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Foreign graduates: exempt from Recruitment Efforts requirement
Source: Foreign Worker Program bulletin

You thought the post-secondary work permit program was good - this ranks right up there with it: Foreign worker applications for graduates of Canadian schools are now exempt from the recruitment efforts requirement and LMO's can be requested for up to 2 years.

U.S. Immigration website updated
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website has been revamped. Everything has been moved so check out the new site and update all your bookmarks!

Poll Question: Processing times coming down?
The word-on-the-street says processing times appear to be on the decrease. What is your experience?

Answers to be shared in the Spring edition of thinkr.

Think About it

U.S. Passports Required for Air Travel - effective January 23

The date is set: Canadian travelling to the U.S. by air will be required to carry their passport (or NEXUS Air card if applicable), as of January 23, 2007. Passport requirements for crossings by land and sea expected to come into effect in June 2009.

Survey says: Do you cover passport fees for your employees?

This survey by the CERC asked companies if they covered costs associated with obtaining or renewing passport fees for their business travellers. 41% said yes. The main reason why not: having a valid passport has both business and personal benefit.

Foreign Worker applications: Reduced Recruitment Efforts requirement

In recognition of the labour crunch in BC and Alberta, Service Canada has reduced the requirement under the recruitment efforts portion of the foreign worker application for certain occupations. This should reduce employer efforts spent on gathering recruitment data and reduce overall processing times for labour market opinions.

Guide: How to Hire a Temporary Foreign Worker

Long overdue, this reference guide describes how to hire a foreign worker from assessing whether or not a labour market opinion is required to how to apply for a work permit. Also described is how to obtain a pre-approved labour market opinions for recruitment plans well-known in advance.

Dual Citizenship backgrounder

With the recent concerns regarding Canadian citizens who are also citizens of other countries, CBC provides background information on what dual citizenship is and the caveats of having it.

Cross border travels to the U.S.: leave your lunches at home

A mildly humourous article describing the woes of cross border truck drivers who have fallen victim to stringent food importation rules at the U.S. border. Their lunches have been confiscated under agricultural protection rules.

BC's Labour Shortage - Fact or Hysteria?

This teaser on the BC Business magazine website gives the introduction to the cover article about BC's labour shortage. It examines whether or not the shortage really exists and gets perspective from industry leaders, union leaders and employers. It even includes the opinion of your favourite consulting company, Think Relocation Consulting. Full article available on newsstands.

Global Talent Shortages: The Battle for Brainpower

This article confirms the global labour shortage exists and examines why this is such a problem, the roots of the issue, and the pros and cons of this new reality. While employers try to deal with this talent crunch, employees explore career opportunities.

More Tax is Good?

Vancouver's Report Card

The Vancouver Foundation graded the city in 12 different areas and handed out grades. Good marks for livavility and diversity but poor grades for housing and rich-poor gap. Maybe not the most uplifting article to hand out to international candidates but a realistic one.

Tight Rental Market - Vacancy Rates dropping

More Women taking Expat Assignments

A survey by Mercer Human Resources Consulting reveals the rise of women on expat assignments. This demographic of expats has unique characteristics that can impact how a relocation package is tailored for them. Spousal and family support is especially important for this group of expatriates.

Foreign Nationals in Switzerland

Does your company have operations in Switzerland? And do you hire foreign workers or transfer employees to Switzerland? The new Swiss Foreign Nationals Act may be of interest to you.

Salary Sources
Ever wonder where the government gets their salary data? Search their databases:

Service Canada
U.S. Dept. of Labor

Compensation Talk

Salary Differentials between U.S. Major Cities
Source: CNNmoney.com

Wages Expected to Rise in Vancouver
Source: The Vancouver Sun

Lists

Another list of list: these contain interesting nuggets for those of you involved with recruitment and relocation:

The Best Workplaces in Canada
Source: Canadian Business

Canada's Top 100 Employers
Source: Macleans

Canada's Biggest Companies
Source: The Globe and Mail

The Top 100: BC's Fastest and Strongest Companies
Source: The Vancouver Sun

100 Best Companies to Work for 2006
Source: Fortune 

Learning

We were happy to fill our heads with useful information this Fall:

The Canadian Employee Relocation Council's "ABC's of Expat Tax" was an excellent review of key issues for relocating employees to and from the U.S.

