Category: Engage

As he waited for the Zoom meeting to start, Mohammed wasn’t sure how a virtual ceremony would feel. He had scheduled an online ceremony to more quickly complete this last step of his Canadian citizenship, eager to get a Canadian passport to travel again to see family. As he listened to the ceremony and saw the video panels of dozens of fellow newcomers, he felt deeply moved and part of a bigger whole, in his own living room. His wife, already a Canadian, stood just off camera capturing everything.

Mohammed is a talented software developer living and working in Ontario. He arrived in Canada just over four years ago.

After fleeing the war in Syria, he found himself living in displacement in Lebanon for several years. Despite the challenges he faced, Mohammed’s passion for technology and coding never wavered. His story took a remarkable turn when he became the first candidate to relocate under the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP), a groundbreaking initiative that began as a proof of concept collaboration between the Canadian government and select NGOs to test the possibility for people living as refugees to immigrate as skilled workers. Mohammed is the program’s first success story.

After receiving a job offer with a tech firm in Kitchener, Ontario, Mohammed arrived in Canada in 2019, bringing his skills and determination to a new home. He moved from junior to senior roles, to become a key member of his team. He met his wife and began a family. Through the EMPP, remarkable people like Mohammed can arrive in Canada to continue their lives and careers with a clear pathway to citizenship.

Mohammed has been a champion for many others to follow under the EMPP. He has shared his story to inspire other hiring teams across Canada, and leant his guidance and friendship to excited but nervous families arriving behind him. His leadership continues – allowing us to celebrate this milestone as we outline the journey ahead for others!

The following is an overview of the different status options available to talented people who arrive on skilled visas to Canada and the steps towards citizenship.

Temporary vs permanent residence

A temporary resident is a foreign national who is legally authorized to enter and remain in Canada for purposes including work. Many skilled workers move to Canada first with temporary residence status using a work permit before submitting an application for permanent residence.

Employer-specific work permits allow a foreign national to only work for the employer, position, and location as indicated on the work permit. An employer who supports a work permit is under no obligation to continue to employ the foreign national throughout the duration of their work permit. An open work permit, on the other hand, is more flexible and allows the foreign worker to work for any Canadian employer without the need for a specific job offer.

Read more about temporary residence status in Canada here.

A permanent resident is someone who has been given permanent residence status by immigrating to Canada, but is not yet a Canadian citizen.

Permanent residents have the right to: 

• Get most social benefits that Canadian citizens receive, including health care coverage
• Live, work or study anywhere in Canada
• Apply for Canadian citizenship
• Leave and re-enter Canada

To keep permanent residence status, individuals must have been in Canada for at least 730 days during the last five years. These 730 days do not need to be continuous.

Read more about permanent residence status in Canada here.

When is a temporary residence (work permit) pathway used instead of a permanent residence pathway?

Canada has temporary residence (work permit) and permanent residence skilled visa pathways. The EMPP flexibilities only apply to certain permanent residence pathways. However, TalentLift supports candidates to apply for work permits in situations where it is the preferred or only visa pathway available, where no EMPP flexibilities are required, and where candidates have a pathway to permanent residence available to them either in parallel to the work permit application or after arrival in Canada.

Work permits are used by the majority of skilled workers entering Canada because they can be faster, are more affordable, are more available, and can be a mandatory first step for permanent residence pathways that require in-Canada work experience. If TalentLift supports a candidate and their family to relocate with temporary residence, we first provide them with detailed information about temporary residence in Canada and a transition plan to permanent residence prepared by our legal counsel. This allows the candidate and their family to make an informed decision before deciding whether or not to proceed.

How do permanent residents become Canadian citizens?

To become a Canadian citizen, most applicants must:

• Be a permanent resident
• Have lived in Canada for at least 3 out of the last 5 years (1,095 days)
• Have filed their taxes, if they need to
• Pass a citizenship test
• Prove their language skills in English or French

This means that those who continue to reside in Canada after arrival, and who meet all the criteria, can typically apply after three years. There is a fee to apply and the processing time varies and is generally between 12-18 months.

