By Fabian Dawson
New Canadian Media

Canada must expand its Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) program to include international students studying at private/career colleges say experts in higher education.

“There are not enough seats in public universities and colleges so it would boost enrollments to record highs in private educational colleges if this system was unilaterally applied across the board,” said Patrick Dang, a 30-year veteran of Canada’s international student industry.

“We need to allow public and private educational institutions the possibilities to work in conjunction to create a seamless system that is not skewed only towards Public institutions being able to provide Post Graduate Work Permits,” said Dang, who now helms Seymour Education & Learning Centres (SELC) in Vancouver.

The current system now only allows public universities and private degree granting institutions the eligibility for their students to qualify for Post Graduate Work Permits.

By allowing international students attending private institutions to obtain post-graduate work permits, more international students will choose Canada, states the National Association of Career Colleges (NACC), which represents 500 regulated career colleges from across the country.

The group is lobbying Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to have the policy changed, estimating that the loss of revenue from international students because of the PGWP ineligibility of its members, at $120 million a year.

“Should international students attending career colleges be allowed to receive work permits, it is estimated that thousands of jobs would be created,” states the association.

The call to expand the PGWP program comes as a series of global surveys show Canada to be dominating the international student destination market.

One of them from IDP Connect, which had 3,650 respondents from 55 countries, found that more than one-third of the students surveyed rated Canada as their top choice for post-secondary studies.

Of those who chose Canada as a top option, 72 percent said they prioritize the ability to work part-time while studying, 66 percent prioritized the affordability of tuition fees and 64 percent prioritized the cost of living.

In an analysis of the study, IDP said: “Migration incentives and post-study work rights were…found to be strong drivers that could be used to influence which courses and in which countries students chose to study.”

The “main motivational driver for students was their future career opportunities”, with financial considerations driving decisions of where and what to study, including the ability to work part-time while studying, tuition fees and the cost of living.”

The survey showed that Canada was currently the most popular overseas study location for students questioned, most of whom hail from Asia, with a significant portion coming from Commonwealth countries.

The largest number were from India (1,133); the Philippines (583); Sri Lanka (456); Bangladesh (364); Nepal (174); Kenya (158); Indonesia (113); Malaysia (110); Pakistan (89); Vietnam (82); Canada (58); Thailand (51); Mauritius (39); China (39); and Turkey (22).

Simon Emmett, CEO at IDP Connect, said that countries that offer students clear outcomes for their investment in their education and a pathway to on-campus study will benefit most from the demand for overseas study.

Another study entitled Supporting Recovery and Driving Growth in Global Higher Education by

QS World reveals international students are once again showing increased confidence in Canada as a place to study due to the country’s successful COVID-19 vaccination program.

“Canada has a well-established position among the world’s leading study destinations,” said QS Quacquarelli Symonds on its website.

“The most popular Canadian provinces for international students are Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec,”

A third recent study by financial service provider Remitly, also showed Canada topping the rankings as the most desirable country for students around the world looking to pursue their studies.

“It’s not hard to see why Canada is so far ahead of the competition in our research, with the inhabitants of 36 countries searching to study here,” said the survey based on Google search data.

Dang of SELC said a good amount of job opportunities to help you earn while studying and after the course is complete is a key reason for Canada’s attractiveness as a top international student destination, said.

International students who are able to study and work off-campus at the same time for 20 hours a week as well as the ability to work 40 hours a week for students who have completed their courses, will also go along away to help Canada’s labour crunch, he said.

“The current labour crisis speaks to at least 1.5 million unfulfilled jobs in BC alone over the next five years,” he said.

In 2020, there were 530,540 international students in Canada at year's end.

The top five highest-paying part-time jobs for students in Canada according to an IDP study are;

• Freelancer

 Freelance work as a writer, a web designer, a copywriter, a graphic designer or a translator on average pays up to $25 per hour.

• Server/Bartender

This part-time job gives students more free time to focus on academics allowing them to earn between $12 and $15 an hour (tips not included), depending on the province of study.

• Ridesharing driver

A popular part-time job among international students in Canada is to become an Uber or Lyft driver with earnings being dependent on how often you drive. On average international students can get paid about $14-$25 per hour as a ridesharing driver.

• Tutor

Tutoring allows international students to choose their niche and market independently.  On average, you can get paid $15-20 per hour depending on the subject you teach and the number of students you acquire.

• Teacher’s assistant

A lot of teachers and professors in Canada hire teacher’s assistants to help them with tutoring students, creating lesson plans, facilitating class and checking paper works. The average pay is around $15-16 per hour.