ARCHIVED – Operational Bulletin 279-C - May 28, 2012

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

This document has expired. Please refer to the appropriate Program Delivery Instructions for current information.

Alberta Pilot for Occupation Specific Work Permits – Extending the steamfitter/pipefitter pilot

Issue

The application deadline for participants of the steamfitter/pipefitter pilot has been extended for one year, or until further notice.

Background

This Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) pilot project, launched June 1st, 2011, in the Province of Alberta, allows foreign nationals to come to Canada to work temporarily in a specific occupation and to be issued a Work Permit (WP) without requiring a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Service Canada.

This pilot project was established under the TFW Annex – archived to the Agreement for Canada-Alberta Cooperation on Immigration which contains the following commitment:

“7.2.1 The Canada-Alberta Working Group on TFWs, defined in section 9.2, will work toward developing occupation-specific (but non-employer specific) work permits for TFWs working in Alberta in the engineering, construction and procurement industries to permit limited mobility of certain high-skilled TFWs within a particular industrial sector.”

Pilot Parameters

This pilot project will operate as follows:

TFW applicants who have a job offer in the steamfitter/pipefitter occupation, for a position located in Alberta, from an individual employer or an employer acting on behalf of a recognized Group of Employers (GoE) under the CIC-HRSDC GoE Pilot are eligible for either

  1. a one-year employer-specific work permit or
  2. a two-year open work permit (occupation specific; allowing mobility between employers within the Province of Alberta)

depending on whether or not he or she has been certified as being qualified at the journeyperson level by the Province of Alberta.

Types of applicants Application period Duration of work permit
Uncertified journeyperson
– has a letter from Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) approving his/her application to the TFW Qualification Certificate Program (QCP) which authorizes him/her to work in Alberta until he/she has successfully challenged the QCP exams.
Apply between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2013* at a visa office or, if applicable, at a POE.
 
*Once certified, apply at CPC-Vegreville before May 31, 2014 to continue participation in the pilot (see ‘Alberta certified journeyperson’ below).
One-year employer-specific work permit; for work within the Province of Alberta only; occupation-specific
Alberta certified journeyperson
– possesses an Alberta Qualification Certificate issued by AAIT.
Apply between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2013, and before original WP expires Two-year open work permit (non employer-specific); for work within the Province of Alberta; occupation-specific

A review and evaluation of the pilot will commence in mid-2014.

Terms of the pilot will apply only to qualifying foreign nationals (as described below) destined to work, or working, in the province of Alberta. All relevant WPs must be coded as indicated below to support an effective evaluation of the pilot.

Applicants may be required to meet all other applicable federal criteria including the likelihood they will voluntarily leave Canada at the end of the period authorized for their stay. They must also continue to meet all admissibility criteria in order to obtain status as a temporary resident in Canada.

Eligible Participants

  • Foreign nationals who are entering Canada and destined to Alberta as TFWs, and who have an initial job offer for a position located in Alberta from an individual employer (or an employer making a job offer on behalf of a recognized Group of Employers (GoE) under the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)-Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) GoE Pilot in the Steamfitter-Pipefitter occupation—National Occupational Classification 7252; or,
  • TFWs certified by AAIT and currently working in the steamfitter/pipefitter trade in Alberta.

Work Permit Issuance

Uncertified applicants

  • Must apply either overseas, or, if applicable, at a port of entry (POE) in Canada;
  • Steamfitter-Pipefitter is a compulsory trade in Alberta. Therefore, the uncertified TFW must have an approved application and an approval letter from Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) for the Qualification Certification Program prior to arrival in Canada (see sample in Appendix A). Information related to the Qualification Certificate Program can be found at www.tradesecrets.alberta.ca;
  • Applicants applying at a visa office must provide this AAIT letter as part of their WP application, or if eligible to apply at a POE, it must be provided to the Border Services Officer;
  • A one-year employer-specific WP, specific to the Steamfitter-Pipefitter occupation and based on a job offer from a named employer, or an employer making a job offer on behalf of a recognized GoE under the CIC-HRSDC GoE Pilot, may be granted to a foreign national as described above upon application (including payment of the appropriate fee) and without requiring an LMO. This initial one-year period is to allow the foreign national to meet the certification requirements of the AAIT while remaining employed by the initial employer or a Group of Employers recognized under the CIC-HRSDC GoE Pilot.

Once certification is confirmed, the TFW may then apply for a two-year non-employer-specific (open) WP that will allow the worker to move between Alberta employers in the Steamfitter-Pipefitter occupation.

Certified applicants

  • Can apply either from inside Canada/Alberta, overseas, or, if applicable, at a port of entry (POE) in Canada, and are eligible for a two-year open WP;
  • Participants who are in Canada and have attained certification or who are already Alberta trade-certified, Alberta trade Red Seal certified, or are trade-certified in any other province/territory in Canada, can apply to the Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta for a two-year open WP, either by mail or online.
  • Certified steamfitters/pipefitters already working in that trade in Alberta can apply directly to for the two-year open work permit but must do so before May 31, 2013, and before their original work permit expires.
  • AAIT certified steamfitters/pipefitters currently outside Canada but in possession of an offer of employment in the steamfitter/pipefitter trade from an employer in Alberta can apply for the two-year non-employer specific open work permit if the application is received before May 31, 2013.

    Note: The job offer from the employer must indicate that the wages offered are consistent with the prevailing wage rate paid to Canadians in the same occupation in the region and that the working conditions for the occupation meet the current provincial labour market standards. Additionally, WP approvals may depend on medical examination requirements.

Extensions

No extensions will be issued under this pilot.

System Instructions

LMO Exemption Code is T13 in conjunction with R204(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations—“an agreement entered into by the Minister with a province or group of provinces under subsection 8(1) of the Act”. This code must be used on the initial one-year WP and the subsequent two-year open WP.

Both the initial WP and the subsequent open WP should indicate in the “Province” field and in the printed “Conditions” that it is only valid for work performed in the province of Alberta and in the Steamfitter-Pipefitter occupation.

It should also be noted in “Remarks/Notes” that “this WP application is in relation to the Province of Alberta Occupation-Specific Pilot Project” to assist in statistical research, evaluation and policy development purposes.

Rationale

The pilot project will assess whether or not the issuance of an occupation-specific, but otherwise “open”, WP in an engineering, construction or procurement (ECP) occupation allows for the successful mobility of a skilled TFW within a particular industrial sector.

Contact

For more information about this pilot, call the toll-free Alberta Temporary Foreign Worker helpline at 1-877-944-9955 or visit the Alberta Human Services website: Canada-Alberta Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Annex Pilot on Occupation Specific Work Permits Steamfitter-Pipefitter (PDF, 22 KB).

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