Evaluation of the Canadian Experience Class
6 Conclusions and Recommendation
In light of the findings presented throughout this report, the evaluation offers the following conclusions, and proposes a corresponding recommendation for moving forward with the CEC as the department continues to fully implement Express Entry.
There is a need for a quick and simple pathway to permanent residence for international students and temporary foreign workers, as currently provided by the CEC program. While the CEC has similar offerings to the PNP, the program is complementary and consistent with federal roles and responsibilities. The CEC is a small but significant program within CIC’s suite of economic immigration programs, bridging Canada’s temporary and permanent resident program objectives, and is aligned with GoC priorities to create a fast and flexible immigration system to better meet Canada’s labour market needs.
Application intake and admissions under the CEC increased over time, and the CEC has contributed to the supply of skilled workers in Canada. There is now a general awareness of the CEC, and CIC, as well as other stakeholders, have done some promotion to foster this awareness.
At the time of the evaluation, CEC PAs were most often single, with a university education and knowledgeable of at least one of Canada’s official languages upon admission. There were also some key differences between the profiles of PAs under the CEC and other economic programs, as well as between the worker and student streams of the CEC. A greater share of CEC PAs were younger and single compared to PAs admitted under the FSW and PN programs, with a greater percentage of those admitted under the student stream (compared to the worker stream) reflecting this profile.
CEC PAs were establishing economically and integrating socially in Canada, with little reliance on social assistance and CIC settlement services. The incidence of employment among CEC PAs in the first few years following admission was higher than that among FSW PAs. CEC PAs, notably those under the worker stream, also, on average, had higher earnings than FSW PAs. Most CEC PAs were accessing the labour market quickly, and were finding employment commensurate with their education, training and expertise. Some had family ties in Canada, and most had plans to stay in Canada, with very little mobility occurring within the country.
Furthermore, CEC program management was sufficiently coordinated, supporting program delivery through adequate information, tools, and training, and program integrity was being maintained. The CEC design was simple, application processing was timely, and program delivery was centralized, relatively efficient and aligned with CIC’s modernization initiative.
Overall, the findings of this evaluation are positive. The CEC has been successful in achieving its intended outcomes, providing a timely pathway to permanent residence for skilled immigrants who are able to successfully integrate in Canada. However, Canada has now changed its overall approach to economic immigration through the introduction of Express Entry. Under Express Entry, CEC program implementation could lead to the selection of CEC candidates with a human capital profile and resulting economic outcomes that are different from those observed in the current evaluation, and thus, may have implications for the continued relevance and performance of the CEC program in the future.
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