Canada says having a pre-arranged job and fluency in either English or French have been proven as key to success for immigrants moving in under the Skilled Worker Program. According to Citizenship & Immigration Canada, the federal department responsible for immigration issues, a new evaluation found out that Canadian employers find skilled immigrants are meeting or even exceeding expectations.

“The evaluation showed that skilled immigrants are doing well in Canada and filling gaps in our work force,” said Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney. “This puts some dents in the doctors-driving-taxis stereotype.”

The evaluation studied immigrants who came under the Federal Skilled Worker programs between 2002 and 2008, and included surveys of skilled workers and employers, case studies and a sample of more than 1,800 individuals.

It found that besides having a job and being fluent in either, or both, of the country’s official languages, having worked in Canada before applying for immigration also played a significant role in the success of immigrants. Having a relative, or having studied for two years in Canada before applying for immigration were less significant factors in success, it found.

The evaluation found out that those skilled workers who had a job offer fared the best of all, and their earnings rose to almost 80,000 dollars three years after arriving in the country.

Generally, 89-percent of the federal skilled workers were employed or self-employed three years after arriving and employment earnings increased over time.

The study also quotes 95-percent of the employers claiming their skilled worker immigrants met or exceeded their expectations and two thirds of the employers said they had found it difficult to fill the position for which the immigrants were hired.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada early November stated that in 2011, between 240,000 and 265,000 immigrants will be accepted in the country, and between 74,000 and 80,000 of them will come under the Federal Skilled Worker class. (See SmartCanadian article titled Canada to Keep High Immigrant Numbers for 2011)

But Canada’s immigration program has also run into controversies over the year, as professionals with extensive experience abroad have reported that local companies refuse to recognize their qualifications and experience either during hiring or later.

And incidents of doctors driving cabs, or senior engineers or professors working as security officers have been well documented.

The federal, provincial and local governments have initiated a number of programs running into billions of dollars to rectify this situation.