OTTAWA, November 25, 2005 — The Honourable Joe Volpe,
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, the Honourable Nancy Allan, Manitoba
Minister of Labour and Immigration and the Honourable Diane McGifford,
Manitoba Minister of Advanced Education and Training, today announced an agreement
making an innovative two-year pilot program allowing international students
to work off campus a permanent part of Manitoba’s highly successful international
student recruitment and immigration strategy.
“Manitoba can be proud of its stellar record in breaking new ground
in immigrant recruitment,” said Minister Volpe. “The Off-Campus
Work Permit Program will expose international students to the many opportunities
Manitoba offers as a place for them to build their careers and lives.”
The Off-Campus Work Permit Program for International Students was launched
as a pilot in partnership with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Advanced
Education and Training, and Labour and Immigration in 2003. The two-year pilot
allowed international post-secondary students to obtain off-campus work permits,
replacing the previous restriction of employment to the campus they were attending.
“This work permit program is an important element in our immigration
strategy to keep international graduates in Manitoba once their studies are
completed,” said Minister Allan. “Working in the community and
having opportunities to make contacts in the private sector will help international
students create strong links to Manitoba.”
Manitoba’s success with the pilot program garnered interest from other
jurisdictions, national organizations and international students and was instrumental
in making this initiative available to other provincial governments and educational
institutions. Under the first year of the pilot project, a total of 528 applications
were received from Manitoba’s public post-secondary institutions. This
figure represents 46.2 percent of the 1,143 international students eligible
to participate in the program.
“We are delighted that the success of the Manitoba pilot project means
that the off-campus work program will be permanent in this province and will
be adopted by other provincial governments,” said Minister McGifford. “The
program will create opportunities for international students to participate
more fully in Manitoba’s communities during their studies.”
To be eligible for the program, international students must complete six months
of full-time study at a public post-secondary institution. To remain eligible,
they must maintain their full-time student status, sustain satisfactory academic
standing and work no more than 20 hours a week during regular classes.
Implementation of this program will begin once federal government funding is
approved.
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For more information:
Government of Canada
Stephen Heckbert
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
(613) 954-1064
Lorraine Lavallee
Communications Advisor
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
(204) 984-7190
Government of Manitoba
Harlan Mushumanski
Communications Coordinator
Manitoba Labour and Immigration
(204) 945-0787