Canadian citizens have the right to: 

• Apply for a passport
• Vote in an election

There are other neat perks too. All citizens get one year of free admission to Canada’s natural parks and cultural centres. Check out the Canoo app.

Read more about applying for Canadian citizenship here.

Canada keeps getting better

Mohammed was instrumental in confirming that people living in refugee circumstances can successfully apply to Canada’s skilled immigration pathways and respond to skills shortages if displacement-related barriers that have nothing to do with talent and potential are removed. His case is part of the foundation of a much more accessible, seamless skilled visa system for displaced talent and the teams that hire them.

Companies like the one that welcomed Mohammed are recognizing the immense talent within refugee populations and catalyzing transformative change in the lives of individuals and their families by providing a secure future and a route to citizenship.

Mohammed, this country is lucky to have you!

Mohammed is a Senior Software Engineer at Epoch and the first candidate to arrive under the EMPP. He spent 3+ years with the incredible Bonfire team before shifting to a new role. Prior to relocating to Canada, Mohammed was living in Lebanon as a refugee from Syria and working as a software developer. He is a member of Volunteers Without Borders, and a Media Management Volunteer with Beirut Marathon Association. Mohammed holds a Bachelor’s of Engineering, Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications from Al-Baath University, and a Bachelor’s of Applied Science, Information Technology from Lebanese International University. He serves as TalentLift’s Talent Advisor.

Candidates living in refugee circumstances and seeking a job in Canada can join TalentLift. Employers seeking global talent while engaging their team in something transformative can start hiring.

Severe flooding in Libya has caused an emergency in the northeastern city of Derna. More than 6,000 people have lost their lives and many thousands are still missing. 

Downpour and broken dams are among the main reported causes, and the weather event is considered worsened by climate change.

The disaster happens as the people of Libya and those living as refugees in the country face ongoing conflict and economic insecurity. For years, people in refugee situations from different parts of the world have crossed into Libya and sometimes onwards to sea on dangerous journeys to reach a more secure country. We’re thinking of them and everyone in Libya impacted by the disaster.

If you have the resources to donate, here are a few options to consider: 

• The Canadian Red Cross is raising funds for immediate disaster relief and recovery. 
• Islamic Relief Canada is raising funds to provide urgent food supplies, emergency shelter and basic essentials.
• The World Food Programme is providing emergency meals and support to children and families affected by the floods, and is on the ground. 
• Unicef is mobilizing life-saving supplies such as medical, hygiene, and essential clothing kits for children.

Please research the organization and campaign that seems right to you before giving.

Candidates living in refugee circumstances and seeking a job in Canada can join TalentLift. Employers seeking global talent while engaging their team in something transformative can start hiring.

On Friday, an earthquake hit Morocco in the Atlas Mountains, about 70 kilometres outside the city of Marrakech. More than 2,600 people have lost their lives. It is the deadliest earthquake recorded in Morocco in over 60 years.

Morocco is home to people seeking refugee from many parts of the world. We’re thinking of them and all communities impacted by the disaster. 

If you have the resources to donate, here are a few options to consider: 

• The Canadian Red Cross is raising funds for immediate disaster relief and recovery. 
• Doctors Without Borders provides emergency medical aid and has medical staff in the affected region.
• Action for Humanity  has mobilized a specialized emergency response team to provide immediate aid in affected areas, along with ready-to-eat food packs, hygiene kits, hot meals and blankets.
• Islamic Relief Canada teams are working through local partners to conduct immediate needs assessments and provide urgent food supplies, emergency shelter and basic essentials in Morocco.

Please research the organization and campaign that seems right to you before giving.

Candidates living in refugee circumstances and seeking a job in Canada can join TalentLift. Employers seeking global talent while engaging their team in something transformative can start hiring.

“You can’t sit down with me for more than a couple of minutes without me telling you that I’m a nurse,” says Abapi, calling from her home in Abuja, Nigeria. “Because when I let people know I’m a nurse, I’m indirectly letting them know I love, I care, and I have compassion, and whatever needs you have, you can share with me.”

