TECHDIGEST – Canada has unveiled its first-ever immigration tech talent mechanism that will establish new job opportunities for Nigerian citizens and others.

The new job opportunities are announced a few days after Germany passed an immigrant law created to encourage more people from outside the European Union to come to the country for work.

The talent strategy which was launched at the 2023 Collision Conference in Toronto includes new measures and improvements on existing measures to help businesses in Canada thrive in a competitive landscape, Toronto News reported.

“Over this year, Canada is going to be developing a specific stream for some of the world’s most highly talented people that will be able to come to Canada to work for tech companies whether they have a job offer or not,” Sean Fraser, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said on Tuesday.

“We are going to be launching a digital Nomads strategy which is going to allow people, who have a foreign employer to come and work in Canada for up to six months,” he said.

Fraser disclosed that talented people will reside in communities in the county and spend money and if land the job offers while they are here, will be allowed to continue to stay and work in the country.

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“Finally, we have been watching very closely what has been going on in the tech sector in the United States where we have seen a public narrative about layoffs. We have been having private conversations about opportunities” he added.

The minister said from July 16, they will have a stream that will allow 10,000 H-1B visa holders in the United States to come and work in Canada.

“The reality is that you have the ideas but you need the talents. You have told us that and we have been listening. We are going to do everything we can to push Canada as the destination where your ideas can become a reality,’ he said.

Canada’s aging population and lower birth rate have been shrinking its labour force, forcing the country to intensify its efforts to attract large, young and vibrant immigrants by offering immigration-friendly policies.

The country landed 437,120 Permanent Residents (PRs) in 2022, a nearly eight per cent rise from the total number of PRs in 2021, according to data the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Last year, the Canadian federal government announced a massive plan to take in 500,000 immigrants a year by 2025, with almost 1.5 million new immigrants coming to the country over the next three years.

“We’re enthusiastic about the ambitious goals we have set in immigration because they aren’t just about numbers—they are strategic. With this strategy, we’re targeting newcomers that can help enshrine Canada as a world leader in a variety of emerging technologies,” Fraser said.

Last month, Canada announced new measures to make it easier for families of recent immigrants to relocate to the country just a few days after the UK said it was restricting foreign students from bringing their families into the country starting next year.

That same month, the country announced that its express entry was now implementing a category-based selection to help tackle labour shortages and boost the economy.

Vanguard

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TECHDIGEST – In Nigeria, the last quarter of the year is often called the “JAPA” season. Japa is a term used in Nigeria to describe brain drain (emigration of trained experts from a country).

Over the years, international firms have had their pick of strong talents from the Nigerian tech talent pool. This year, Nigeria has recorded a lot of tech talents migrating from the country.

In an interview with Mike, a senior frontend engineer, who until he left the country, worked with a well-paying fintech company in Lagos, Nigeria. 

When asked why he left his great job behind, he explained that he was simply tired and “Simply could not do it anymore.”

Mike was a well-earning “tech bro” in Lagos and loved his job, but the mental stress that came with just existing in Nigeria was enough for him to leave his stable camp and set base in a new country. The final push to move came from being assaulted by the police because he refused to pay the officers for being with his work laptop.

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In Nigeria, this has almost become a norm. Young creatives and techies are tagged by the police as “Yahoo boys” when seen carrying their gadgets in public. This was the major catalyst of the END SARS protest held in 2020 in Nigeria.

Between 2014 and 2020, 474 Nigerian techies moved to the UK via the UK government’s Tech Talent VISA.

Mike, however, is among the population of techies that have had it going well for them; I doubt that the 27% of unemployed Nigerians would share in Mike’s sentiments.

The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics said that over 40 million Nigerians are out of jobs. This is alarming, as the country produces over 300,000 graduates from different higher institutions, leaving most of the qualified graduates jobless.

The health sector in Nigeria also shares in this massive effect of brain drain. As of 2019, the number of health practitioners reduced from 44,021 in 2018, to 24,640; and continues to dwindle as the years surpass.

What’s pushing them to leave the country?

It is only normal for fresh graduates to accept jobs abroad, especially when they are offered good money and great working conditions, but it gets alarming when established talents like Mike, who already have it all, drop everything and leave.

The corporate world in Nigeria is seemingly not in great shape, and employers continue to push their employees beyond humane expectations. 

In previous years, employees would suck it all up but now, people prioritize their mental health and safety first, before their jobs. 

The shift from the remote to on-site work style after the peak of the pandemic had a lot of employees quitting their jobs because they just couldn’t adapt to the old system anymore. 

Safety in Nigeria is another stressor that pushes almost everyone to IELTS registration centers and country embassies, coupled with the mass injustice meted out to employees that dare request the bare minimum of incentives that they are legally entitled to. 

How is the Japa mentality affecting the quality of tech talents in Nigeria?

One way to look at the effect of brain drain in Nigeria’s tech sector is the lack of experienced talents. Another perspective is having migrated techies come back to the country and set base.

The experience they have gathered from working with companies abroad will improve the quality of junior techies and other techies that may look up to them.

Source: Technovagh

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