Tier 1 Latest News - UK invites the Best & the Brightest in Science, Engineering, Arts & Humanities to be Immigrants

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) home office announced that the United Kingdom is opening its door to migrants who excels in the fields of Science, Engineering, Arts & Humanities.

Under the New Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) category of UK immigration rules, scientist, engineers, artists and those into Humanities will be given the chance to migrate, find work and possibly settle permanently in UK.

Image from Dreamstime Free Photos

Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) will be overseen by world-renowned 'competent bodies', which will advise the UK Border Agency on these 'exceptionally talented' migrants to ensure that they are the brightest and best in their field:

• the Royal Society, a fellowship of the world's most eminent scientists, will be able to nominate up to 300 places
• Arts Council England, the national development agency for the arts, will also be able to nominate up to 300 places
• the Royal Academy of Engineering, Britain’s national academy for engineering, will have up to 200 places to nominate
• the British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and social sciences will be able to nominate up to 200 places.

Source: UKBA

An endorsement from any of these competent bodies will be enough for exceptional migrants to enter the UK even without employer sponsorship.

This new category will open 1000 slots. The first 500 places will be offered between August 9 to November 30, 2011. 500 more places will be available from December 1, 2011 to March 31,2012. The number of slots assigned to each field may be changed depending which is more in demand.

The exceptional ones accepted under the Tier 1 Category will be granted stay for 3 years and 4 months. Afterwhich, they can apply for an extension of two years. 5 years of residence in UK make them eligible to apply for permanent residency.

This immigration policy will give exceptional minds & talents around the world not only a great chance to be in UK but more importantly to be with fellow exceptional migrants.

To exceptional Filipinos who would go to UK via Tier 1 (Exceptional Talents) category, I hope they would still remember to help their motherland.

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Canada Plans to Admit 40, 000 Immigrants via Provincial Nominee Program

Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration & Multiculturalism, announced Canada's plan to admit about 40,000 immigrants under Canada's Provincial Nominee Program in 2011.

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The press released named Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan as the top three provinces for provincial nominees. Here are the relevant links to information about this 3 provinces' respective immigrant nominee programs. Remember that knowing is half the battle.

• Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program


• Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program for Skilled Workers


• Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP)

Those interested to live and work in Canada under the provincial nominee program should also explore the province of Newfoundland & Labrador which enjoys a very positive labour market outlook in the next 10 years.

Know more about Newfoundland & Labrador Provincial Nominee Program here.

Nominee programs of provinces ensure that the benefits of immigration are felt throughout Canada. Skilled immigrants often prefer go to Toronto, Montreal & Vancouver. Looking for opportunities in provinces might increase a migrant worker's chance of achieving his/her Canada dreams.

This kind of immigration program also affords the provinces to get the skilled workers they need more quickly as application under this program are processed within 12 monts on average.

Think about Canada's Provincial Nominee Program.

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70,000 Jobs in Canada Province Newfoundland & Labrador Projected in the Coming Decade

For those people dreaming of getting a job in Canada, you might want to have a closer eye on the province of Newfoundland & Labrador.

The province is expected to have 70, 000 job openings in the next 10 years as reported in thetelegram.com and based on the recent release of the Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market: Outlook 2020.

Image from Dreamstime Free Photos

The government, businesses, job seekers and even students in this province and in Canada, in general, can refer to these projections in making plans for the future.

The projections revealed that hiring will peak at about 2015 with the highest need coming from utilities, health care and trade sector followed closely by manufacturing, accomodations, food service, transportation & warehousing and mining. Workers of all skill and education levels will be needed to address the employment demands of these sectors.

The decline of working age people in this province poses a great challenge to meet these future employment demands.

The priority will still be given to Newfoundland and Labrador residents. Afterwhich, other Canadian citizens or residents will be considered. And lastly, foreign workers via immigration.

Newfoundland and Labrador has an estimated population of 509,200 as of October 2010. Nine years from now, 65 years old or older is projected to comprise 45% of the province population.

Workers from within the province will not suffice to answer the 70,000 job demand projected in that time span. Migrant workers may want to have look at the labour market in Newfoundland & Labrador in Canada for better career opportunities in the future .

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150,000 Jobs in Australia for Scottish Workers

Around 150, 000 jobs in Australia were offered to Scots.

The Herald Scotland reported that Western Australia's Training & Workforce Development Minister, Peter Collier, was in Scotland yesterday to invite Scots to explore working in Australia where 150, 000 skilled workers are needed.

Skilled Workers are in high demand in Australia
Image courtesy of Dreamstime Free Photos

Currently, more than £130 billion worth of projects in Australia are planned. Projections revealed that Australia will be 150,000 workers short within the next five years. Such scenario will imperil a number of those projects.