“There’s no human being on earth that doesn’t need a nurse in their lifetime.”

For Abapi, nursing is more than a profession, it’s an intrinsic component of her identity – influencing everything from the way she talks to people on the street to how she derives meaning in her life.

Originally from Cameroon, Abapi fled after civil war and insecurity made it nearly impossible to do the work she loved. Militants took over the hospitals she worked at and harassed medical staff at their homes, and she worried about her future and the safety of her young niece.

So together, they made the long journey to Nigeria, where Abapi had hoped the stability would offer a fresh start for the two of them. Unfortunately, she says, “life in Nigeria is intimidating – it was very difficult to get a license to practice, and coming from Cameroon, I have to work for less pay than other nurses.”

“At some points, I even started selling fruit on the street to make ends meet.”

Despite the challenges, she still volunteered her skills to other people living in refugee situations, travelling around Nigeria to provide free healthcare in internally displaced and refugee camps.

While filing her own refugee status paperwork one day, she was chatting with an administrator in the office who had a runny nose. Offering some advice as a nurse, the administrator asked why she didn’t consider moving to a place like Canada, which needed caring nurses like Abapi.

“I had never thought that I could practice nursing abroad,” she says. “Leaving my refugee situation felt like an impossible task.”

Someone else in the office overheard, and recommended she look at TalentLift. Abapi says she assumed trying to immigrate to Canada would be prohibitively expensive, so she was surprised when she learnt that employers in Canada might be willing to sponsor her journey. She specifically zeroed in on Canada because, as she says, “I know that Canadians are really friendly, and they really respect nurses and appreciate what we do.”

After interviewing and conversations with her niece, who is now 15-years old, Abapi decided to take an offer from Chancellor Park, a long-term care facility in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Like many healthcare providers, and especially those based in the Maritimes, Chancellor Park had struggled to recruit staff locally.

That shortage of talented healthcare staff had led Chancellor Park to recruit staff multiple times through TalentLift. When Abapi arrives in the coming months, she’ll join several colleagues who have likewise left refugee settings to start a new life in St. John’s.

Through working with all ages and abilities as a general practice nurse, she developed a passion for elder care while caring for her own grandmother at the end of her life. She says the experience reinforced her view that being a nurse is as much about love and compassion as it is about medical care.

She’s looking forward to bringing that same zeal for building connections with Chancellor Park’s elderly residents. “I want to help make it one of the best senior’s homes in St John’s, and have all our patients recommend it.”

“I am so grateful for TalentLift for the inception of this idea to help refugees like me. My hope was lost for a while before TalentLift,” Abapi says.

“Thank you for seeing the potential in me.”

Join a community of pioneering hiring teams across Canada. Start hiring with TalentLift.

With the support of the Scotiabank ScotiaRISE initiative, TalentLift has built a talent platform for displaced job seekers to self-register, develop job-readiness, and connect to transformative job and relocation opportunities to Canada. Learn more.

“For me,” says Sabri, “being a nurse is not just a profession, but it is a calling – filled with countless rewards and fulfilling experiences.”

Speaking from his home in the Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya, Sabri Musa, a healthcare professional and father of two small children is reflecting on the career that he has shaped his life around, and the journey it is about to take him on.

In a couple of months, Sabri and his family will move to Durham, Ontario, so that Sabri can begin working as a Personal Support Worker for SE Health, a national not-for-profit healthcare provider that operates in private homes, community care homes, long-term care homes, and hospitals across Canada.

Sabri first connected with SE Health through TalentLift, which he learnt of while searching for opportunities to use his healthcare skills abroad on LinkedIn. Having fled Sudan years ago, he knew that opportunities for people with refugee status in Kenya could be limited, and was looking to raise his children in Canada, where they could have a better foundation. Authorities created Kakuma camp in 1992 initially to house people who left Sudan for safety, but it persists today, and is home to more than 200,000. 

After interviewing with SE Health, Sabri accepted an offer to join their team as a Personal Support Worker at a care home in Durham, working with elderly people. The role, he says, will align well with his passion for providing support to patients of all ages who have conditions related to mental health, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), autism, Cerebral Palsy and others.

