Federal and provincial immigration officials in Canada are in talks to significantly revamp the Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) eligibility criteria.
The PGWP, an open work permit, is currently available to Nigerians and other international students who complete an eligible program at a Designated Learning Institution (DLI). According to the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Deputy Minister Transition Binder 2024, Canada’s immigration system aims to align PGWP issuance with labor market demands.
This alignment would facilitate easier access to work permits for students entering occupations facing shortages while restricting access for graduates from other programs.
The binder indicates that “advice on this issue will be provided by the Minister in spring 2024, with the goal of implementing changes in January 2025.”
The proposal was further emphasized in an internal survey document recently sent to relevant stakeholders by IRCC.
This document outlined methods to align educational programs with PGWP availability and solicited feedback from stakeholders.
While specific implementation details are still under wraps, notes from the internal survey reveal some strategies. IRCC, in collaboration with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), has mapped job titles to programs of study to identify which educational programs equip international students with skills needed in high-demand sectors of the Canadian economy.
This alignment was achieved by synchronizing Canada’s National Occupation Classification (NOC) system with the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) system. For instance, the internal document illustrates that the “carpenter” NOC is mapped to three programs of study: construction trades, carpentry, and woodworking/general.
Rationale Behind the Changes
IRCC states that the primary objective of re-aligning labor market needs is to facilitate access to work permits for students in shortage occupations while reducing access for graduates from other programs. The PGWP program, last updated in 2008, has seen a 214% increase in work permits issued between 2018 and 2023.
Recent policy shifts by IRCC, including a cap on international students announced in January 2024, suggest further motivations.