During a press conference in Banff, Alberta today, the Canadian government announced that International Experience Canada will expand the applicant pool for the next year. The program will open on January 9, 2023.
With the IEC program, young people living in Canada’s 36 partner countries can work and travel for up to two years in Canada, and vice versa, in any of these countries. A 20% increase in application volumes, or nearly 15,000 additional spots, will take place on January 9th, 2023. This will make it probable for “approximately 90,000 applicants to work and travel in Canada, including French-speaking youth, that will assist employers to fulfill labour gaps, including seasonal work opportunities in Canada’s tourism industry.”
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says, “Our government is assisting more international youth to work and travel in Canada, thereby helping employers, primarily those in the tourism industry, find qualified workers.” Providing youth with international travel and work experience strengthens our economy and contributes to the success of our businesses, especially in areas like Banff, where seasonal workers are needed.”
Eventually, this forthcoming International Experience Canada program modification permits Canada to further advance two highly sought-after goals: assisting Canadian employers to get the workers they need and helping “youth discover new cultures, languages, and societies, all while working on life skills and refining their job prospects for the upcoming future.”
About the International Experience Canada Program
The International Experience Canada Program (IEC) contains three streams, which are defined below:
Working Holiday: IEC participants on the Working Holiday stream will receive an open work permit which will allow them to work anywhere in the host country as a means of “supporting their travels.”
International Co-op (Internship): The International Co-op (Internship) program provides students with a targeted work permit that allows them to gain relevant work experience in their field.
Young Professionals: IEC participants who are young professionals receive an employer-specific work permit, just as those who participate in international co-ops do. Furthermore, the experience acquired by these students is designed to aid them in pursuing their desired career path, not only by allowing them to “gain targeted, professional work experience that is within their field of study”.
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