Temporary Lower Skilled Foreign Workers Recruiters for Canada

Halyna Mohylova Yuliya Balina

hmohylova@rachisholm.com ybalina@rachisholm.com

Find this presentation at: www.rachisholm.com

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Ronald A. Chisholm Limited

Chisholm, established in 1938, is one of the world’s leading agrifood merchants

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada Chisholm also has offices in Montreal, Denver, Dublin, Paris, Prague, Melbourne, Minsk, Sao Paulo, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Guangzhou.

We export, import and trade meat and dairy commodities globally.

Chisholm is a market maker for its clients and takes on all risk inherent in their transactions providing logistics, finance and currency options, market opinions, research and information.

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Greetings from Toronto

Gregg Badger gbadger@rachisholm.com

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Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Categories of Occupations: High-Skilled Occupations, Lower-Skilled Occupations, Live-in Caregivers and Seasonal Agricultural Workers

Chisholm focus is on Temporary Low Skilled Foreign Workers for meat plants.

To hire foreign worker the employer in Canada must obtain a positive Labour Market Opinion (LMO-also known as employment confirmation) from Service Canada

Then the worker must apply for a Work Permit at Canadian visa office abroad and depending on their country of citizenship may require a temporary resident visa before entering Canada

Medical Examination is also required Foreign workers may be refused a work permit and entry into Canada

by a Boarder Service officer if they are found inadmissible for a number of reasons, including criminal, security or medical ground

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Chisholm’s Foreign Worker Program

Established in early 2003 in order to facilitate the hiring of foreign workers by Canadian meat plants

Program started and led by a senior officer at Chisholm, Gregg Badger; managed by Halyna Mohylova and Yuliya Balina

Chisholm acts as agent and facilitator for Canadian employers who wish to hire foreign workers

To date, Chisholm has secured about 1,415 temporary low skilled workers for some twenty employers in six Canadian provinces; 2 to over 200 at a time

Sourced from 7 countries- 3 remain active-Mauritius, Ukraine and Philippines

Since the fall of 2008, demand for Temporary foreign Workers has gone in the Western provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) but Quebec has opened up

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Chisholm Foreign Worker Program in Quebec

Started in 2003 Breakthrough with government in 2008 Engaged IOM in 2008 First approval for 33 workers received in 2009 for Lucyporc In 2010 Olymel St. Esprit received an approval for 100 98 Mauritians arrived in Canada in 2009-2010 38 are currently in the process We expect more employers to engage in the Program and are

awaiting more approvals from the government in the upcoming months

We are looking for French speaking alternatives to Mauritians

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Chisholm and IOM

The original Agreement between IOM Mauritius and Chisholm signed in September 2008

In September 2009 Chisholm and Olymel travelled to Mauritius with the objective to meet with the selected candidates for further interviews and orientation; to meet government officials in Mauritius and to get to know the culture and the way of life of Mauritians

Chisholm and Olymel also travelled to Kenya to meet with CIC officials in Nairobi to go over the project and introduce the parties involved

The trip was organized and managed by IOM Mauritius and the experience and the assistance provided by IOM has been invaluable

We expect the project to expand and succeed in Quebec and are looking for additional French speaking source countries. We hope to work with other IOM offices and have the level of comfort we have experienced with IOM Mauritius

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Expectations of Foreign Recruitment Partners Support from the local government Excellent reputation with CIC offices In depth pre-screening of the candidates Assist workers with visa application process with CHC on behalf of the

workers Coordinate pre-departure orientation workshops to prepare each worker for

departure and integration in Canada Communicate with Chisholm to report on activities, potential problems,

integration issues etc Organize workshops with the families to make sure they are well informed

and supportive of their relatives working in Canada Support for Chisholm’s guarantee to employers

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Chisholm Guarantee Used since inception to give employers comfort with the

Program Chisholm charges employer $500 to $1000 per worker Guarantee is that worker will not quit or be fired within first 6

months (probation period) Refund is entire cost (or replacement)=

IOM fees + airfare+ Chisholm fee = $3000-$4000 per worker

Chisholm cannot afford a 10% failure rate, let alone 25% As importantly, Employers do not want disruption and lost

investment Normally, our foreign recruitment partners share in the guarantee

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Experience with Mauritians

Lack of commitment, motivation causes many workers to return home

High risk for Chisholm Not financially viable Housing Issues Pressure from family to return Some cultural challenges

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What is the Win Win?

For Employers Stable, reliable, labour to fill labour shortages and

reduced employee turnover, for full 2 year contract or more

For Employees Financial Advantage-Higher Earnings (possible to

save around USD $7,000 per year) Valuable work experience abroad Possible stepping stone to Permanent Residency

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Required for Success

Strong Financial Motivation by Workers Careful Screening Full and Complete understanding of program,

pay, rent, tax deductions, expectations Family Support for participation Unquestionable commitment to fulfill 2 year

contract

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Process Steps

Establishing candidates’ qualifications as overseas contract worker (age, education, experience, civil status, personal characteristics)

Pre-selection process (orientation/introduction workshop, psychological testing, English/French testing, pre-medical and interviews)

Verification of documents and background investigation (school records, employment certificates, criminal record)

Interview with employer Processing of selected applicants at Canadian Embassy CIC Medical Pre-departure Seminar Travel Arrangements Follow-up/Monitor performance of workers

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Labour Shortages/Opportunities in Canada

We expect to hire around 100 workers in Quebec in the next 24 months

Actual numbers will depend on news of success spreading

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Questions &

AnswersHalyna Mohylova and Yuliya Balina

hmohylova@rachisholm.com

ybalina@rachisholm.com

This presentation can be found at: www.rachisholm.com