No matter the patient’s needs, Sabri says the most rewarding aspect of his work is being able to provide companionship in what can be difficult moments for his patients. “I always wish to make people feel better with my companionship and interactions. Making meaningful connections with patients on a personal level, understanding their needs, and being there for them is my rejoice,” he says.

While working as a special needs and physical therapy caregiver in Kakuma throughout the past years, Sabri has made it a priority to consistently upgrade his skillset, taking courses in art therapy, counselling skills, and conflict resolution. “Promoting healing by offering emotional support is a crucial role for a caregiver, and I never dreamed of how much it could improve individual well-being.”

Advocating for the inclusion of people with disabilities in Kakuma and in Kenyan society more broadly has also been an important part of Sabri’s journey as a caregiver. Having seen the impacts of ableist discrimination through his patients’ experiences, he worked with others in the camp to hold an awareness campaign about inclusion and disability rights.

He’s planning to take on more learning opportunities when he arrives in Canada. 

“I look forward to advancing my career growth opportunities by joining training and education programs. Being in a workplace with diversity and inclusion at SE Health will help me to grow as an individual,” he said, noting that it’s not just about his own learning and success. “It’s about improving my work and living so that my children will have better access to education and health care.”

Join a community of pioneering hiring teams across Canada. Start hiring with TalentLift.With the support of the Scotiabank ScotiaRISE initiative, TalentLift has built a talent platform for displaced job seekers to self-register, develop job-readiness, and connect to transformative job and relocation opportunities to Canada. Learn more.

For Najeebullah, the long, arduous journey from Afghanistan to Canada has been worth it to see the laughter and smiles on his daughters’ faces as they cruise around the first playground they’ve ever had the chance to play on.

An electrical engineer by training, Najeeb and his wife and daughters were forced to leave Afghanistan when the Taliban took over, seeking refuge in Pakistan. Mid-way through a master’s degree in electrical engineering and involved in several community initiatives in Afghanistan, the transition to life in Pakistan was not easy. Najeeb was not qualified to work as an engineer in the new country, and uncertainty over the future for his wife Shukria, and their daughters hung over him.

In early 2022, at a virtual career fair put on by a humanitarian group looking to support Afghan refugees, Najeeb learnt about TalentLift. For years, he had worked with Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, an NGO that advocates for women’s rights and education in Afghanistan. He knew from his work with the non-profit that Canada would be a better place for his daughters to grow and thrive, and now he had the chance to use his talents and education to get them there.

After careful consideration with Shukria, Najeeb interviewed for, and ultimately accepted an engineering position with Finest Telecommunication, a fibre-optic installation firm in London, Ontario.

A little more than one year later, in April 2023, Najeeb and his family landed in Canada, greeted by the Finest Telecommunication team and TalentLift staff member Zahra’a. 

For Najeeb, it was a relief to be able to use his education and training again with Finest Telecommunication, installing and repairing fibre optic cables at job sites across southern Ontario. “It was a gift for me to be back to work in my field, and to learn new things in the field of fibre in Canada,” he says.

His colleagues have been incredibly welcoming and supportive as he and his family settle in. Najeeb and Shukria have now earned their driver’s licenses, and she is taking English lessons at the local YMCA, which provides childcare for their youngest daughter. As a fashion designer and skilled tailor back in Afghanistan, she is hoping to open up her business again soon.

Their eldest daughter, now seven years old, struggled in her first month of school in London, but now Najeeb says, “she’s coming home from school every day telling me about a new best friend and all the things she learned in gym class.”

These sorts of opportunities for women could not be possible for his family back in Afghanistan, and that fact has motivated Najeeb’s continued involvement in education and women’s rights causes. Back in Afghanistan, he helped to co-found the Dehkada Library, a rural library and education centre which promotes literacy for all genders. The library is supported a variety of donors including Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, which Najeeb continues to work for, organizing fundraisers and awareness events, and coordinating a program for virtual learning for Afghans, called Darakht-e Danesh.

