By Mata Press Service

Canada needs to urgently reset its immigration system if it wants to remain a top-tier destination for international students and use this talent pool to address the country’s critical labour crisis, says a new report from the Royal Bank of Canada.

The report said that amid tight labour markets, other countries have renewed their efforts to retain students with the right skillsets, warning that Canada risks losing its shine if it does not act quickly.

The global war for talent has already seen several countries changing their immigration laws.

Proposed changes to US immigration laws also make it easier for STEM students to enter and stay in the country. The UK has launched a campaign to attract high-calibre international students. Australia has also rolled out a 10-year strategy in 2021 to better align its international educational offering with employment opportunities and diversification of source countries.

Further, India, China, Malaysia and Singapore are among the growing pool of countries looking to attract, educate and retain knowledge workers.

“Getting international students in the door is the first step in the immigration process as they develop skills, culture, language and networks that make them more likely to stay in the country. But getting them to stay often hinges on what happens as school ends and students eye their pathways to careers and permanent residency,” said the authors of the report.

Thousands of international students find themselves lost in a complex labyrinth that is the road to permanent residency.

“Trouble in navigating a complex system adds to student stress and could deter many students from pursuing their Canadian dream. Perceptions of a complex and bureaucratic immigration system can influence their decision to remain in Canada. These are costly misses for Canada that needs a steady pipeline of skilled citizens to ensure its continued prosperity,” said the report.

Among the recommendations put forward by the RBC Thought leadership report include;

・ Ottawa should consider setting three-year targets for the number of international students and provide guidance on work study programs that more closely align with the skills needed by provincial governments and employers.

・ Provinces should develop a 10-year funding framework for post-secondary institutions that allows them to focus on a market-sensitive education structure that is attractive to, but not overly dependent on, international students.

・ Expand the share of immigrants with Canadian study experience within the economic immigrant class with special emphasis on STEM, healthcare, and in trades that are vital for energy transition. Ottawa could invest around $50 million in a pilot wage-subsidy program for 7,000 foreign students in high-demand fields.

“We need a ‘Team Canada’ approach to marketing the country as an education destination – not just in terms of dollars, but in engaging with Canadian enterprises and civil society organizations that have deep roots in countries and regions we’re targeting,” said Paul Davidson, President of Universities Canada.

Canada, the world’s classroom

・ Canada is a top 3 global exporter of education services, with the sector representing about 12% of Canada’s services exports in 2019. International students also contributed over $22 billion to the Canadian economy and supported more than 218,000 jobs in 2018

・ Annually, about 17% of all new permanent residents and almost 40% of immigrants in the economic category have prior Canadian study experience.

・ Among immigrants admitted in 2018, study and work permit holders obtained a median wage of $44,600 within a year, compared to $25,700 for immigrants without Canadian work or study experience.

・ Enrolment of international students at Canadian post-secondary institutions (PSI) has grown from 7.2% in 2010 to almost 20% in 2020. Since 2016, PSI enrolment growth has been entirely driven by international students

・ India has surpassed China as the dominant home country of Canada’s international students, with almost 34% of all international students coming from India. Today around 56% of Canada’s international students are from India and China

・ The Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) program has become a key building block for student immigration pathways. More than 157,000 former students became permanent residents in 2021, with more than 88,000 transitioning directly from a PGWP.

・ Canada’s 10-year conversion rate of international students to permanent residents is 33%, based on the cohort that started in 2010.

・ The average undergrad tuition fee at universities for international students is $33,000 annually for international students, compared to $15,500 in total for those migrating to Canada through other immigration channels.

・ An RBC report last year estimated up to 400,000 green-collar jobs would be required to transition Canada’s economy by 2050

・ Foreign students are well-represented in STEM and Business Administration. They are twice as likely as domestic students to study engineering and more than 2.5x as likely to study math and computer sciences―two top areas of projected labour shortages.

・ Nearly 169,000 students are awaiting Canadian approval of their study permit applications, as of Aug. 15, according to the latest figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

・ Federal data shows that as of the end of July, 34 per cent of pending international student visa applications were taking longer to process than government standards dictate.

・ So far this year, IRCC has processed almost 360,000 study visas, a 17 percent increase over the same period in 2021.

・ The number of international students is set to surpass 7 million globally annually by 2030, compared to nearly 5 million today as advanced and emerging economies are eyeing ways to educate and keep the best talent.

・ Canada aims to bring in more than 1.3 million permanent residents over the next three years, a record number. Nationwide Statistics Canada says about one million jobs sit empty, with the staff shortages in health care being the most pronounced.