I sincerely want to appreciate all the contributors on this Canadian thread. U guys are really really wonderful. I have gained a lot from the questions, answers and comments being made. God used u guys to make my Canadian application a smooth one. I have been an ardent reader of this thread, jotting down points even when the Canadian dream was not looking like it. Today i am here to celebrate God's faithfulness in our lives and also to encourage those still trusting God for this that God will perfect all that concerns u. Our application was not perfect, but God favored and showed us His mercy.

Here goes my timeline (Family of 4):
1st IELTS - December 2015
2nd IELTS- July 2017
WES Evaluation completion - July 2017
ITA received - July 23rd
AOR received - October 22nd
ADR submitted - Nov 1st (One of the passports was resent cos it was not scanned properly)
PPR - November 15th
Passport sent to Accra - November 16th
PUM - December 20th

Negotiate:


If you had read enough, you would have known enough.

You can still get into the pool, and get your POF completed with a gift deed post ITA.

Stop waiting. Jump now.

Even after ITA, you have 3 months to turn in your documents. A lot can happen in that frame

Yes I knew all those things. Just that I've been thinking about where I can raise the POF from. Maybe I should just stop thinking, and just believe and hope for the best and enter.

Thanks

soulhighman:


If only I was already in the pool. My CRS score 450. POF things still delaying.

Congratulations to all ITA recipients.

Am sure you thought of different means of sourcing for your pof before embarking on this journey; one source will definately materialize at the end. Please dive into the pool and your pof will 'SHOW UP' after ITA.

adesmama:

Here goes my timeline (Family of 4):
1st IELTS - December 2015
2nd IELTS- July 2017
WES Evaluation completion - July 2017
ITA received - July 23rd
AOR received - October 22nd
ADR submitted - Nov 1st (One of the passports was resent cos it was not scanned properly)
PPR - November 15th
Passport sent to Accra - November 16th
PUM - December 20th

Congrats dear. May you find favour in Canny land

Farefare:


Am sure you thought of different means of sourcing for your pof before embarking on this journey; one source will definately materialize at the end. Please dive into the pool and your pof will 'SHOW UP' after ITA.

Thanks. I really appreciate.

sleekchic:


Yes, when I was there, they mentioned that their systems have an issue and that it has delayed payment confirmation. I heard a staff member telling 2 different people to hold on a bit longer for their payment confirmation.

Please l have been trying t pay for Ielts in Ibadan.Please guide

Favoredme:
1452 Correspondence, publication and regulatory clerks
This is what I found but it's a skill level C. Are those job functions what was stated in your reference letter?

Yet to request for reference letter but it's what in the official schedule of duty issued to me when I got promoted 2years ago. Please what do I do. And thanks you

Congrats sis.
When PUM takes as long as the EE process itself.
Thankfully Accra is sitting up now.

adesmama:


Here goes my timeline (Family of 4):
1st IELTS - December 2015
2nd IELTS- July 2017
WES Evaluation completion - July 2017
ITA received - July 23rd
AOR received - October 22nd
ADR submitted - Nov 1st (One of the passports was resent cos it was not scanned properly)
PPR - November 15th
Passport sent to Accra - November 16th
PUM - December 20th

Wow-wow!! Congratulations. Wishing you the best in Canny-Land

RuggedArab:


Thank you for your advise.

Can he claim more than 3years experience after completion of his M.Sc?

Claiming 3 years work experience has absolutely nothing to do with his MSc completion. He can claim it now if he has indeed worked for 3 years.

Please, I want to inquire if it is tenable to use statement of account from a mortgage bank as POF or must it be from commercial banks?

Your wife who is not a PA does not need to provide reference letter(s) for foreign work. You can't claim points for spouse's job experience if it was gotten outside Canada.

Muslimity:


Congratulations, GS and others with the new blessings of IT A and PPR.

Please, I wish someone more experienced about this FSW program to educate if it is required for my spouse who is not a PA to produce letters of employment/reference. Does it mean I will gain more point if she submits experience letters and declare her work experience like I (the Principal Applicant) do?

Thanks for your anticipated guidance.

GlitteringStar:
Yippee!!! At last!


ITA RECEIVED


Congratulations to all 80th draw ITA recipients.

May the Lord grant the heart’s desires of all IELTS hopefuls, ITA hopefuls and PPR hopefuls. Amen.


#BestChristmasGift
#MyNewDawnIsHere

Congrats StarLady

I plan to enter the express entry pool by February but I want to know if we should apply as three since my wife is pregnant or we should just apply as two and upgrade to three after baby delivery?

