Welcoming Newcomers

Integrating Foreign-Trained Professionals

Newcomers to Canada represent a significant and highly motivated talent force with the will, skills and competencies to fill key positions and strengthen workforce diversity. This new EHRC program will be instrumental in helping newcomers achieve timely employment with the benefit of job readiness and job search skills.

Welcoming Newcomers is a wage incentive program for employers to recruit professionally skilled, internationally trained workers.

A wage-subsidy of up to 50%, or $10,000 maximum, for the cost of first few months onboarding is available to eligible employers. Below you will find information about eligibility requirements and an overview of the process, as well as the forms to complete to pursue this opportunity.

Our goal is to accelerate the electricity sector’s workforce integration of highly skilled newcomers by generating 100 foreign-trained newcomer participants. Funding will be provided to the first employers who apply and meet the eligibility requirements. We encourage employers to act swiftly – competing industries are actively recruiting from this newcomer talent pool.

Eligibility is dependent on each specific participant and the specific employer. For answers to questions not seen below, please email Dragana Mrdjenovic with your company name, phone number and specific query.

Participant Eligibility

Participants are eligible if they meet the following criteria:

• They are a newcomer to Canada in the past ten (10) years who has been educated and/or developed professional experience internationally; and
• They are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or newcomer/refugee with a valid open work permit.
• Please note that we cannot accept current international students until they have a Post-Graduate Work Permit after they graduate.

Employer Eligibility

Employers are eligible if they meet the following criteria:

• Firms who are seeking to hire full-time permanent newcomers.
• Firms whose primary activity is one of the following:
  • generation, transmission and distribution of electricity;
  • sector support including renewables, in any of the following areas: R&D, business development, energy efficiency;
  • engaged in the manufacturing of equipment and the provision of services necessary to electricity.
• Post-secondary institutions (universities, colleges or polytechnics) supporting the electricity industry.