Even though the family has only been in Canada for a couple of months, Najeeb and Shukria have begun to take on a leadership role in the community, getting ready to welcome new Afghan families to London this summer.

Their schedule is busy, between Najeeb’s work with Finest Telecommunication, and Shukria’s English lessons. But they still find time to relish the freedom of life in Canada. “Our girls make sure we spend a lot of time at the playground, dancing and playing”.

Join a community of pioneering hiring teams across Canada. Start hiring with TalentLift.

With the support of the Scotiabank ScotiaRISE initiative, TalentLift has built a talent platform for displaced job seekers to self-register, develop job-readiness, and connect to transformative job and relocation opportunities to Canada. Learn more.

For Abdulaziz, an upcoming move to Ontario is about more than a career-related relocation: it’s about creating a fresh start and building a future for his young children.

Originally from Syria, Abdulaziz was once an economics student in Aleppo before the Syrian civil war turned the country upside down, forcing Abdulaziz to seek refugee status in Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Unable to resume his studies in Iraqi universities due to discrimination against migrants and upheaval due to the encroachment of Daesh in Northern Iraq, Abdulaziz says he was searching for a way to support his wife Ruqaya, and their young family, and to build a sense of normalcy.

Looking to train as a skilled tradesperson, he found he had a knack for programming and carving as a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machinist and Fabricator. The role, which involves automating the work of machine tools through the use of computer software, is an in-demand skill in industries that manufacture metals, stone, and plastic. At a factory in Erbil, Abdulaziz rose up the ranks to manage a team of seven, and even take on a sales capacity.

But even as he progressed in his career, Abdulaziz was not certain Iraq was where he and Ruqaya wanted to raise their son and daughter. So he sought out opportunities for migration for skilled workers, and ultimately connected with TalentLift through partner organization Talent Beyond Boundaries.

His proficiency with CNC machine work, and his experience running a factory is what made Abdulaziz stand out to a number of employers in the TalentLift network – and particularly Allstone Quarry Products. Based out of Schomberg, Ontario, Allstone produces and sells stone products like tile and brick for builders and landscapers. Shortages of skilled labour, particularly in the trades, has long been a stumbling point for industrial employers in Canada. Allstone in particular was in need of a skilled stone carver, and had likewise connected with TalentLift to seek out qualified CNC Machinists. After interviewing with the Allstone team, Abdulaziz received a job offer, and the chance at a new life in Canada for himself and his family.

For Abdulaziz, the question of uprooting his life once again was not easy. He had intentionally sought out opportunities to move his young family to a more peaceful country, but when the offer came in, it was still an emotionally fraught decision for him and Ruqaya to make. As a father, Abdulaziz knew that life in Iraq for people living under refugee circumstances comes with harsh difficulties, including political instability and discrimination against people with refugee status.

“But moving to a different country, it’s a very difficult thing,” Abdulaziz said, reflecting on how much his life has changed since moving from Aleppo ten years ago. “But I can do difficult things.”

Ultimately, it was Abdulaziz’s young family who inspired him to take the leap and sign on for the move to Schomberg, Ontario to work for Allstone. With a three-year old daughter and five-year old son, Abdulaziz says he and Ruqaya were highly motivated to have their kids experience quality public education. Once he’s settled in, Abdulaziz says he too might explore ways to pick up where he left off in his economics education, a passion he says hasn’t left him since his student years.

He’s also particularly excited that his kids will get to know his brother and his cousin in Ottawa, who like so many in the Syrian diaspora, have been separated for years amidst the war.

Abdulaziz says his relatives offered the greatest encouragement for him to take the job offer, after they spoke so highly about life in Canada for young families. “My children are the most important thing in my life right now, and I wanted them to live in a country that really cares about their futures.”

“Refugees like me are so grateful to the companies that give them a chance, and they will also give their best to Canada and to these companies.”

Join a community of pioneering hiring teams across Canada. Start hiring with TalentLift.

With the support of the Scotiabank ScotiaRISE initiative, TalentLift has built a talent platform for displaced job seekers to self-register, develop job-readiness, and connect to transformative job and relocation opportunities to Canada. Learn more.