Cleaners (hotels only)

Other Elemental Service Occupations

Employment requirements:

• Nominee applicants must have been employed in an eligible occupation by the sponsoring company on a temporary work permit for at least 9 months immediately prior to the date of application to the BC PNP, and must be legally employed by the sponsoring company at the time of application.

Note: Applications for managers, professionals, service supervisors and other skilled workers, such as chefs and cooks, are considered under the Skilled Worker category of the BC PNP.

Long-Haul Trucking

Truck driver applications under the ELSS pilot project will be accepted only for long-haul truck drivers.

NOC 7411.1 Long-Haul Truck Drivers

Definition: Operate articulated or multi-articulated heavy commercial vehicles (over 4,600 kg gross vehicle weight) on routes more than 160 km from home base.

Employment requirements:

• Nominee applicants must have been employed by the sponsoring company as a long-haul truck driver on a temporary work permit for at least 9 months immediately prior to the date of application to the BC PNP, and must be legally employed by the sponsoring company at the time of application.
• Nominee applicants must have at least 2 years employment experience as a long-haul truck driver in the 3 years prior to their application to the BC PNP.
• Nominee applicants must hold a valid BC Class 1 driver’s license and, if required, air brake endorsement and other certification (e.g., for transporting dangerous goods).

Demand and Outlook for the Occupation

The BC PNP will consider employers’ applications to hire foreign workers in relation to the current demand and future outlook for specific occupations. Applications will not be approved for occupations where there is an adequate supply of workers domestically, or where future prospects for employment in the occupation are poor.

To assess the demand for particular skilled occupations, the BC PNP consults labour market information from Services Canada/HRSDC, Statistics Canada, the Ministry of Economic Development, and industry organizations.

The outlook for future employment in particular occupations is based on information from the Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS), national sector councils, Statistics Canada, and other sources. 

Employment Confirmation

Employers will need to submit a copy of the Labour Market Opinion obtained from Service Canada that authorized the original hiring of the applicant under the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

For nominee applicants who were not hired through a Labour Market Opinion, employers will need to submit official records of remuneration, such as original cancelled checks or direct deposit confirmation, for the nine month period preceding their application.

Offer of Employment

Tourism & Hospitality Applications:
The employer must have offered, and the employee accepted, full-time, permanent employment for an occupation eligible under the pilot project. The employer may offer the applicant a more senior position, provided that he or she is qualified for the job, and will be paid the applicable prevailing wage in BC.

Long-Haul Trucking Applications:
The employer must have offered, and the employee accepted, full-time, permanent employment as a long-haul truck driver.

The employment offer must state:

• The job title, description of duties, and the permanent, full-time nature of the position
• The rate of pay
• The employee’s standard hours of work
• Employee benefits that exceed statutory minimums, such as pension and medical plans, disability insurance, sick pay, accommodation and meal allowances, and extra paid vacations.
• The employer will make no deductions from the employee’s pay, or require any other payment, for recruitment or retention, including fees related to immigration
• The employer will provide the following assistance in the event of no-fault termination of employment prior to the nominee obtaining permanent residence:

Enhanced severance equal to one month’s pay, which is not to be reduced by notice in lieu. (Note: unlike Canadian employees, temporary foreign workers, including nominees who have not obtained their permanent resident visa, are ineligible for Employment Insurance benefits or provincial income assistance)

Employer-paid return air fare for any unplaced worker. If an unemployed nominee has not obtained suitable employment within 4 weeks of termination, the BC PNP will cancel the individual’s nomination, and the original employer will be required to pay the air fare of the nominee back to his/her country of origin.

• A permanent job has no pre-determined end date. Full time employment means that the employee is expected to work year round and, on average, at least 30 hours a week.
• The employer and the nominee candidate must be establishing an employer-employee relationship: applications will not be accepted for individuals hired under a contract for service (independent contractor agreement).
• If the position is covered by a collective agreement, this agreement should be referenced.
• The written offer must be on official company letterhead and addressed to the nominee candidate. The offer must be signed and dated by a person authorized to hire employees, and also by the candidate, to indicate his or her acceptance.

Job Placement Support

The sponsoring employer will be required to provide a letter of reference for any nominee terminated without cause.

Note: go2 (on behalf of the tourism/hospitality industry) and the BC Trucking Association have agreed to work with sponsoring employers to place any nominees terminated without cause in an equivalent job with an eligible employer. Nominees will be required to accept an equivalent offer of employment, otherwise the BC PNP will withdraw its nomination.

Wage

If the nominee applicant was originally hired through a Labour Market Opinion, the offered wage must be equal to or higher than that specified in the employment contract. The offered wage can not be lower than the prevailing wage at the time of application to the BC PNP, and must be comparable to that for equivalent jobs in BC.

Bonuses, gratuities, tips, profit-sharing distributions, or similar payments to the employee are not considered as part of the wage.

The BC PNP uses information from published and unpublished surveys, industry associations, and Services Canada/HRSDC to compare wages. Company size and geographic location, and the skill and experience levels of the employee are considered in assessing wage rates.

Employer’s History and Operations

Sponsoring employers in this pilot project of the BC PNP must meet the following requirements:

• The employer must be incorporated or extra-provincially registered in BC
• The employer must have a permanent establishment in BC (“permanent establishment” has the meaning contained in the Federal Income Tax Act)
• The employer must have been in operation in BC for at least 2 years and must have at least five permanent, full-time employees (or full-time equivalents) in BC. The BC PNP may consider applications that do not meet these minimum requirements if an employer has substantial business operations outside of BC and the employer has received prior approval from the BC PNP to submit an application.
• The employer’s business must be financially sound and have a history of good workplace and business practices, including compliance with applicable employment, immigration, health, and safety laws and regulations
• Employers will be required to provide information confirming that they meet the above requirements, and to sign a declaration confirming their compliance with employment, immigration, health, and safety laws and regulations

Employment agencies and similar placement firms are not eligible under this pilot project of the BC PNP.

Educational Requirements

Nominee applicants are expected to have completed formal education to a secondary level.

English Language Proficiency

Nominee applicants should have basic proficiency in English. If the Labour Market Opinion or BC PNP Guaranteed Job Offer Form indicates that no English language proficiency is needed for the job, the employer will pay for the nominee applicant to take one of the following approved English language tests: TOEFL, IELTS and LPI. If the applicant fails to demonstrate basic proficiency, the employer will pay for the applicant to enroll in a recognized ESL (English as a second language) program for a minimum of 6 months.

Economic Benefits to BC

The hiring of foreign workers through the program must demonstrate significant economic benefits to BC by filling a critical skill need. The BC PNP will only approve nominee candidates who are likely to contribute long-term net economic benefits to BC.

Ability to Become Economically Established in BC

The potential for nominee candidates to become economically established in BC will be assessed according to their income and employment prospects, number of dependents, English language ability, education, and connections to BC or Canada through work, study, residence, and family ties.

The BC PNP will not accept applications to nominate individuals who have an unresolved refugee claim in Canada, or who are in Canada illegally, are under a removal order in Canada, or are prohibited from entering Canada.

The BC PNP will not approve an application if it appears likely that a nominee candidate’s family income (based on the candidate’s job offer and any spousal job offer) will be below Statistics Canada’s applicable Low Income Cut-Off. In making this assessment, the BC PNP will take into consideration a reasonable estimate of income earned from tips and gratuities for nominee applicants employed in tourism/hospitality occupations.

Application Forms for the ELSS Pilot Program

 Applications under the pilot program must include the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Checklist and the Compliance Declaration Form, and all other relevant Application Forms.