Please, I would want to find out if one can combine different job roles in different skill category. Let's say one is in category B & the other in category C. Also, for those that got their police report from non-english speaking countries, did you have to translate to english or you just submitted like that. Thanks.

theconsortium:
I plan to enter the express entry pool by February but I want to know if we should apply as three since my wife is pregnant or we should just apply as two and upgrade to three after baby delivery?

Apply as only two. You cannot add your unborn child.

Newmum0615:
Your wife who is not a PA does not need to provide reference letter(s) for foreign work. You can't claim points for spouse's job experience if it was gotten outside Canada.

@Newmum so u mean not even any of her job documents are required like her payslips, reference letters etc... to claim additional points Thanks

Ljay17:


Claiming 3 years work experience has absolutely nothing to do with his MSc completion. He can claim it now if he has indeed worked for 3 years.

I mean claim 3years working experience using the MSc as highest level of education for ECA evaluation.

Good morning great people,

(1) For Tax Clearance certificate from FIRS & LIRS, is there a need for a special supporting letter or just the certificates/ statement from this two bodies will help?
Who are they to be addressed to?

(2) If 25% of pension has already been collected, I feel the pension statement of account wont add any value to the POF.

Kindly enlighten me on these 2 issues.

*modified

ANNOUNCEMENT: UPCOMING PLANNING FOR CANADA/IOM SESSION IN IBADAN (JANUARY 2018)

IOM is trying to organize "Planning for Canada" sessions for those who have passed medical/gotten PPR/COPR in Ibadan. "Planning for Canada" is a free pre-arrival service funded by the Government of Canada. However, for this to be actualized, a minimum of 15 candidates are required for a session. If you are a resident of any of the states in the Southwest apart from Lagos, this is a great opportunity as you would not have to travel all the way to Lagos. Please register on https://www.planningforcanada.ca

I'm a newbie here but I think that NOC C jobs are not considered for this program. If you are submitting any document, it should be in either english or french language. You mat need to translate the doc to any of these two if its in another language.
All the best

Cherokee:
Please, I would want to find out if one can combine different job roles in different skill category. Let's say one is in category B & the other in category C. Also, for those that got their police report from non-english speaking countries, did you have to translate to english or you just submitted like that. Thanks.

Hello 40manlappy,

If this is different from Planning for CANADA.

Please we(Myself and Wify) are interested.

I reside in Ibadan.

Thank you.

40manlappy:

daremum:
Hello 40manlappy,

If this is different from Planning for CANADA.

Please we(Myself and Wify) are interested.

I reside in Ibadan.

Thank you.

Not different bro. IOM anchors "Planning for Canada sessions".

Hope you are making progress with the online programs. Thanks for your prompt response

40manlappy:


Not different bro. IOM anchors "Planning for Canada sessions".

Hope you are making progress with the online programs. Thanks for your prompt response

.
Pls how do we get to know the dates for iom sessions. Thanks

kamekito:


Please l have been trying t pay for Ielts in Ibadan.Please guide

What have you tried and what challenge have u encountered?

I walked into a branch of Gtb (I bank with them) I got a bank draft and took same to British Council 's office.

On their site I saw another method which is bank transfer.please check their site.
All the best

Yes I am.

I have an Employment counselor already, she avails me opportunity to develop my resume through Ometz.

Lots of materials to read.

Most importantly she works with timeline.

Trying to seize all the online opportunities o!

Thank you bro!

40manlappy:


Not different bro. IOM anchors "Planning for Canada sessions".

Hope you are making progress with the online programs. Thanks for your prompt response

Deebay:
.
Pls how do we get to know the dates for iom sessions. Thanks

You have to register on the "Planning for Canada" website first, they will contact you and assign a date. Please see my initial post.

daremum:
Yes I am.

I have an Employment counselor already, she avails me opportunity to develop my resume through Ometz.

Lots of materials to read.

Most importantly she works with timeline.

Trying to seize all the online opportunities o!

Thank you bro!

Great! Well done bro. It is an opportunity to prepare ahead. What many people have come to realize is that once you have PPR/COPR, time seem to be running very fast!

Good morning good people. Please am making this enquiry for a friend. She evaluated her pharmacy credentials through Wes instead of PEBC. Can she enter the pool with that? And then when the PEBC comes, do an update? Thanks for ur kind responses.