The minister is trying to woo skilled and semi-skilled Scottish workers to be employed over a wide range of sectors in Australia including mining, energy, renewables, construction, electrical, engineering, health, education and training.

Aside from those workers, the minister is also targeting experts in renewable energy. However, Scotland is also in high demand of skilled workers for that sector.

Source: Herald Scotland

Well, Mr. Collier is very much welcome to look for skilled workers here in the Philippines for their renewable energy sector. A look at POEA approved job orders for Australia today revealed demands for various skilled positions already. Additional demand can certainly be met.

I hope our government can also invite Australian officials to take a closer look at the Philippine job market to address their workforce needs.

Skills, English language proficiency and world-reknowed dedication to work make OFWs ideal for jobs in Australia.

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July 2011 Professional Electronics Engineering Examination Results from PRC

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has released the Professional Electronics Engineer Examination results.

11 successfully hurdled the examination given by the Board of Electronics Engineering in Manila this July 2011.

The successful examinees who can now affix the title Professional Electronics Engineer to their respective names are the following:

1. ANG, GLENN ALMIRANTE
2. BENIGRA, NICHOLAS TANGAL
3. CO, ARISTOTLE NGAN
4. DIO, ROMEO GREDONIA
5. DOMONDON, FEDERICO III EDUARTE
6. DUHAYLUNGSOD, NEIL IAN LAVADO
7. GADON, ARNOLD FALLAR
8. JURADO, GILBERT SUDARIA
9. PANA, ROSALIO QUIJADA
10. PIAMONTE, JERRY TIAD
11. TIMKANG, JESUS CADERA

Source: PRC Website

Electronics engineers design, plan, research, evaluate and test electronic equipment and systems.

Congratulations to these 11 new Professional Electronic Engineers!

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July 2011 Visa Bulletin - Opportunity Knocks Twice, Sometimes.

They say opportunity knocks only once. BUt this time, it knocked twice.

The Ministerial Instruction 3 (MI-3) has been officially issued. The 29 in-demand occupations is extended for another year but Citizenship and Immigration Canada will only accept a maximum of 500 applications per occupation with a total target of 10,000 applications for the next 12 months beginning July 1, 2011. The proposed changes to FSW Points System was not yet implemented. Thus, the ideal age remains to be between 21-49 years old. No changes whatsoever was made for the Federal Skilled Worker Program requirements and procedures.

MI-1 Applications Now Moving | Medical Notice and RPRF Payment Request


Here's a good news for applicants who filed under Ministerial Instrucrion 1 (MI-1). The Visa Office in Manila has started to process again applications filed between February 27, 2008 and June 25, 2010. The same thing is true for applications filed prior to February 27, 2008. Of the 52 Medical Instructions and Right of Permanent Resident Fee payament request we received last week, 19 cases were filed before Feb 27, 2008. These pre-Feb 27, 2008 applications were filed between November 10-25, 2004. However slow, at least it's moving.

SCAM ALERT: Canadian Employment Services Representative Office

There is no such thing as Canadian Employment Services Representative Office. So if an alleged employer requires you to seek employment clearance from Canadian Employment Services Representative Office to get a work permit, consider it a red flag. It's a scam!


Quebec-Selected Skilled Workers Program


Those whose occupations are not included in the 29 in-demand occupations are not eligible under the Federal Skilled Worker Program unless they have an Arranged Employment. While waiting for the new list next year, you may also want to try your luck under Quebec-Selected Skilled Workers Program. This program does not require employer-sponsor. There is also no restructed occupations under this program. You will have an advantage though if you have knowledge in Frenh Language and got immediate relatives in Quebec. Another alternative is to find an employer in Canada using the internet. Some of those who did what we suggested few months ago - to send resume to Canadian employers - were actually getting good result.

Time is of Essesnse

For some of the occupations listed in the priority list, they may only have 2-3 months window of opportunity. The cap may be reached sooner that what you expect. If you are eligible under the current program, let us get your application filed soon!

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Saudization/NITAQAT Thoughts & Lessons

I spent the better part of my afternoon reading about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Saudization Program or NITAQAT online.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Coat of Arms
Image from wikipedia

NITAQAT is a major labor policy being implemented by the government of Saudi Arabia to address the large percentage of jobless young Saudis (citizens of KSA). The program compels private companies to increase the percentage of Saudis they employ, affecting all foreign workers including Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

Under the Nitaqat, the Saudi Ministry of Labor will classify some 300,000 local companies into four categories: excellent, green (complying companies), yellow (partially complying) and red (non-complying companies), with each one required to employ a minimum number of Saudi citizens based on company size and the occupations of the company’s workers.

