Study Abroad: Canada hints at changes to post-study work rights

As per reports, there is an indication that the policy settings already introduced by the Canadian government, notably the enrolment cap. This move is expected to affect scores of Indian students.

Study in Canada: Untill now, international students have been able to come to Canada and take benefits of the post-study work rights through the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). However, after an internal IRCC briefing document reports that says, "PGWP [participation] increased by 214% in 2023 compared to 2018," it appears that the change in PGWP is likely soon.

PGWP states that international students may be eligible for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP), if they graduated from a designated learning institution (DLI) and want to stay in Canada temporarily to work.

Recently, Immigration Minister Marc Miller has made public statements related to these changes which says, "Work is underway to re-align the program to better meet targeted labour market needs and immigration objectives…The goal of re-aligning labour market needs is to facilitate access to work permits for students entering occupations in shortage, while reducing access for graduates from other programs. This could have a significant impact on the volume of international students and PGWP holders, if stringent tapering is applied to programs with lower labour market relevance. Advice on this issue will be provided to the Minister in spring 2024, with the goal of implementing changes in January 2025," as reported by Monitor.icef.

Simon Fraser University in Canada laid off dozens of staff

Amid the government's ongoing efforts to limit the number of international students, Simon Fraser University announced layoffs of staff. SFU told CBC News that the decline in international student enrolment, among other cost pressures, led to the changes. It says it is doing all it can to support people affected by the layoffs.

"As we move through these changes we are confident that this restructuring will ensure a stable and sustainable financial outlook for the university as we continue to prioritize teaching, learning and research," reads the university statement.

Scott Yano, an instructor for the ELC program at the university said he will be out of the job by the program's end. "[SFU] said it had something to do with the program not keeping up with current trends ... which is exactly the opposite of what we've heard from the interpretation community," Yano said.

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