Hard-to-Fill Skills Pilot Employer Requirements

As of January 11, 2024, the Hard-to-Fill Skills Pilot is closed for a program review, to be completed in Spring 2024. Occupations in the health care, agriculture or value-add agriculture sectors are excluded from the closure. Job Approval Forms received prior to January 11, 2024, will be processed if candidates were identified at the time of submission or if existing employees working in Saskatchewan are added by January 22, 2024. The other program categories and sub-categories of the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program remain open. More information can be found at: Employer Hard-to-Fill Skills QAs.

As a temporary measure to support Ukrainian nationals, the SINP will be waiving the four week advertising requirement for Job Approval Forms submitted with a Ukrainian candidate identified. For more information about this temporary measure, please contact employerservices@gov.sk.ca.

Please note that to support employers and reduce barriers to recruitment, the SINP will accept some related work experience for applications under the Hard-to-Fill Skills (HFS) Pilot in select occupations. More information can be found under Hard-to-Fill Skills eligibility.

Employers can utilize the Hard-to-Fill Skills Pilot to recruit workers in select intermediate and low-skilled occupations if you demonstrate that you have attempted to find workers through domestic recruitment activities prior to hiring foreign nationals; are prepared to support the settlement of your employee as a permanent resident of Saskatchewan; and the employment offer meets SINP requirements.

Recruitment Efforts

Prior to submitting the Job Approval Form (JAF) to the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP), you must advertise each position being recruited on SaskJobs for a minimum of four consecutive weeks; in the three months prior to submitting the JAF.

The required job advertisement information includes:

• Company operating name
• Business address
• Title of the position
• Job duties (for each position, if advertising is for more than one vacancy)
• Skills requirements (includes education and work experience)
• Terms of employment (must be full-time (30+ hours), permanent position)
• Language of work
• Benefits package offered (if applicable)
• Location(s) of work (local area, city or town)
• Contact information, including telephone number, cell phone number, email address, fax number, or mailing address
• It is strongly recommended that the wage is included.

In the JAF you must upload a copy of the SaskJobs Job Order Information page showing the date the advertisement was listed and the length of the advertisement and provide the SaskJobs ID; or you can provide the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for a foreign worker already working for your business. See the Employers Guide to Printing SaskJobs Order Information for how to print your SaskJobs order information.

An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) is not a required document; however, attainment of an ECA is encouraged as it can help to verify whether an international worker has the education required for their intended occupation in Canada.

Settlement

If the worker you hired meets SINP criteria, they will be approved and nominated, which means that they can apply for a work permit. Once your new employee arrives and starts working, you must fulfill program settlement requirements, including assigning a culturally sensitive on-the-job mentor to the employee, and undertaking any two of the following action items.

1. Attend intercultural training, educational seminars, conferences, or information sessions related to supporting and/or retaining newcomers. There are numerous organizations in Saskatchewan that deliver programming related to intercultural education, anti-racism and inclusion or diversity training. Employers can also access resources from the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion.
2. Make referrals for newcomers to access settlement services, community resources, groups, associations, and/or community organizations. Settlement agencies can provide you with information about support for newcomers. Please visit Settlement Services for information on our Regional Newcomer Gateways or Programs and Settlement Services to search for supports by location.
3. Offer team-building activities within the workplace to promote cross-cultural understanding and awareness, or establish a workplace diversity and inclusion committee. Saskculture.ca has a number of resources on their website, including this resource: Building Culturally Competent Organizations.
4. Provide time off or a flexible work schedule to newcomer employees to allow for language training, appointments with settlement counsellors, enrolling children in school, applying for health cards, obtaining a driving licence, etc.

The supports, including assigning a culturally sensitive on-the-job-mentor and the two selected action items, must be provided as follows:

• For existing employees nominated through the HFS Pilot - within three months of nomination date.
• For new employees nominated through the HFW Pilot - within three months of the nominees arrival in Saskatchewan.

When you submit your Job Approval Form, you must upload the Employer Supports Form, which will indicate what actions you are committed to taking to support the employee's settlement.

Eligible Occupations

* This pilot is not available to employers hiring Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations (NOC 44101) who reside in the client's residence or their place of work. Employers seeking workers to reside in the client's residence or their place of work must utilize Canada's Caregiver Programs for recruitment.

The wages, hours, location, etc., for the employment offer must meet the SINP requirements.

How to Apply

The Employer Job Approval Form process can be found at Recruit and Hire Foreign Workers in Saskatchewan.