to generating more than 40,000 jobs under the GTS scheme for Canadians and permanent residents.

 

The scheme has a fixed time frame for processing and procuring the visa- the GTS visa applications are processed within two weeks. The application and approval of the GTS visa follow a transparent process.

 

Under the GTS scheme, Canadian companies have an opportunity to recruit qualified workers from different countries. It gives them access to a diverse talent pool and opportunity to improve their business.

 

 If you are planning to migrate to Canada, browse through latest Canada Immigration News & Visa Rules.