Is it easy to get a Job in Whistler Canada in spring?

[Nina]

I am planning to go to Canada at the end of March/ the beginning of April, how hard will it be to get a job? is there many jobs going at this time of year?

[Roger K]

If you are not a Canadian citizen, it will be <<impossible>> to get a job - at least a legal job.

I don't know if there is any special UK/Canada deal that helps if you are a UK citizen.

In any case, jobs can be many or few depending on what kind of a job you are looking for. We have no idea at all about the answer to that. Whistler is rather small and remote, so jobs may be very scarce.

[Jim B]

You CANNOT work in Canada ..... Unless you apply for and receive a work permit, from the Canadian Government. Period.

Have you applied, yet ?

This is the law, in Canada.

Jim B

Toronto.

[thinkingtime]

Do you have a visa? Even if you do, there are few jobs in Whistler at the end of the ski season.

[bw022]

Not going to happen. It is illegal to work or look for work in Canada unless you have a valid work permit. It is also pointless since no company can hire you without a social insurance number (SIN).

In order to apply for a work permit, you must have an approved job offer from a Canadian company which has permission to hire foreign workers. That company must have applied for and received a labour market opinion (LMO) report from HRSDC which shows a shortage of workers in Canada in that profession and proof that they advertised in Canada and no one applied. Positive LMOs are only issued for highly skilled professions (doctors, engineers, nurses, specialized trades, etc.) or highly temporary jobs (seasonal farm workers, off-season hotel workers, some ski resorts, etc.).

That company must send you a job offer letter and the original LMO and you must submit both with your work permit application. No LMO... no work permit. It also takes months to apply for one and you must pass background, medical, and financial checks.

Young people from certain countries may be able to apply for a temporary work permit through the International Experience Canada program. This is commonly known as a "working holiday visa". It is essentially an exchange program for young people (18-30) and the number of visas issued is limited to the number of similar visas issued to Canadians. Thus, the numbers are extremely limited and typically program is only open to applications for a couple of thousand visas two or three times a year. It is currently closed in most countries while they negotiate numbers. Even when open, completion is extreme and it takes several months of checks.

The Whistler ski resort itself does not issue LMOs at any time of the year. It will only consider job applications from Canadians, permanent residents, or current work permit holders. Unemployment in Canada is now such that they have little problems finding workers. Further, the end of March is approaching hopeless time. They ski season will be over and by May millions of Canadian university and high school students will be out of school and able to take summer jobs. No company is likely to need to look outside of Canada for unskilled workers, nor need to go through a long process to get permission to hire any.

[Jeff H]

Well the first step in working in Canada, as the other answers have stated, is getting a work visa whether it be a temporary or other. You need to contact the Canadian consulate nearest where you live or go online and send an inquiry that way. Unless you have the necessary visa you cannot look for a job.

Now, assuming you have a visa permitting you to work in Canada and go to Whistler will you have trouble finding employment? Since the ski season is ending yes, you may have problems finding employment unless you happen to have a particular skill set that is in demand year round in Whistler. It used to be said that the hardest part about finding a job in Whistler is finding a place to live, if you have a place to live, you can find a job. Unfortunately this statement is not totally true anymore although finding a place to live in or near Whistler is an important step. No employer in Whistler will hire an individual that does not have a place to live while there. I have spoken to employers who have had to let people go because they were unable to find accommodation. Once you have a place to live then you can look for a job. A lot of the employment in Whistler is seasonal and many of the employees will work only for a particular season. Many like to be up there for the ski season so there generally are jobs available once it ends. However you will be competing with more people for fewer jobs so finding one will be difficult.