Quite a long post but hopefully worth reading. Thought it might help new immigrants and those planning to arrive soon.

https://www.quora.com/Many-have-said-Canada-gives-a-red-carpet-welcoming-to-your-immigration-application-but-it’s-not-easy-finding-a-job-Is-it-worth-going-there


5 EASY TIPS ON HOW TO GET CANADIAN EXPERIENCE

Here's a sad Canadian joke:

What's the safest place to have a heart attack?

At the back of a Canadian cab. Because the driver is most probably a doctor from a foreign country.

You start to giggle until you realize that you were once the driver, or you might be in his place very soon.

The Canadia experience issue has been a double edge sword for many immigrants for a long time - No Canadian experience, no job. No job, no Canadian experience. It's a vicious circle that has kept talented professionals unemployed or underemployed.

New Canadians are wondering why there were approved for permanent residency with their industry, only to be rejected with a "No Canadian experience" stamp at job interviews

We are going to take on the Candian experience challenge and uncover 5 ways you can obtain this biased credential and get the job you deserve to have.

I. Understand the disconnection

Let's start from the beginning. You were approved for permanent residency with your credentials as you were classified with the right NOC, and you got your college or university certificate attested by WES.

Yet, job offers never turned up. Heck, even job interviews never happened. And for the few times, when you did get an interview, you heard the dreaded "You don't have enough Canadian experience" or "Have you done this in Canada?"

And then you start to question the whole immigration process, screaming self-doubt, false hopes and even feeling cheated out of a better life.

Let's do a reality check for a quick second.

Hiring managers have three things in mind when they interview you:

1. Can you solve the problem I have?
2. Do you want this job?
3. Can you fit in with this company and my team?

Do you see any connection between their questions and the immigration process? No.

So even if the Canadian government welcomes you to the country or the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is putting a policy (not law) in place to curb the Canadian experience problem, if you can't successfully answer these three questions for the hiring manager, you don't get the job.

And research by local universities and the OHRC has confirmed, the Canadian experience problem is closely tied to question 3. So let's expand on that.

II. Workplace Culture

Communication plays the biggest role in a team's culture. The hiring manager knows this. Langage barriers are seen as a big hurdle in any team environment.

Discussions, team meetings, water cooler gossip, arguments, and ideas are all sources of a team's progress and development. And if you have someone who does not communicate effectively, that's a serious problem.

English and French are the country's spoken languages. If you don't converse well in these languages, you most likely won't get past the interview. Accents are not so much of an issue as many companies in Canada accept and acknowledge diverse ethnic backgrounds.

If your English or French is not up to the mark, fortunately the Canadian government is here to help. The Ontario government, for example, offer Language Training for the workplace (LTFW), to assist immigrants in finding work in a specific field by offering sector-specific English as a second language (and French). For all provinces, you can check the Canadian government website here.

Now you might be thinking, I have worked for a Canadian company in my home country, so this doesn't apply to me. Not true. Every company, every branch, even every team inside the same company, has a different culture to varying degrees, and the hiring manager knows this.

III. Bridging the gap

When you touch down in Canada, you don't have Canadian experience. Period. But you can change that. Here's how:

1. Volunteering

Companies may reject you, but I've yet to see an organization turn me down for a volunteering opportunity. When you volunteer your services, it's a great way to connect with Canadian professionals and see first hand what this so-called "Canadian experience" is like.

You get to understand communication styles and professionally collaborate with others in a professional manner. These volunteering opportunities that you've taken advantage of goes a long way in your resume and your LinkedIn profile. Do include it there as a professional experience. If you're suffering from the Canadian experience problem, and the hiring manager will look at this and think - "OK, so this person does have some experience with professional Canadian culture."

A good place to start with volunteering is with Volunteer Canada.

2. Internships

My cousin was looking for jobs in accounting. She struggled with the Canadian experience problem. She eventually started a newcomers program with COSTI at the end of which they placed her into an internship with a reputable logistics company. The person she was working for ended up leaving the company three months after she joined, and she got the full-time job in her place.

There are several newcomer service programs that will promise you an internship position if you work hard at the program. Just because it's free for you doesn't mean you slack off. Tax dollars are paying for these courses so management of these programs want to make sure the government is providing them a healthy budget with promising candidates.

CareerEdge is another popular resource for internships. Take advantage of them!

3. Bridging Programs

If you are in a regulated industry, such as teaching, accounting, medical, engineering, architecture, understand that these industries are governed by strict policies and procedures.

