Canada needs skilled workers, says immigration consultant

Lawyer Reiner Apolinario, owner of Upfront Immigration Consultancy, encourages Filipinos to take advantage of opportunities to work and live in Canada. (CDN PHOTO)

A Cebuano lawyer has opened an immigration consultancy office to help skilled workers migrate to Canada.

Reiner P. Apolinario said Canada offers jobs in health care, engineering and education.

“There is a need for more healthcare workers in Canada now because the healthcare industry in Canada is one of the most active industries. They need nurses, physical therapist and more healthcare-related professionals,” he said.

“They also need teachers especially those specializing in the preschool level,” he added. About 2,000 skills categories are available. Canadian Ambassador Neil Reeder said earlier that about 200,000 more immigrants will be given the chance to live in Canada this year. “Canada is experiencing labor shortage that is why we are opening our doors to immigrants,” said Reeder.

Apolinario said that based on figures from the Canada Immigration website, 205,261 out of 247,140 applications last year were approved. He said that with the newly adopted Express Entry system, more Filipinos can take advantage of this opportunity.

Apolinario established Upfront Immigration Consultancy  in Toronto in August last year.  He also plans to open an employment services company in Cebu. “For that, I will need to raise P3 million as investment,” he said. This new company will assist clients wanting to land jobs in Canada and obtaining  permanent residency status.

Reeder said the estimated population of Filipinos in Canada is 800,000. This is expected to reach a million by 2025, he added. The Filipinos rank third among the groups granted permanent residency in 2013 with 29,539 applicants approved. China topped the list with 34,126, followed by India with 33,085.