{"id":140989,"date":"2017-12-21T21:10:37","date_gmt":"2017-12-22T02:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=140989"},"modified":"2017-12-21T21:10:37","modified_gmt":"2017-12-22T02:10:37","slug":"new-report-shows-software-engineers-and-designers-leading-ontario-nominees-in-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/12\/21\/new-report-shows-software-engineers-and-designers-leading-ontario-nominees-in-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"New report shows software engineers and designers leading Ontario nominees in 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: CIC News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new progress report on the Canadian province of Ontario\u2019s immigration strategy shows software engineers and designers as the leading occupation category among provincial nominees in 2017, and India and China as the top two source countries.<\/p>\n

The update by Ontario\u2019s Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration provides information on the\u00a0Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)<\/a>\u00a0and other key components of Ontario\u2019s immigration strategy, which was launched in 2012 to address a looming skilled labour shortage in the province.<\/p>\n

The OINP allows Ontario to nominate individuals and their families for permanent residence. Skilled workers, international students and entrepreneurs are among those targeted by the program. It also works with employers by supporting their efforts to attract and retain skilled workers.<\/p>\n

Ontario was allocated 6,000 nominations through\u00a0Canada\u2019s Provincial Nominee Program<\/a>\u00a0for 2017, its highest allocation in a decade. An additional allocation was subsequently received from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in December.<\/p>\n

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In its report, Ontario said improving the OINP and advocating for \u201csignificant increases\u201d to the number of nominees the province is allocated are vital to its immigration strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur gains in this regard have been significant, with Ontario\u2019s allocation increasing from 1,300 nominees in 2013 to 6,000 in 2017,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n

Software engineers and designers led the OINP\u2019s top five nominee occupation categories, followed by computer programmers and interactive media developers. The report said the majority of 2017 nominees are employed in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) occupations.<\/p>\n

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In terms of country of birth, the OINP reported India leading the way with 1,835 nominees as of Sept. 30, 2017. China was a close second at 1,608 nominees.<\/p>\n

Ontario pointed to the launch of two new immigration streams \u2014 the\u00a0Express Entry: Skilled Trades Stream<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream<\/a>\u00a0pilot \u2014 \u00a0as further evidence of its focus on improving the OINP\u2019s response to labour market needs in 2017.<\/p>\n