Working Holiday in Canada

  Canada

Abbotsford,  Banff,  Barrie,  Calgary,  Edmonton,  Guelph,  Halifax,  Hamilton,  Jasper,  Kamloops,  Kelowna,  Kingston,  Kitchener,  Lethbridge,  London,  Mississauga,  Montreal,  Niagara Falls,  Oakville,  Ottawa,  Peterborough,  Quebec City,  Richmond,  St. John's,  Surrey,  Thunder Bay,  Tofino,  Toronto,  Vancouver,  Victoria,  Waterloo,  Whistler,  Windsor,  Winnipeg

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer, Throughout the year, Trimester, Winter 
Length of Position: up to 1 year work in Canada
Dates: all year round

Description: Citizens of the following countries can participate: Australia, New Zealand, Eire, Great Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Rep., Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Poland, Chile, Korea, Rep.

+ Jobs Offered: Destinations, Positions, Salaries

Working Holiday jobs are available either in the cities or resorts. Positions we arrange interviews will be at a restaurant, coffee shop, supermarket, retail shop, deli or other related services within the hospitality industry. The more experience in customer service student has, the wider choice can be available. Students should understand that this is not a professional internship program, thus previous education and career plans for the future can be different from the positions offered. Positions offered are based on duration of placement, English communication skills and related work experience. The longer placement term is taken into consideration, the more opportunities are available.

Examples of positions: Coffee Shop Clerk, Food and Beverage Server, Room Attendant (Housekeeper), Customer Service Clerk, Kitchen Help, Casher, Retail Sales Clerk, Grocery Shop Assistant, Sports Equipment Rental Clerk, Lift Operator, etc.

Working Holiday participants can come to Canada all year round. We encourage our clients to enter Canada from April to October, because this is the best time to arrange your employment. Canada is highly influenced by tourism, and from April or May retail, restaurant and hospitality market starts to pick up.

British Columbia destination has more resorts to offer than Ontario. Vancouver (West Coast) is surrounded by Mountains, lakes and the Pacific Ocean. Travel time from Vancouver to the BC resorts can be from 2 to 16 hours (transportation is paid a participant). For example, from Vancouver to BC interior destinations like Kamloops is about 6 hours drive and from Vancouver to Banff is about 15 hours by bus. You can also choose to fly to Calgary and transfer by bus from Calgary to Banff. These are the top Canadian travel spots and international tourist attractions. Tourists pay a lot of money to come and visit those destinations for a few days, but Working Holiday participants get a chance to live & work in these beautiful places for a season or even two. Resorts start hiring for a summer season (summer tourism season: May to October) from February to early March. If a participant is interested in applying for resort placement, it is better to do it early. Resort employers usually offer staff housing at a cost much cheaper than Vancouver or Toronto living. It is about 300 to 400 dollars a month average. Each resort employer offer different meal plans, arrival instructions and terms & conditions of working and living.

Minimum placement offered both for City and Resort positions is 4 month, but students can get more opportunities in terms of job search and placement if they are able to stay and work longer.

Average minimum wage in Canada is 8.90 dollars per hour (can vary depending on position and province). Some cases (experience required) will be paid a few dollars more than the stated minimum wage.

Resort staff housing cost may be deducted from pay and Provincial Tax, Federal Tax and Employment Insurance costs will be deducted from the amount paid out every two weeks.

If a salary is 1,000 dollars a month, a net amount (before housing cost) will be about 900 to 930.00 dollars. If a salary is 2,000 a month dollars, a net amount (before housing cost) will be about 1650 to 1700.00.

The Placement Services include:
* Phone interview before arrival to determine expectations and English language level
* Arrival orientation (obtaining Social Insurance Number, Bank account opening, Internet use options available, Cell phone, memberships, discounts, tourist information, etc.)
* Initial consultation and determination of possibilities
* 1:1 interview training
* Resume support
* Company search and interview arrangement
* On-going support and follow-up with a participant and an employer

City Placement:

When a candidate arrives for the City Placement, in a city they are going to meet either Vancouver or Toronto internship advisors. Before the arrival, our advisors have already corrected candidate's resume and started contacting employers suitable for candidate's experience and skills. There will be an interview arranged for the candidate by or after the arrival usually within the next 2 to 3 days.

Resort Placement:

If a candidate applies for Resort Placement early in advance for the program, has strong English communication and has some skills that employers want to secure (hospitality experience), there is a chance that an employment can be arranged before arrival by phone interview. If there is a different case, then a candidate will need to have face to face interview after arrival and 1:1 training. It means that the candidate will need to stay in Vancouver or Toronto from one to two weeks before placed.

Highlights: Registration
We need to receive by e-mail a copy of candidate's passport (picture page), application form, resume and a short cover letter about skills and expectations for the Working Holiday Program. Basically, a brief self-introduction and motivation description letter is what we and later employers will be interested in for. Sometimes portrait pictures also help, so that we have all your profile for the employers when we arrange your interview if you are outside Canada.

After getting your information, we will need to do a phone interview to verify the basic information, get to know the candidate before the acceptance and discuss a little bit more about the positions, locations and other employment related topics.

English Language Study in Canada

We conduct a phone (or face to face if in Canada) interview with each candidate applying for the Working Holiday Program in order to determine the English language level. Many candidates need extra language instruction for one or more months before they would be able to secure any job in Canada. The interview report will show whether extra language study is recommended or not necessary to secure a job in Canada. In case the study is recommended, we will help a student to arrange a course. Depending on student goals and budget 15 - 30 or more lessons of English instruction a week can be taken for a price of 150 to 300 dollars CAN a week. We have partner schools all over Canada, and the prices can be slightly different depending on the school.

