CANADIAN International Training and Education Corp Chairman Ashwant Dwivedi says that Solomon Islanders can help ease Canada’s demand for workers as Canada’s businesses are struggling to find workers to fill jobs in the Hospitality & Tourism sectors.
“We can further expand our opportunity into other skilled trades which would include but is not limited to plumbers, joiners, carpenters and others who can contribute and help ease the pain of labour shortages in Canada,” Dwivedi announced.
Dwivedi said that discussion is already taking place between Canadian regulatory authorities to come up with a right tool to access skill trades youths in the Solomon Islands and bring those trade holders to Canadian equivalency.
“There is also active ongoing discussion on the establishment of a Regional Centre in the Solomon Islands which can be a one stop shop for both the Canadian employer and Solomon Islands workers which can connect both. This is an arrangement we look forward to concluding very soon,” Dwivedi said.
Dwivedi said that with Western Canada attracting one of the largest Liquefied Natural Gas [LNG] projects, Solomon Islanders who have proven experience as welders and others can be considered for the opportunity.
Speaking during a conference in Canada, Dwivedi also said that by hiring a “Solomon Islander” Canadian businesses are directly helping build a community, a village and a town and nation that is a direct victim of climate change with a high rate of unemployment among its youth.
“The money that Solomon Islands workers earn when remitted back to the Solomon Islands is put towards family and community development. I am told this morning that a dairy farm worker out of Chilliwack has sent SBD$18,000 to his mother, one of the many contributions he has made since coming into Canada,” Dwivedi said.
“A daughter of Solomon Islanders out of Saskatchewan has been sending thousands of dollars each month to support her family in Guadalcanal. She has been able to support her family’s dreams come true with the money she is remitting. There cannot be any better moment that seeing smile and joy on faces of people of the Solomon Islands and together as Canadians we can slowly but surely bring this joy across Solomon Islands,” Dwivedi said.
“When I met the father of this worker, he said to me that amount of money his daughter has sent to him in the past two months is what he earns in a year through local salary. He told me that it is not just money that brings joy to the family, but it is the fact that his daughter has a job. A permanent job and a bright future. For a father there is nothing more that can bring joy,” Dwivedi said.
Dwivedi said that Canadian businesses are playing a leading role in Solomon Islands labour mobility sector an achievement he is proud to talk about and boast about.
“Canada’s hunger for more labour can be easily met by Solomon Islands youths who once trained can be job ready for the Canadian market. I urge all of your businesses to consider hiring Solomon Islands. We are just a phone call away and our people in Solomon Islands are job ready,” Dwivedi said.
“One of the biggest challenges that is faced by Solomon Islands is the highest number of unemployed youths that the economy has to deal with on a daily basis. There is no doubt that we in Canada have a booming economy and that in our tourism and hospitality sector we face a growing shortage of workers. Let us all look at Solomon Islands for our labour needs,” Dwivedi said.
Dwivedi also talked about the recent single largest achievement of bringing nine people from Solomon Islands into Canada under various immigration programs which includes 4 people who entered Canada under the Permanent Resident programme.
Of the nine people travelling four were travelling to Canada under the Permanent Residence stream whilst five were admitted into Canada as Temporary Foreign Workers under Canada’s Agriculture Management arrangement where they were issued with 24-month work permits. The new arrival of nine people from Solomon Islands provinces has set a new record in Canada’s Labour Mobility partnership with the Solomon Islands.
Dwivedi announced that the nine people who travelled were the largest number that were processed for Canadian visa in one day.
“We had four people travelling under Permanent Residence Stream through provincial nomination, Permanent Residence Stream, while five others from province of Makira-Ulawa, Guadalcanal combined will be entering Canada as seasonal workers. We are all excited about this opportunity and the benefit it will have on the persons, their families and Solomon Islands,” Dwivedi said.
“It was the first ever opportunity when Makira-Ulawa province had sent three workers to support Canada’s labour needs under the labour mobility arrangement with CITREC. We look forward to more opportunities in the coming weeks of recruitment,” Dwivedi said.
Canada’s Permanent Residence Stream has recently become an attractive feature to Solomon Islanders the first to be made available to Solomon Islands under the Labour mobility arrangement.
–CITREC PRESS
