BC doesn't appear to have enough professionals to keep up with demand.
According to data obtained from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), B.C. attracted an average of 6,800 skilled worker immigrants per year between 1991 and 2010. Nearly a third of them are in the five largest professions in the province.
With a strong inventory of major infrastructure projects in B.C., engineers have remained one of the largest groups of skilled workers admitted in B.C. In 2010, about 12% of all skilled workers were in that professional category.
The number (736) has increased 65% from a nearly 20-year low (446) in 2009, it remains well below the peak year for immigration of engineers in 2001 when a third of all skilled workers (2,686) were in that category.
The number of imported health-care professionals has increased along with the growth in the province's health-care demands, especially since the Great Recession. According to CIC data, B.C. has attracted on average 79 physicians, dentists and veterinarians per year. However, the number has grown above average since 2004, jumping 80% in 2010 to 322 from 179 in 2009. The number of foreign nurses also jumped to 346 in 2010 from 83 in 2009, the biggest single-year jump since 1991.
Reflecting the challenges in the sector, the number of skilled science professionals coming to B.C. has waned in recent years. CIC reported 132 B.C. immigrants with science jobs in 2010, which is well below the annual average of 313 and off the two-decade high of 555 in 1999.
Demand for accountants and auditing professionals from abroad, however, has waned only slightly by comparison. B.C. has attracted more than 350 accounting professionals per year on average since 1991. CIC reported 375 skilled workers in the category in 2010, a 70% increased from a 15-year low of accounting immigrants moving to B.C. in 2009. •
Top five largest professional organizations in B.C.