Yellow-coded companies will not be able to renew the work visas of foreign workers beyond six years, while red-coded companies will no longer be allowed to renew the work visas of their foreign workers.

On the other hand, excellent- and green-coded companies may recruit foreign workers who are already in Saudi from the red- and yellow-coded companies---even without the consent of the workers’ sponsors and even if the workers have not worked for at least two years under their sponsors.

Red-coded companies are given until December 11 to improve their Saudization ratios before restrictions come into effect, while yellow-coded companies have until March 11, 2012 to comply.

- Source: Interaksyon.net

The Philippine government - through DOLE & OWWA statements - are trying to allay fears on the adverse effect of the Saudization program. I am one of those who believe that it will have an effect.

There are some contentions among comment boards that the program will lead to the downfall of small and medium business in the kingdom because Saudis will demand a much higher compensation compared to foreign workers such as Filipinos.

Others are saying that the displacement of foreign workers will only be temporary as young saudis are portrayed as less skilled, less interested about the job, and are not hard workers.

The implications of this Saudization program to OFWs, their respective families and the Philippine economy affords us some important lessons.

• Work Contract Overseas is not forever.
• An OFW and his/her family should save money and should invest for their future.
• An OFW must strive to develop his/her skill to be more employable in other countries.
• The Philippine economy can not forever rely on OFW remittance for help, making it imperative for the government to make the country more suitable for small and medium enterprise to generate local jobs.
  
• Returning OFWs can help create local jobs by starting their own businesses here.
  

This site hopes that most, if not all, OFWs in KSA work on companies that fall under the excellent or green categories. That employers of those OFWs working under companies under the yellow category can comply within the time period allowed. And that those unfortunate to work for companies under the red category, can get absorbed by complying companies.

Otherwise, Saudization/Nitaqat affected OFWs would have no choice but return to the Philippines and compete with other hard-luck OFWs and jobless Filipinos for local jobs like this DOLE list.

Here a good article about Saudization/Nitaqat.

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Banned in Saudi? Filipino Household Workers Needed in Kuwait

Filipino household workers or domestic helpers wanting to work abroad in that capacity must set their eyes to other countries like Kuwait beginning today.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will no longer issue work visas to Filipino domestic workers starting July 2, 2011.

Based on my look up at the POEA approved jobs database, there is a great demand for household service workers in Kuwait. Most notable among the list of approved job orders for this position are:

100 Household Service Workers - Sheeba International Manpower Services Inc.
200 Household Service Workers - Non-Stop Overseas Employment Corp



See the list that I saw here.

These job orders were taken from the POEA website on the day indicated.
Please verify with the agency if the job orders are still active or not.
Beware of illegal recruiters. Read about illegal recruitment here.
Report to the POEA anything that may involve illegal recruitment immediately.

Saudi Arabia's decision is a blow to Filipino household workers wanting to work abroad. The government and the recruitment agencies must look for measures to counter the effects of this banning.

In that regard, this site hope to help by posting about other destinations for domestic workers or household service workers such as Kuwait. [Cyprus & Qatar may also be considered alternative destination.]

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Updated Federal Skilled Workers Program

Starting today, July 1, 2011 the slight but impactful changes to Canada's Federal Skilled Workers Immigration program will be implemented.

The reduction of the number of applications to be considered plus the cap set for each of the 29 priority occupations would be tough to applicants. But at least, the list weren't trimmed down further. There was a time the high demand jobs to migrate to Canada under the same program stood at 38.

It also important to note which occupations reached the cap limit under the previous set of requirements. They were:

0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists
2151 Architects
3111 Specialist Physicians
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians
3113 Dentists
3131 Pharmacists
3152 Registered Nurses

It is best to act fast to be eligible and be able to submit their applications as soon as possible especially those falling under the 9 occupations listed above.

Remember that to be eligible:

• one must have at least one continuous year of full-time, paid work experience or the equivalent in part-time continuous employment. The experience must be within the last ten (10) years.
• one need to submit the results of his/her language proficiency test
• pass the 6 selection criteria points system
  

Notes:

1. This does not apply to applicants intending to live in the province of Quebec.
2. The set limits to the number of applications & cap to each occupations do not apply to applications with an offer of arranged employment.

I am not an immigration consultant. It would be best to consult only with those authorized ones, avoiding crooked immigration consultants when applying to migrate to Canada. I personally know a very experienced and authorized one who offers free assessment. Check him out here.

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