A new report Recruiting Immigrant Workers by the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) called Canada’s economic immigration system a “benchmark” and "role model" for other countries and said that Canada has the highest share of highly educated foreign-born people in the OECD:
Canada has the largest and longest-standing skilled labour migration programme and the highest educated immigrant population in the OECD... The new two-tiered Express Entry system for selection of migrants based on expressions of interest has greatly improved the management of labour migration.
The report named Canada's Express Entry system “the most elaborate selection system in the OECD.” Express Entry ranks immigration applicants for permanent residence in Canada based on their skills and ability to settle in Canada successfully. is one that allows for “a more refined selection of labour immigrants than in peer countries.”
Immigration applicants who meet the minimum Express Entry criteria enter a pool where they are assigned points based on categories including education, age and language proficiency. Every few weeks the government invites the highest-scoring applicants to apply for permanent residency.
Free Express Entry Calculator: Are You Qualified to Move to Canada?
The OECD recommended "merging the Federal Skilled Workers class with the Canadian Experience Class, and differentiating candidates by awarding more points for Canadian work experience." The report also recommended that Canada:
- streamline its immigration system for skilled workers
- let provinces create their own Temporary Foreign Worker programs
- make it easier for people with international credentials to obtain Canadian equivalents
- abolishing LMIAs for permanent migration
OECD, based in Paris, is an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives; and has 36 members including Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