There is no such thing as too much tax knowledge as we learned at Deloitte & Touche's "Cross Border Employees and Executives - Do you know the risks?" seminar.

And we picked up educational credits along with knowledge attending the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants' Professional Development seminar.

To get back in touch with our HR roots, we attended Caliber Leadership Systems' "Beyond the Happiness Factor...Practical Approaches to Building Engagement."

Sharing

We were pleased to have the opportunity present to two great groups this Fall:

At the HR Tech Group (HRTG) annual Human Capital Symposium we co-presented "Recruitment: Going Global? What you should know about immigration and relocation"

And at the lively HRTG's Recruitment Special Interest Group, we co-presented "Closing the Deal with Foreign Candidates"

Think Ahead

Back to Basics: Canadian Immigration

Global Steps Relocation Consulting and Think Relocation Consulting have teamed up once again to offer our Immigration Basics package to HR Professionals who want to unravel the intricacies of Canadian Immigration.  Our Immigration Basics workshop has been designed to cover the theoretical and the practical.  We’ll give you enough information to be knowledgeable, but not overwhelmed. 

Doing Business in the USA

Conference 2007: Building Business Results - the People Equation

And the rumour mill is abound with soon-to-be-announced events and learning sessions from:

To view past editions of thinkr, visit our archive.

Think Tank

Talking 'bout my generation

Looking around the dinner table on Christmas Day, you can't help but notice all the generations sitting together to share in the holiday feasting. The pre-Boomers, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y, all present and accounted for. Blessed to have our pre-Boomers present, who continue to save money for that "rainy day" that surely has come by now. The Boomer, loyal to the core and always wanting the best for their kids. The Gen X'ers with their endless search for work-life balance. And those up-and-coming Gen Y'ers who are not shy about speaking up and saying what's on their minds. Our generational perspective gives each of us something unqiue to contribute to the lively dinner discussion. Or to a meeting at the office. Do a little skills transfer of your own and take your finely honed knowledge of multi-generations from Christmas Day to work with you. Everyone's in a different stage in life and from a different era. If you can be aware of it, you can use that knowledge to your advantage and see the situation within a greater context. There will always be generation gaps; how we handle it is up to us.

Whether you're at work or play or sitting at the family dinner table, understand, appreciate, and learn across the generations.

All the best for a fantastic 2007,

Marlene
Principal, Think Relocation Consulting

Good reads for you:

The Good News About Careers: How you'll be working in the next decade

Considering Dr. Moses wrote this eight years ago, her ability to read the future was pretty much spot-on. It's all about flexibility in this next decade - for employers and for for employees. Nothing stays the same for long and lifelong jobs are a thing of the past. Throw in the generational differences and managers today have their hands full.

"Flipflops, neckties, and the gaps in between"

This article explores what motivates GenY and the challenges of having multiple generations in the workplace. GenY may come to work in their flipflops but they are not slackers - on the contrary, they want to contribute right away. This might be tough for the necktie-wearing Baby Boomers to understand.

"Older Workers More Loyal to Employers"

Further reinforcement that the older generation (aka the Boomers) stay in jobs longer. Younger workers go from job to job collecting skills and experience while older workers seek stability.

"Generation Y: How Twentysomethings are changing the workplace"

A closer look at this mystery generation. There's more to them than their technical prowess and rebellious attitudes. Understand their desire to run-rather-than-walk, make an impact, and speak up when they've got something to say.

"Generation X-ceptional: how to manage and motivate the under 30 workforce"

This article delves into the myths about the next generation and takes a closer look at what motivates them and tips for how to manage them.

"Canadian employers struggle to attract and retain employees"

The key to overcoming the labour shortage battle is flexibility. Each generation has different needs and employers will need to be flexible in accommodating them. Benefits such as eldercare, wellness accounts, working from home, and time off to do charity work are examples.

"Hire education: how to recruit top university graduates"

This multi-part article examines the emerging new grads and how to attract this new crop. Understand what gets this new generation's attention and what they're looking for in an employer to help you design a great campus recruiting program.