The province is launching a two-year pilot project to hire more permanent foreign workers to deal with the growing labour shortages in tourism and trucking.
The project will expand the B.C. provincial nominee program to include entry-level and semi-skilled immigrants who can work in the tourism, hospitality and trucking industries and help them apply for permanent residency in Canada.
According to B.C. Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen, the province's labour shortages are no longer limited to skilled occupations.
Based on industry growth patterns, B.C.'s tourism and hospitality industries will need 84,000 additional workers in the next decade. About 4,500 new professional drivers will also be needed annually.
The pilot project will be open to eligible employers in the tourism, hospitality and trucking industries and to temporary foreign workers in entry level and semi-skilled jobs who have been working for at least nine months.
Occupations eligible for the project include long-haul truck drivers, food and beverage servers, tour guides, hotel front desk clerks, food counter attendance, kitchen helpers and housekeepers. Spouses and dependants of nominees will also be eligible for permanent residence under the pilot program.
More information can be found at the provincial nominee program's www.pnp.gov.bc.ca website.