The Saskatchewan government has paused its hard-to-fill skills pilot program, which commenced in December 2021, and targeted eligible high-demand occupations for intermediate and low-skilled workers. Because of this decision, Saskatoon residents are preparing to leave the country after living in Canada for five years.
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This program classifies a worker as eligible to submit their application for the Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program if the worker receives a job approval letter after working for the employer for at least six months.
However, this decision resulted in various changes to the federal government’s immigration policies. It included a declaration that international students will no longer be granted 18-month work permit extensions starting this year.
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According to the Saskatchewan government, the program is closed for review, which is anticipated to be completed this spring. Furthermore, certain occupations are excluded from the closure, such as those in the health care, agriculture, or value-added agriculture sectors. The government’s reasons for this closure include that the category was temporary with a predetermined allocation and that it reached the nomination cap.
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Immigration and Career Training mentioned the inclusion of a banner on the website in 2021 recommending people seek future updates or changes to the program intake while responding to a query highlighting the sudden pause without any prior notice to foreign workers.
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Moreover, in their response, the government mentioned that the banner clearly said that the threshold or caps may be applied to control this pilot’s number of applications depending on the program’s demand. It further added that the ongoing review will gauge the pilot’s outcomes to determine if and when the program will reopen.
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