As stated above, in order to qualify for an Internship in Canada, students from the countries not having the Youth Mobility Agreement with Canada MUST attend at least 50% study of the total length of their stay before they start working in Canada. In this case, for example, for 16 weeks of work a student must first take and pay for at least 16 weeks of study.

Accommodation

We can offer you different types of accommodation.

Candidates coming to the cities for a short period of time and moving to resorts for a Resort Placement can apply for a Hostel Package. Hostel Package costs approximately CAN 110 dollars (depending on a season) and includes 3 nights stay in dorm/shared room, breakfast, bus transfer pass from airport to downtown; additional night accommodation costs start from 25 dollars. For Resort Placement, once placement is done and confirmed, staff housing can be available for staff working at resorts. Some resorts have space for 100 and up and some resorts have space for less than 20 staffs. Cost for housing is different depending on location and pay. Higher pay means that cost of living may be high as well. Ask about staff meal plan during placement process.

Homestay Placement is usually the best options for those staying to work in the cities. It costs CAN 1000 dollars and includes personal airport pick up and drop off to their Homestay with 3 meals, private room and shared bath (1st 4 weeks cost included), additional week accommodation cost around 175 dollars. We do not recommend Homestay package for candidates seeking Resort Placement. Few nights of stay in Vancouver or Toronto before transferring to resort will be sufficient enough.

Accommodation for the students coming first to study English language can be arranged as well. Please ask for the application and information for this.

Visa Application

We ask that candidates and their agencies outside Canada to look after visa applications and other travel documents needed to come to Canada. It will be their duty to review cic.gc.ca site, local embassy and market specific information from the official immigration site and understand type of documents and how to prepare supporting documents required. The visa process and requirements vary depending on the country of origin.

Qualifications: Placement requirements:
- Speak English at a high intermediate level or better (if a student needs extra language instruction, please refer to the Language Study section)
- Be available to work for at least 16 weeks
- Have a positive attitude and be interested in experience a new culture and travelling

Working Holiday VISA to Canada

Citizens of the following countries can participate: Australia, New Zealand, Eire, Great Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Rep., Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Poland, Chile, Korea, Rep.

To join this program you must meet visa requirements for citizens of your country. You will find visa information on our website (Immigration Canada). You will need a work permit to join the working holiday program. If you are from some countries you will need also study before you work.

If you are from one of these countries, you can join the program directly and you do not need to study first (but you can if you want).

Participating countries:

Australia, New Zealand, Eire, Great Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Rep., Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Poland, Chile, Korea, Rep.

Canada expands the Youth Mobility Program and negotiates prospective agreements with other countries, therefore the list of countries may change. Please check with your local Canadian embassy.

IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a limited number of working holiday visas for each of the countries listed above. If there are no remaining visas for citizens of your country, you can still come to Canada with a study and work permit - this allows you to work in Canada not longer than your study period in Canada. Or, if you are not from one of those countries, you will need to apply for a study and work permit. This allows you to work in Canada not longer than your study period in Canada. For example, if your study of English language in Canada is 4 months, you can work in Canada up to 4 months.

Cost in US$: 800 - 1345

If extra English language study required before starting an internship, help with admission process to a language school in Canada is free.

Services include:
- phone interview before arrival to determine expectations and English level;
- initial consultation upon arrival;
- 1:1 interview training;
- resume support and company search;
- follow-up with an intern and an employer.

Additional fees:

* Pre-arrival
- nternship arrangement and a letter issuance fee: + 100.00 CDN + 45.00 CDN for shipment of an offer letter;
- Services leading to the placement in any city other than Vancouver or Toronto: + 100.00 CDN.

* Pre-arrival placement letter is required for certain types of visas. Please consult the official web-site of the Canadian consulate servicing your country.

Accommodation services available:

Airport pre-arranged shuttle + 3 nights hostel - 110 CDN
Airport personal pickup + 4 weeks homestay - 1000 CDN

Hostel package includes 3 nights stay in dorm/shared room, breakfast, bus transfer pass from airport to downtown; additional night accommodation costs start from 25 CDN.

Homestay placement includes personal airport pick up and drop off to the Homestay with 3 meals, private room and shared bath (1st 4 weeks cost included), additional week accommodation cost around 200 CDN. The homestay option is recommended for internships in Canadian cities. We do not recommend Homestay package for candidates seeking Resort Placement. Few nights of stay in Vancouver or Toronto before transferring to a resort will be sufficient enough.

For Resort Placement, once placement is done and confirmed, staff housing can be available for staff working at resorts. Some resorts have space for 100 and up and some resorts have space for less than 20 staffs. Cost for housing is different depending on location and pay. Higher pay means that cost of living may be high as well. Ask about staff meal plan during placement process.

Payment plan:

Initial payment: 50% of service fee + (optional) 145 CDN pre-arrival internship offer
Final payment: 50% of service fee + housing cost if requested

Salary / Pay: Average minimum wage in Canada is 8.90 dollars per hour (can vary depending on position and province). Some cases (experience required) will be paid a few dollars more than the stated minimum wage. Resort staff housing cost may be deducted from pay and Provincial Tax, Federal Tax and Employment Insurance costs will be deducted from the amount paid out every two weeks. If a salary is 1,000 dollars a month, a net amount (before housing cost) will be about 900 to 930.00 dollars. If a salary is 2,000 dollars a month, a net amount (before housing cost) will be about 1650 to 1700.00 dollars.

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to American, Asian, Australian and European Participants.

Participants Travel to Canada Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Phone Interview
• Resume
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Job and Internship Network

WISH Canada Recruit Inc.'s Mission Statement: To develop valuable career development & experience programs for international applicants coming to Canada for internships. To provide working holiday makers with landing packages including hostel or other accommodation, job arrangement, follow up & support etc.

Year Founded: 2005