The pandemic has ended the problem of shortage of jobs has been replaced by shortage of skilled workers. Today, Canadian employers paying hiring bonuses and higher-than-normal wages to find skilled workers to fill vacant positions.

If you are a Canadian business owner, then it’s time to acknowledge that your hiring strategy needs to change going ahead. Canada has always been a nation of immigrants and the obvious way to solve the problem of lack of skilled workers is to explore the idea of hiring a foreign worker for your business.

Hiring a foreign worker is a great business decision for the following reasons.

Hire Talent Across the Entire World

Your options are restricted to just one country when you are hiring within Canada. Once you start hiring foreign workers, then your pool of candidates will expand to cover skilled workers from across the entire world.

The success or failure of any business depends on its ability to attract and retain talent. If you restrict yourself to a small pool of candidates, then you are obviously going to struggle to grow. What’s worse is that your competitors may march ahead simply because they were open to the idea of hiring foreign workers.

One undeniable benefit of hiring foreign workers is that you improve your chances of landing the right candidate at the right salary for the vacant position.

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Reasonable Salary

The second advantage of foreign hiring is that it will become much easier for your business to identify the right worker at a salary that fits your budget. Paying for talent is never a bad thing. However, paying a hiring bonus or paying significantly above the market rate without any real benefit to your operations is not a good business decision, right?

There may be a shortage of skilled workers for positions in Canada, but this is not true for the entire world, right? So, a skilled worker in India or Vietnam or the Philippines may be prepared to work for a reasonable salary. But this option will open up for your business only if you are prepared to hire a foreign worker.

Diversified Workforce

The long-term survival and growth of any business depends on its ability to keep adapting to the dynamic business environment. A diversified workforce with skilled workers from different social and educational backgrounds can be a significant advantage for your business over the long run.

If you are worried about the risks of selecting a candidate with no knowledge or understanding of the Canadian way of life, then you can hire international students or foreign workers already here on work permits. Those with study and/or work experience in Canada would have better understanding of Canadian society, values, and work culture as compared a foreign worker who has never been here.

Expand Your Customer Base

Hiring a foreign worker will automatically open up new avenues of business for your enterprise. Immigrants are often more comfortable dealing with businesses that have a good track record of hiring and working with immigrants.

This means hiring a foreign worker who is the best candidate for the job will result in double the benefits for your business. One, you would have got a great skilled worker at a reasonable salary. Two, you will find it easier to connect with potential customers among the large number of immigrants settled in Canada.

How to Hire a Foreign Worker?

No foreign worker can work in Canada without a job permit. So, eligibility for the work permit is an important requirement that you must consider along with work experience, educational qualifications, language proficiency, and other factors.

For a Canadian employer, the most important point is to determine whether you need to have an approved Labor Market Impact Assessment to hire the foreign worker. If you are hiring a worker through the Temporary Foreign Worker program, then a positive LMIA is a must.

You can hire without LMIA if the worker is eligible for an open work permit or is going to apply for the work permit through the International Mobility Program.

The LMIA question is very important because it determines whether you need to

• • register the vacant job position in the Job Bank,
  • advertise the position across Canada for a minimum of four weeks before applying for the LMIA, and
  • whether you need to have a transition plan for the temporary foreign worker.

The smartest way to proceed would be work with an immigration attorney who can guide you through the various formalities and procedures before you hire the foreign worker as well as all applicable compliances after the hiring decision.