Tradespersons

Tradespersons who are recruited as temporary foreign workers must meet the assessment and certification requirements of the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board in order to be able to practice their particular trade in Alberta.

Employers must ensure that tradespersons recruited via the Temporary Foreign Worker program have made arrangements with this trades regulatory body to have their foreign credentials – education and experience, assessed for qualification certification.

There are two groups of trades in Alberta: compulsory trades and optional trades. If a person’s occupation is one of the compulsory trades they MUST obtain a certification from the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board, which means they have to pass the qualification exam in order to be certified. For occupations in optional trades, the employer must ensure that before they hire a foreign worker, a worker has the knowledge and experience of a journeyman and is able to perform the duties of a journeyman.

Step 1: Assessment of foreign tradespersons’ qualifications

The employer and the recruited temporary foreign worker must make arrangements with Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) for the assessment and certification of foreign trades’ credentials. Normally it is a foreign worker’s responsibility to have their qualifications assessed.

However, sometimes when Alberta employers identify a number of foreign workers they want to hire, employers can make arrangements with the AAIT to conduct an initial review and evaluation of foreign workers’ trade credentials and work experience. If the initial assessment confirms that Alberta industry standards are met, employers can make arrangements with the AAIT to have the examination done in the home country of foreign workers. Employers are responsible for the costs of that arrangement. This option provides the employer with assurance that a tradesman he wants to hire are qualified to work in that profession in Alberta.

Step 2: Fill out the Foreign Worker Application - Labour Market Opinion form

Obtain a copy of the Foreign Worker - Labour Market Opinion Application from the Government of Canada.

Complete the application and include the following information and documentation:

• Proof that you have made reasonable efforts to hire or train Canadian citizens or permanent residents for the position; that proof is usually a copy of your job posting advertised on the national Job Bank website. If your company already has an established process for advertising job vacancies through other venues, provide a copy of that posting.
   
• Advertisements must be posted for at least one week and indicate occupation, job duties, education and required work experience and wages. A job description that includes working conditions (hours of work, wage rates, etc.) and required qualifications.
   
• An offer of employment that respects federal and provincial legal and regulatory requirements and collective agreements.

If you know the name of the person you want to hire, please include his/her name, date of birth and country of birth on the application.

If you don’t know the name of the person you want to hire, indicate on the top of your LMO application “PRE-APPROVAL ONLY” so that you get approval in principal which will allow you some time to identify a foreign worker you want to hire. Usually, Service Canada allows you between 6 ands 12 months to identify foreign workers and provide their personal information to get a final approval.

If you are hiring more than one foreign worker for the same type position (e.g. 5 welders) you can submit one application for all of them. You must indicate on the LMO application how many workers you are looking to hire.

Step 3: Send application to Service Canada

Apply online, or fax your completed Foreign Worker - Labour Market Opinion application and supporting documents to Service Canada at 780-495-2738, or mail to Service Canada, Foreign Worker Unit, Suite 1440 Canada Place, 9700 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4C1.

Step 4: Labour Market Opinion (LMO)

Service Canada’s role is to assess and provide their opinion on how the hiring of temporary foreign worker will impact the Canadian labour market. If your application for a temporary foreign worker is approved, you will receive confirmation in writing. This confirmation letter permits a specific position to be filled by a specific foreign worker for a specific time period. This document is not a work permit.

Step 5: LMO approval and job offer

After you obtain a Labour Market Opinion approval letter, send a copy of the letter to the recruited temporary foreign worker along with your job offer, indicating how long you are offering a job for to a temporary foreign worker. The LMO is issued for the same period of time. The job offer must be signed by the employer before it is sent to the temporary foreign worker.

Step 6: Work permit, visas, medicals

Once a job offer has been made and accepted and the LMO letter has been sent to a temporary foreign worker, the worker must apply for a work permit. In most situations, the foreign worker must apply for a work permit from outside of Canada usually at the Canadian visa post in their home country. In some instances, the temporary foreign worker may apply for a work permit at a port of entry upon his/her arrival in Canada (under NAFTA).

Temporary foreign workers from some countries must also obtain a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) before arriving in Canada. The applications for a TRV should be submitted when the application for a work permit is submitted. TRV and work permit applications will be considered at the same time. Temporary foreign workers are responsible for providing all documents that may be requested by the immigration officer to prove that they are qualified to meet the job requirements. They must also meet health, criminality and security admissibility criteria to be admitted to Canada.

In some cases, before coming to Canada, temporary foreign workers may require an immigration medical examination.

Please note that the time required to complete the process of bringing a temporary foreign worker to Alberta may be depend on Canadian visa post and work permit processing times, which vary from country to country.

What do I do if I want to extend the foreign worker’s contract?

If you want to extend your foreign worker’s contract for another term you need to apply for an extension of a Labour Market Opinion (select EMP5354B). Once you get the LMO extension give a copy to the foreign worker so that he / she can apply for an extension of a work permit.

What do I do if I want to keep my temporary foreign workers permanently?

After a tradesman has worked for you for a period of time (usually a probationary period) you can decide to make him/her offer of permanent employment and nominate him/her through the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) for permanent resident status. This Canada-Alberta program facilitates a fast-tracked process in obtaining a permanent resident status in Canada. Check the information on AINP for skilled workers. Please note that the AINP will not nominate individuals in the apprenticeship stage.

Date Updated: Nov 01, 2007
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