Global Talent Stream adds 3 new occupations to in-demand list

The Government of Canada marked the one-year anniversary of its Global Talent Stream pilot project Tuesday by adding three new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics occupations to the list of those deemed in-demand by the program.

The three new occupations are Engineering Managers (NOC 0211), Architecture and Science Managers (NOC 0212) and Mathematicians and Statisticians (subset of NOC 2161).

At the same time, Electrical and Electronics Technologists and Technicians (NOC 2241) was removed from the Global Talent Occupations List "due to changing labour market conditions," the government said in a news release.

The changes bring the number of occupations on the Global Talent Occupations List to 13.

The government also revised the requirements for Producer, Technical, Creative and Artistic Director, and Project Manager in the visual effects and video game fields (subset of NOC 5131), and Digital Media Designers (subset of NOC 5241) "to better reflect highly skilled, in-demand positions."

Changes to these requirements include a reduction of the minimum required work experience from five to three years.

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The Global Talent Stream at 12 months

Launched in June 2017, the Global Talent Stream is a 24-month pilot project under Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program that improves access to highly skilled foreign talent for Canadian employers.

The Global Talent Stream is available to two categories of Canadian employers:

Category A: High-growth companies that can demonstrate a need to recruit unique specialized talent from abroad and have been referred to the Global Talent Stream by a designated referral partner.
Category B: Employers looking to hire certain highly skilled foreign workers for occupations found on the Global Talent Occupations List, which have been determined to be in-demand and for which there is insufficient domestic labour supply.

As of April 30, 2018, the government says the Global Talent Stream had received more than 1,500 applications for more than 1,600 positions.

Among the key benefits of the pilot program is a 10-day standard for processing work permit applications and temporary resident visas, if applicable.

Employers making use of the Global Talent Stream must develop a Labour Market Benefits Plan that outlines their commitments to creating lasting benefits to the Canadian labour market, such as job creation and knowledge transfer.

The Government of Canada says that as of April 30, 2018, employers had created 500 Labour Market Benefit Plans that include commitments to creating more than 27,000 jobs for Canadians or permanent residents of Canada and investing more than $41 million in skills and training.

"The Global Skills Strategy provides employers with fast, reliable access to workers with specialized skill sets or leadership abilities when they are needed to help them launch operations or expand business in Canada," Canada's Immigration Minister, Ahmed Hussen, said. "In turn, that creates good jobs for Canadians."

Global Talent Occupations List for Category B of the Global Talent Stream

The following occupations apply to Category B employers. The Government of Canada considers these positions in-demand and says the domestic labour supply is insufficient to fill them.

National Occupations Classification (NOC) code	Occupation
0211	Engineering managers
0212	Architecture and Science managers
0213	Computer and information systems managers
2147	Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers)
Sub-set of 2161	Mathematicians and statisticians *Positions for actuaries or related occupations are excluded from this subset.
2171	Information systems analysts and consultants
2172	Database analysts and data administrators
2173	Software engineers and designers
2174	Computer programmers and interactive media developers
2175	Web designers and developers
2283	Information systems testing technicians
Sub-set of 5131**	Producer, technical, creative and artistic director and project manager – Visual effects and video game **The position requires a minimum of three years of experience in the visual effects, video game or animation industries in one or a combination of the following roles: producer, technical director, creative director, artistic director or project manager, senior coordinator, department manager, with three years of job experience in at least one or more of the following skills relevant to the visual effects, video game or animation industries: surfacing and look development; character or simulation rigging; matte painting; managing budgets or teams; or technical pipeline development and application for visual effects, video games, or animation production.
Sub-set of 5241**	***The position requires a minimum of three years' industry experience in at least one of the following digital media design skills: 3D modeling, compositing, paint and roto, layout and match move, digital environment and Matte painting, texture, lighting shading, character effects, effects and simulations, design and scenario, rigging, user interface or user experience, responsive design (for gaming), virtual reality, augmented reality, digital media animation, levels editing for digital media design, software editing for digital media design, pipeline software development or applications relevant for digital media design

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