Nova Scotia offering immigration pathways to food service workers

Nova Scotia is now accepting immigration applications from food service workers through its Occupations in Demand stream.

The pandemic hit the restaurant industry hard. As such, Canada has been experiencing labour shortages in food services. Nova Scotia is no exception.

To address the issue, Nova Scotia added three new eligible occupations to its Occupations in Demand immigration stream. They are listed here in order of their National Occupational Classification (NOC) code:

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

Employers will be able to hire these workers without needing to do a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Also, the employee will not need to work with the employer for six months before applying to Nova Scotia's Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), according to the media release.

“We’re excited to welcome newcomers who can help employers meet their labour needs and grow Nova Scotia’s population,” Jill Balser, Nova Scotia's immigration minister, said in the release. “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.”

Nova Scotia's Occupations in demand stream targets specific occupations that fall under NOC skill levels C and D. These skill levels have historically been called "low-skilled" or "unskilled" occupations, but since the pandemic, the preference has been to call them "essential" occupations.

As of July 1, Nova Scotia's population was at an all-time high of 992,055, which the province credits to increased immigration.

Eligibility for the Occupations in Demand stream

In order to apply for a provincial nomination from Nova Scotia through the Occupations in Demand stream, you need to have a full-time job offer in one of the following occupations:

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)), or
NOC 7611 (Construction trades helpers and labourers)

You also need to have at least one year of work experience related to the job, and be between the ages of 21 to 55 years old.

At minimum, you need a high school diploma, plus the appropriate training, skills or accreditation for the job. You need to prove that you have a language ability of at least a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) Level 4 in English or French, even if it is your first language.

Also, you will need to show that you have enough financial resources to settle in Nova Scotia.

The application form is available online at the government of Nova Scotia website.

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