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VICTORIA
– The British Columbia Provincial
Nominee Program (PNP) has exceeded its 2007/08 target of attracting 1,730
skilled workers and entrepreneurs to B.C., announced Economic Development
Minister Colin Hansen.
In the past year, 1,881 skilled and business immigrants
have made B.C. their home through the PNP; this exceeds the target by 151
people, or almost nine per cent. It is also 41 per cent more than the number of
nominees in fiscal 2006/07.
“These
numbers reflect the fact that the PNP continues to do its job of making it easier and quicker for people who have the skills or who want to
start businesses to come to B.C.,” said
Hansen. “Since it was created in 2001, the
PNP has consistently exceeded its targets and been very successful in helping
to address the current skills and labour
shortage in the province.”
The PNP is an immigration program designed to allow B.C.
to select skilled workers and entrepreneurs based on their ability to
contribute to the local economy. Nominees receive expedited processing of their
applications for work permits and permanent residence. Since it was introduced
in March 2001, over 4,770 skilled and business immigrants have been approved
through the PNP.
“Even
with the success of exceeding the target for last year, we are not satisfied,
and have now set the target of helping at least 3,000 skilled and business
immigrants call B.C. home via the PNP in 2008/09,” said Hansen. “With B.C.
needing to attract an estimated 30,000 skilled workers from outside the
province each year, I’m confident the PNP will continue to play a large part in
helping to achieve that goal.”
In
2002, the program was expanded to allow business immigrants seeking to invest and
start businesses in B.C. to apply. Since that time, more than 350 nominee
candidates have been approved who have committed more than $500 million in new
investment to the province and helped create more than 1,750 new jobs.
The
top employment sectors for the provincial nominees are: health care (893);
skilled trades (783); high-tech and information technology (603); and
post-secondary education (455). The top five countries where these skilled
workers are coming from are: the United Kingdom (897); the United States (580);
China (434); Germany (291); and Korea (267).
For
more information on the Provincial Nominee Program, visit www.pnp.gov.bc.ca.
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Communications Director 250 952-0152 |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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