Where I originally came from, my own family members suffered from medical malpractice and the doctors got away with it Scott free. Out here, in a regulated industry, a mistake can cost a company several millions of dollars in a lawsuit.

If you are a manager in Canada, would you hire a doctor from a country where malpractice has no repercussions? Or if you were the principal of a school, would you hire a teacher from a country where student abuse was ignored?

These bridging programs are here to help you understand the policies and regulations in Canada in your regulated industry that hiring managers and companies in the field must abide by.

Take on these bridging programs as early as possible to close the gap. Many educational institutes in Canada offer these.

4. Mentoring

Finally, while mentoring may not be something you put on a resume, finding a Canadian mentor can be beneficial to your knowledge in understanding Canadian workplace culture and the Canadian market in your industry.

Ten Thousand Coffees is a Canadian based organization dedicated to doing just that. You can contact industry leaders over Skype or, more ideally, over a cup of coffee.

Everwise and Canada Infonet are mentoring sites that we have personally used ourselves as well. When I immigrated to Canada, my mentor from Infonet was a project manager from the banking industry who gave me valuable advice on Canadian work culture, my resume, and job interview tips.

IV. Canadianize your job search strategy

Job searching has evolved beyond endless machine-gunning your resume to online job boards. You have to take a targeted approach to your job search strategy.

There are some additional points for new immigrants to consider to prevent hiring managers from playing the Canadian experience card.

1. Local References - Till date, I get called and emailed by hiring managers or recruiters about former employees who worked for me in Canada. Asking for references is common practice in Canada, and if your references are not based in Canada, that could be a problem.

This is why volunteering also adds value to your job search because you can use the contacts that you've established as local references. As a thank you for your free service, I'm sure that organizer of the volunteering event would be happy to act as a reference for you if you asked.

2. Networking - You've heard it many times before and you'll hear it again from us. Networking is the most important aspect of your job search. It plays even more of a critical role when you have a Canadian experience problem.

As we stated earlier, when a hiring manager looks at a resume, and they see foreign work experience, unconscious bias creeps into their mind. They may automatically assume you have a communication problem and lack of workplace cultural knowledge. One quote from a job seeker from the OHRC survey even stated that he felt his foreign name was working against him.

If there is one thing a resume cannot do, it cannot portray your personality. You may be from Timbuktu and have a 50 character name, but you have a winning personality and are the best fit for the job - hiring managers will not know this, until they meet you.

So don't just spray and pray your resumes on the online job boards. Get off the couch, and attend meetups. Google your industry and search for association and communities that you can become a part of and attend their events.

3. Local certification - If you can afford it, look for any certification from a local education institute. For example, project management is a transferable industry, as I like to call it. It's a skill that most hiring managers appreciate, and it is taught in several local educational institutes.

Likewise, find an educational program in Canada that's right for your job goals. This will positively be perceived as Canadian experience in the eyes of the recruiter and hiring manager.

V. Look for companies embracing diversity

The good news is, with Canada's immigration population on the rise, companies are more and more starting to embrace diversity in the workplace. Many types of research and studies have shown that diversity actually improves business performance and innovation.

Have a look at this list from Canadastop100 site that covers the top 100 companies renowned for diversity in the workplace.

If you take a targeted job search strategy and network with these companies and get into direct contact with them, this reduces the Canadian experience burden for you.

Fear Not

We understand that immigrating to a new country can be one of the most challenging times of your life. We've been there. A job search is a very stressful time, and it's even more stressful if you feel that your suffering from something you cannot control.

The Canadian experience problem is not out of your control. Take the necessary steps we spoke about on this post. It's not going to be easy and it will take more time and more effort.

Zero2Hired has always advocated that job searching is a job in itself. Think of the Canadian experience problem as being no different from a problem you face in the office. Meet the challenge head on and you'll be back in the workforce in no time.

Culled from: http://www.zero2hired.com/blog/5-easy-tips-on-how-to-get-canadian-experience

More useful links from him

http://www.zero2hired.com/blog/5-critical-changes-you-need-to-make-to-canadianize-your-resume

http://zero2hired.com/blog/the-canadian-job-market-how-to-discover-your-industry-%28even-if-you-live-abroad%29

dumsydsassy1:
Good morning good people. Please am making this enquiry for a friend. She evaluated her pharmacy credentials through Wes instead of PEBC. Can she enter the pool with that? And then when the PEBC comes, do an update? Thanks for ur kind responses.

i think it depends on the outcome of the evaluation. WES evaluated her qualification as being equivalent to.......? That's the determining factor(i think)

...