A study by Statistics Canada has found that there has been growth in the number of international graduate students in the labor market of the economy of Canada in the last decade. This has been the reason for an increase in the count of Post Graduate Work Permits being issued. In the last decade, the number of immigrants who have first obtained this permit in Canada is on the rise, from approximately 75,000 permit holders in 2005 to 250,000 in the year 2019, as found by Statistics Canada. In accordance with this trend, there has also been a significant increase in the number of international students who have immigrated to apply for the Post Graduate Work Permit and obtained it after their graduation.
The Post Graduate Worker Permit is introduced as a temporary program for workers who are international students and have graduated from an educational institution in Canada, wishing to obtain a work permit for staying and working in the country. To meet the requirements of this program, the applicant should have completed a study program of a minimum of eight months in an educational institution that is considered eligible under this program.
The duration for which this permit remains valid will depend on the length of the study program that the applicant has completed from Canada, and has a validity of up to 3 years. Since it is an open work permit, it authorizes international students who have graduated from Canada to get a job anywhere in the country and also change their employers during the validity of the permit.
A study conducted over a decade shows that the number of PGWP permits issued each year has increased significantly. The increase has been seen in both male and female permit holders, but the increase in the number of permits issued to male applicants is higher than those issued to female applicants in the same time frame.
India and China are the 2 countries that account for around 51% of the applicants to whom the PGWP permit js used since 2008, and by 2018, the applicants from these two countries accounted for 66% of the permit issued. International students hailing from India have increased 4 times in the decade and students from China have decreased over the same period.
Ontario is the province that has seen the largest number of international students migrating to it, becoming a work destination with an increase from 44% to 56% in the decade. The province of Quebec and British Columbia have seen a decrease in immigration of international students in the same time period.
The participation in the workforce and labor market of Canada by the holders of the PGWP permit has seen employment and even tax returns. The median wage of the holders of this permit has seen an increase in the last decade which indicates that they are making great input into the labor force.
The study also found that 75% of the holders of the PGWP permit had gained permanent residency in Canada within the first 5 years of their immigration into the country. The rate of transition was highest among the holders of this permit who had college-level education or a master’s degree. These are the highlights of the study about the importance of the introduction of the Pair Graduate Work Permit for the international students as well as for the economic growth of the country.
The PGWP Permit authorizes the international students who have completed their graduate-level studies from a Canadian post-secondary education institution to gain job experience which will be necessary for applying for many pathways for gaining Canada PR. The permit works as a bridge across the gap that exists between education in Canada and working in Canada. This helps in improving the chances of gaining permanent resident status through federal immigration pathways such as the Express Entry Program.
With a degree from a Canadian institution as well as Canadian work experience, a can will have a higher score in the Comprehensive Ranking System and increase their chance of gaining Canada PR. Other immigration programs and streams also exist that are advantageous to those who have both Canadian education and work experience.
