CANADA’S skilled immigrants earn “consistently and substantially” the highest earnings of all other immigrants in the country, according to a new study on Canadian immigration policy. 

Researchers at Queen’s University in Ontario concluded that Canada should continue to focus on skilled migration. They examined the first ten years after immigrants landed in three different periods: 1982, 1988 and 1994.

 

The other categories of immigrants included independent primary skilled migrant applicants, accompanying economic immigrants, family-class immigrants and refugees. The family-class immigrants and refugees had the lowest earnings out of the four categories. 

 

The study also found that difficult economic times negatively affect immigrant earning levels and growth rates and that this effect was more pronounced for male immigrants than for female. The study concluded: “Canada should continue to place heavy weight on skill-assessed immigrants and not reduce the proportion of new immigrants admitted in the skilled worker category”.

 

 

BELGIUM is the fastest country in Europe as regards the processing of immigration visas for skilled migrants, according to a new study by Deloitte. To address an acute skills shortage, officials in Belgium recently streamlined the immigration procedures to fast-track work permit applications for highly skilled non-EU migrants. 

 

“Belgium is by no means sitting on its hands in terms of economic migration,” said Matthias Lommers of Deloitte, adding that the new procedure has “turned out to be of great value for many international companies operating in Belgium”. 

 

There is an average of a three-week wait for a work permit in Belgium, compared to as much as six months in certain other EU countries like Spain and as long as a year in Greece. 

 

 

 

THE EUROPEAN Union is lagging behind in the global competition for skilled engineers and scientists, according to the findings of a new study conducted by Business Europe, a Brussels-based organisation that represents 20 million companies from 35 countries. 

 

The study suggests that the inflow of graduates in science and technology is falling across the 27-member bloc. Germany, for instance, is suffering from a shortage of 117,000 skilled workers. Austria reported a 77 percent shortage of skilled labour in 2010. 

 

According to the European Commission, the EU needs millions of skilled migrants by 2050 to remain competitive. 

 

 

 

GERMANY needs workers in areas such as IT and engineering, but strict immigration rules are making it tough for employers to fill these vacancies. If a German company wants to hire a non-EU worker, it must prove that it cannot find a suitable candidate from within the EU. 

 

Moreover, the non-EU workers must be paid more than 66,000 euros a year, twice the average German salary. As a result, few non-EU skilled migrants find work in Germany. 

 

Only 691 people applied for permanent residency in Germany last year, even though some 76,000 engineering jobs remain unfilled, according to the Association of German Engineers (VDI). 

 

A survey conducted by the German Chamber of Commerce found that 32 percent of employers view labour shortages as the biggest risk to the country’s future prosperity.