Searching for a job in Canada

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 3, 2012

Moved to the International Forum.

It is possible to find employment online. But jobs are scarce in most areas of Canada right now. I don't think even the Maritime provinces are recruiting right now. (Silverdragon102??) Who knows what will happen in the year or so it will take you to get a visa and go through the assessment process for registration as a nurse, but at the moment there's not a lot of vacancies that are being filled. There are changes coming at CIC to how skilled workers are assessed for immigration but it's unclear how it will apply to nurses.

Empoybee · Apr 3, 2012

hi janfrn,

thank you so much for your reply. actually, i don't mind getting a job that is not in my field for the mean time as long as i get the process started. do you have an idea if its easy to get a tourist visa to us when i'm from canada? i'm planning to visit my mom there but it's impossible for me to get a tourist visa here in the philippines.

thanks again!

it is possible to find employment online. but jobs are scarce in most areas of canada right now. i don't think even the maritime provinces are recruiting right now. (silverdragon102??) who knows what will happen in the year or so it will take you to get a visa and go through the assessment process for registration as a nurse, but at the moment there's not a lot of vacancies that are being filled. there are changes coming at cic to how skilled workers are assessed for immigration but it's unclear how it will apply to nurses.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 3, 2012

You'd still be travelling on your Philippines passport until you've become a Canadian citizen. Right now Canadian citizens don't need a tourist visa to enter the US, just a valid Canadian passport. So if you can't get a visa to the US from the Philippines now, you won't be getting one from Canada as a Philippines citizen either.

Getting a job not in your field might be a problem depending on what visa you come here with. If you have a temporary work permit you will only be able to work at that specific job. I have a friend who is also from PI who is working on a TWP and is desperate to change jobs but can't because her TWP is only for the job she has right now - a job she has come to hate. She's anxiously awaiting her permanent residency so that she can find a job she loves and not one that just pays her bills. But having said all that, if you come here under the family class you can do whatever you wish about working.

I'm really not an expert in immigration. Most of what I know I've picked up through counselling others like yourself - doing research online to find the answers. The CIC website is pretty useful. Welcome to Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Silverdragon102, BSN · Apr 4, 2012

Seeing jobs advertised but hospitals mainly saying internal applicants only. Unless you have something special that the hospital wants then I think that will be hard. A lot really is going to depend where in canada you want to live and work. Just picking a province for employer isn't good enough as the country is so huge and climate in all 4 seasons vary. TWP you are tied to employer and PR is a long process at the moment

Empoybee · Apr 4, 2012

Hi Silverdragon,

Thank you so much for your reply.

Do you think employers would be accepting applicants even if I'm still processing my visa? Or would it be best to get the visa approved first before I apply? I'm not sure if getting a job first (and hopefully I'll find one) would have a bearing in the approval of the visa.

Also, you mentioned that PR is a long process at this moment; do you have an idea how long it usually takes to be approved right now? I read in the previous threads that it takes about 3 years before get the citizenship but I'm not sure if that info still applies today.

What can you say about the employment rate of LPNs or any available positions in nursing homes there in Nova Scotia? Would it be any easier to apply as an LPN there compared to looking for hospitals and work as a nurse? I'm very much willing to take the risk but I'm afraid I won't land any job there.

Thanks in advance!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 4, 2012

Empoybee, remember my friend who is waiting for her PR so she can change jobs? She has lived in Canada nearly 9 years already. She never had any intention of returning to the Philippines other than for visits, so that could be an indicator for you.

Nursing homes employ very few licensed staff in my experience. Another friend works as a CNA at a nursing home here in Alberta. The nursing home has 222 beds and 383 staff; there are 5 units on 3 floors in 2 separate buildings. There are 2 RNs on days, 1 RN on evenings and nights. There are between 3 and 4 LPNs per floor and the remainder of care is provided by nursing assistants. From what I understand, this is fairly standard across Alberta. I'm not sure how Nova Scotia compares, but I also have a friend there who works as a CNA and has a pretty heavy workload so I expect it's not a lot different.

Empoybee · Apr 4, 2012

Hello janfrn,

Thank you for your reply.

Oh dear, so it looks like it won't be that easy at all. I'm getting a bit confused if it's still worth getting the visa process started or not. Actually if given the chance that there are vacant nursing assistant jobs, I would gladly take it so long as the salary would be enough cover my daily expenses when I live there. Is it true that the cost of living there in Canada is expensive? I have been looking it up online but I haven't found any personal feedbacks.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Apr 4, 2012

If you are going through the process of PR then depending on route will depend on time. PR will certainly be better for you than looking for a employer willing to go the TWP route and then PR. What PR route are you looking at? Nursing homes here definitely keep trained staff to the minimum, where I work it is 1RN and 1LPN on days for 36 clients and 1 RN on nights. If FSW route then could be anything from 12 months to a couple of years. There is also a lot of anger at the moment as the Canadian government has just stated that applications before 2008 are going to be returned and any moneies paid returned to the applicants due to the huge backlog. If this makes it easier for those applying now I don't know, FSW requires 1 years full time paid employment or equivilent and the RN is capped until the new list is released in June/July

Empoybee · Apr 4, 2012

Hi Silverdragon,

Thank you for your reply.

I'm looking into getting PR either in Ontario (my partner has a relative there so I figured it won't be too tough for us when we're looking for a job), Nova Scotia or Mannitoba. I still need to do a lot of research if it's even possible to get PR in these provinces (or how long it would take to get one). Some say that getting PR depends on what province you choose. What can you say about getting PR there in Nova Scotia? Is it harder compared to other provinces? They say that Mannitoba has a more lenient system compared to others, but the weather is too tough to handle especially during winter.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 4, 2012

Permanent residency is a federal program so it isn't possible for Manitoba to have a "more lenient system". What is more likely is that there are fewer applicants therefore the process is a little shorter.

Locally-educated nurses in Ontario are finding it hard to get work and many of them have moved to other provinces so they can have jobs... Having relatives in a certain place doesn't really mean much in terms of finding work in health care unless you're looking at privately-run nursing homes where there are no unions. There's nothing to stop you from working as a live-in caregiver or a nursing assistant if you're here under the family class, but the Federal Skilled Worker program will require you to work as an RN or an LPN... if you meet the provincial college's requirements. You will have many hurdles to overcome whichever route you choose. With the current employment situation in most of the country there won't be an employer wanting to hire someone from outside the country when they can have their pick of Canadian nurses with a minimum of fuss or delay.

Fiona59 · Apr 4, 2012

Why do you think it'll be any easier to find a job as an LPN? You are NOT an LPN.

Honestly, I'm tired of reading "if I can't get an RN position, I'll take an LPN position". LPNs take their own jobs.

The LPN practice permit isn't a consolation prize for people.