Personal carers and home support workers: They are those who offer companionship and personal care to the elderly and those with disabilities. Along with other jobs like housework, meal preparation, and medication administration, they could help with daily living activities including bathing, dressing, and grooming. Their occupation falls under National Occupational Classification (NOC) Code: 44101.

Duties and Responsibilities of a Personal carers and home support workers usually involves helping clients with their personal hygiene routines, such as showering, planning and preparing meals in accordance with the recommended diet, help with transfers, mobility, and range-of-motion activities, etc. They are expected to have a minimum secondary school education, while some companies may also demand that the applicant must complete a training course in personal support or other similar.

Live-in Caregivers: These are persons who work on a live-in basis at the employer’s home, caring for children, the elderly, or disabled people. They could carry out tasks akin to those of private carers, home support workers, or childcare providers. Their occupation falls under National Occupational Classification (NOC) Code: 44101 or 44100.

Their Duties and Responsibilities are often comparable to personal carers, home support workers, or home childcare providers. Usually, completion of a high school education may be necessary, however, some companies may also demand that applicants complete a training course in childcare, personal assistance, or a similar profession.

How to become a caregiver in Canada?

It is crucial to be aware that there are certain criteria and requirements for those who wish to work as caretakers in Canada. These requirements include acquiring a work permit and achieving language competence standards.

Depending on the immigration category for which they are seeking, a caregiver’s qualifying criteria for immigration to Canada may change. The Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker Pilot Programs, nevertheless, are the most popular immigration scheme for carers, and applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Work Experience: The candidate must have at least 1 year (previously 2 years) of recent full-time experience (or an equal amount of part-time experience) as a home childcare provider, a home support worker, or a mix of both. This employment experience must be in a paid capacity; it cannot be unpaid.
• Education: The candidate must have earned a high school diploma, which is the equivalent of a secondary school diploma in Canada, either in their native country or in Canada.
• Language Proficiency: The candidate must be able to speak either French and/or English, which are Canada’s two official languages. You can accomplish this by taking a language exam from a recognised testing agency, such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP).
• Admissibility: The applicant must be eligible to enter Canada, which requires that they be free of any felony convictions or health issues that would endanger the public’s safety.

Along with these conditions, the employer must have secured a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), and the carer must have a work offer from a Canadian business. The employment offer must also fulfil several criteria, such as guaranteeing the carer a minimum of 30 hours of work each week and paying the required minimum salary.

It’s crucial to understand that the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker Pilot Programs are temporary immigration programmes, so carers who enter Canada through these programmes are not immediately eligible to seek for permanent status. Nevertheless, depending on their circumstances, additional immigration schemes can be accessible to them that can result in permanent residency.

Canadian work experience needed for a carer to be eligible for permanent residency is being decreased from 24 months to 12 months, according to Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). For carers who already have work experience in Canada from a prior work visa, some spots under the current career paths have also been set aside so they can apply for permanent residence. The modification will be retroactive for carers who have previously applied and take effect as of April 30, 2023.

Therefore, carers and their families will have an easier time settling down in Canada and obtaining permanent residency. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) hopes to streamline the application process by lowering Canadian work experience requirement. Around 90% of the applications presently being processed are anticipated to gain from this upgrade, which is advantageous for both new carers and those who have been giving care in Canada for some time.

In order to express our gratitude to the carers who assist Canadian families in need of care as the current carer programmes near their expiration date, we will continue to make any required revisions. To prepare for what occurs after the pilots wrap up in June 2024, work is already being done on the future of carer programmes.

The adjustment will be retroactive for carers who have previously applied and take effect on April 30, 2023. Both applicants from the Home Child Care Provider (HCCP) trial and the Home Support Worker (HSW) pilot, including those whose applications have already been accepted by IRCC and prospective applicants for the remaining five-year pilots, are anticipated to be affected by the change in criteria. Almost 1,600 carers and their family members have moved in as permanent residents since the pilot programmes’ inception in 2019. Through the two pilot programmes, over 1,100 carers and their families will become permanent residents in 2022 alone.

Nearly all of Canada’s labour force expansion is a result of immigration. Immigration, mostly in the economic category, accounts for around 75% of the growth in Canada’s population. Immigrants will make up much to 30% of Canada’s population by 2036, up from 20.7% in 2011.

Read this article to know how immigration helps Canada fill its labour shortages.

In Canada fifty years ago, there were seven employees for each retiree. Currently, the ratio is closer to three, and if Canada continues its current course, in 10 to 15 years, it will be closer to two employees for every retiree.

Contact us today to know if you qualify to migrate to Canada. Check out Owlspriority Immigration’s Canada Settlement Resources to learn about finding employment in Canada, making your initial days stress-free, etc.