Forward: The following is an original essay based on Canada's points system for immigrating into the country. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and should not be taken in any other way. Sources used are listed in the hyperlink below.
One of the major complaints about the Canadian point system is that our country seems to pose a double standard for individuals wanting to immigrate. The reality that we have a growing demand for skilled trades workers may not be entirely surprising for people to hear, but the rough estimate is that by 2020 we will need 320,000 new workers to fill that type of position. With the majority of our young population not willing to work for hard earned careers, it's understandable that one of the last things people want to do is to educate themselves to become skilled trades workers. As a country, it then seems that our simplest option would be to allow immigrants into the country to fill those jobs for us. However, the people educated to fill these positions cannot enter the country since their level of education does not award them enough points.
It may be unknown to the majority of our
population that Canada requires immigrants to have at least 80 hard earned
points to enter the country. Even if an immigrant posseses the maximum amount of
possible points in the four other categories, with only a certificate in
skilled trades they can find themselves four points short of entering Canada,
unless they are fluent in French or have arranged employment approved by HRDC.
This is because for 15 years of full time study, immigrants only earn 20
points, whereas if you have a master’s and 17 years of full time study, you are
awarded 25 points, something that still, if you are not proficient in English,
can keep you out of the country.
What then, do we as a country do, if our
need for skilled trades is slowly becoming desperate? It seems that the
simplest option would be to slightly adjust the education category so that each
level of education past high school is worth five more points than it currently
is. With this set in place, it would make it slightly easier for immigrants to
enter, while still requiring them to be proficient in English and the other
categories. By only raising the education value by five, the same immigrants
that have the maximum amount of points and a fifteen year education could find
themselves at 81 points, just enough to let them into the country. It may also
make it slightly easier for other immigrants to enter and possibly persuade
them to go to school for an extra year so that not only will they become five
points closer to entering the country, but also be more educated in the field
of work that they plan to pursue in Canada.