Nova Scotia has added three new jobs to its Occupations In-Demand Canada immigration stream, in an attempt to help the struggling restaurant industry in the province.

The province’s department for Labour, Skills and Immigration, announced on Wednesday that the following jobs would be added to the fast-track permanent residence pathway:

• NOC 6513 (Food and beverage servers).
• NOC 6711 (Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations).
• NOC 6731 (Light duty cleaners).

The change means a Labour Market Impact Assessment is no longer needed to hire foreign workers in these occupations. Neither do the candidates have to work for six months before applying for permanent residence through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP).

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“We’re excited to welcome newcomers who can help employers meet their labour needs and grow Nova Scotia’s population,” said Jill Balser, Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration. 

“The tourism, restaurant and hospitality sectors are critical to our economy. These changes will help these industries hire the workers they need to prepare for a busy tourism season.”

The new jobs join the existing ones targeted by the stream, namely:

• NOC 3413 (Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates).
• NOC 7511 (Transport truck drivers).
• NOC 7521 (Heavy equipment operators (except crane)).
• NOC 7611 (Construction trades helpers and labourers).

Full requirements for the Occupations In-Demand Stream are outlined below.

Nova Scotia Occupations in Demand Requirements

• Full-time permanent job offer from a Nova Scotia employer in:
  • NOC 3413 (Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates).
  • NOC 6513 (Food and beverage servers).
  • NOC 6711 (Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations).
  • NOC 6731 (Light duty cleaners).
  • NOC 7511 (Transport truck drivers).
  • NOC 7521 (Heavy equipment operators (except crane)).
  • NOC 7611 (Construction trades helpers and labourers).
• One year of work experience related to the job.
• Be aged 21 to 55.
• High school diploma.
• Appropriate training, skills and/or accreditation for the job.
• Prove language ability equal to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) Level 4 even if your first language is English or French.
• Show financial resources to successfully settle in Nova Scotia.

Immigration to Fuel Nova Scotia’s Economic Recovery

Population growth fuelled primarily by immigration is expected to help Nova Scotia’s economy recover this year as the COVID-19 crisis subsides.

“Nova Scotia’s recovery should be helped by improved population growth, which in turn will benefit from higher federal immigration targets and the decision to make the Atlantic Immigration Pilot program permanent,” noted TD Economics in their annual economic forecast.

“Population growth has been central to the province’s improved economic performance in recent years and has even held up relatively well thus far.”

The bank’s chief economist Beata Caranci, deputy chief economist Derek Burleton, and economists Rishi Sondhi and Omar Abdelrahman predict the Nova Scotia economy will grow by 4.2 per cent this year and 2.4 per cent in 2022.

That is lower than the forecasted average economic growth of 4.9 per cent for this year and 3.8 per cent in 2022 for Canada.

A return to more normal levels of immigration, which would drive population growth, is considered to be essential for Nova Scotia’s economic recovery.

As the global pandemic and the border restrictions imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19 crippled economies throughout the world, they also slowed immigration to Nova Scotia.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s figures for last year show 53.8 per cent fewer foreign nationals became new permanent Canadian citizens in Nova Scotia last year, only 4,075, compared to 7,580 in 2019.