Greetings everyone.
First things first, it seems like a very tight knit forum, so to all the members on here, at least the active ones, thanks in advance for any help anyone provides.
I would really like to know how to start preparing myself for eventual immigration to Canada. I would like to remain in Canada, and hence PR right off the bat seems like the better option, should it be possible. I'm currently busy with my Masters in Econometrics, in South Africa. I've been looking around the internet to see how the PNP programs work, the federal programs and so forth. I've also gathered that it can be quite difficult for foreigners to find jobs in Canada given that they have no Canadian experience, so simply finding a job isn't as easy as it sounds!
I've thus come up with a few questions I can't find answered officially on any of the government websites.
My first question relates to what is considered "Employment" and "full time"? This question seems to be central to many types of immigration procedures.
I am currently doing research for my department here in SA in energy economics. I also have contract-work experience with the government here, for which I did statistical modeling. The problem with both of these is that they have no 'hours' attached. To be fair, I would personally class it as part time because it takes the back seat when it comes to my studies and some weeks I don't do any work on it at all if I have exams and so forth.
I also at the same time have formal experience with 'hours' attached doing Teaching Assistant work. Officially, it my title is "Assistant Lecturer". The NOC code is 4122. To my understanding this falls under skill category "A". This work is however part time (14 hrs/week) and I have one years with of experience in this so far. The reason it is not more is because time constraints simply don't allow.
If I do a PHD then, I would most likely work as a teaching assistant again in the department of Economics/Statistics of the university where I go. Else there is no way I would be able to afford life in Canada. Could I possibly apply as a "Skilled worker" if the above checks out? The contracts are usually 'part time' and on a finite basis, for example 3 years (duration of you PHD), which I reckon could be problematic, but is it worth a shot?
Also, I have filled out the online questionnaire on the Quebec government website to see if I qualify for the points-based nomination program to that province. I was conservative and submitted my application with only having my masters (which admittedly is still a work in progress) and under 6 months experience. My french is quite strong, classed at the "Intermediate Advanced" level, meaning that I can hold a conversation and and read/write about things quite easily. I admittedly cannot however follow an academic seminar in french for example. The result thus hinged on one thing: Whether or not my degree was classified as a degree in Statistics & Probability or in Economics. Stats will give you 12 points, Economics none.
The work I want to do and the courses I am doing are predominantly statistics related. In my masters for example: 66% of the courses are stats courses. In my honors, this was a 50/50 split. I did do an undergraduate in Economics however and only shifted later.
My question is thus: Is there anywhere I can get a 'description' (French or English is great) about what is considered "Training in a particular field"? Also, If I apply as a provincial nominee to Quebec, am I obliged to work full time afterwards, or can I apply and state clearly that I have 'little to no' experience if the above described isn't counted as such and then use Permanent Residence status in Canada to study and work part time as I go along doing my PHD.
Any experiences anyone else has had that are similar to mine would also be great -- they may offer some insight or some random thing I hadn't thought of.
Thanks if you have read until here. This is quite a monster post.
Regards,
Aleksas.
First things first, it seems like a very tight knit forum, so to all the members on here, at least the active ones, thanks in advance for any help anyone provides.
I would really like to know how to start preparing myself for eventual immigration to Canada. I would like to remain in Canada, and hence PR right off the bat seems like the better option, should it be possible. I'm currently busy with my Masters in Econometrics, in South Africa. I've been looking around the internet to see how the PNP programs work, the federal programs and so forth. I've also gathered that it can be quite difficult for foreigners to find jobs in Canada given that they have no Canadian experience, so simply finding a job isn't as easy as it sounds!
I've thus come up with a few questions I can't find answered officially on any of the government websites.
My first question relates to what is considered "Employment" and "full time"? This question seems to be central to many types of immigration procedures.
I am currently doing research for my department here in SA in energy economics. I also have contract-work experience with the government here, for which I did statistical modeling. The problem with both of these is that they have no 'hours' attached. To be fair, I would personally class it as part time because it takes the back seat when it comes to my studies and some weeks I don't do any work on it at all if I have exams and so forth.
I also at the same time have formal experience with 'hours' attached doing Teaching Assistant work. Officially, it my title is "Assistant Lecturer". The NOC code is 4122. To my understanding this falls under skill category "A". This work is however part time (14 hrs/week) and I have one years with of experience in this so far. The reason it is not more is because time constraints simply don't allow.
If I do a PHD then, I would most likely work as a teaching assistant again in the department of Economics/Statistics of the university where I go. Else there is no way I would be able to afford life in Canada. Could I possibly apply as a "Skilled worker" if the above checks out? The contracts are usually 'part time' and on a finite basis, for example 3 years (duration of you PHD), which I reckon could be problematic, but is it worth a shot?
Also, I have filled out the online questionnaire on the Quebec government website to see if I qualify for the points-based nomination program to that province. I was conservative and submitted my application with only having my masters (which admittedly is still a work in progress) and under 6 months experience. My french is quite strong, classed at the "Intermediate Advanced" level, meaning that I can hold a conversation and and read/write about things quite easily. I admittedly cannot however follow an academic seminar in french for example. The result thus hinged on one thing: Whether or not my degree was classified as a degree in Statistics & Probability or in Economics. Stats will give you 12 points, Economics none.
The work I want to do and the courses I am doing are predominantly statistics related. In my masters for example: 66% of the courses are stats courses. In my honors, this was a 50/50 split. I did do an undergraduate in Economics however and only shifted later.
My question is thus: Is there anywhere I can get a 'description' (French or English is great) about what is considered "Training in a particular field"? Also, If I apply as a provincial nominee to Quebec, am I obliged to work full time afterwards, or can I apply and state clearly that I have 'little to no' experience if the above described isn't counted as such and then use Permanent Residence status in Canada to study and work part time as I go along doing my PHD.
Any experiences anyone else has had that are similar to mine would also be great -- they may offer some insight or some random thing I hadn't thought of.
Thanks if you have read until here. This is quite a monster post.
Regards,
Aleksas.
