Visiting Canada for a vacation is an excellent idea, but you may soon find yourself hooked on hip-deep powder, beavertails, and poutine. Wanna stay longer? We take a look at jobs outside of ski season, and other requirements to live and work in Canada.
Photo © iStock/blakisu
Canada is an attractive country to live and work in. There are endless wilderness adventures to explore, beautiful modern cities, fantastic food, bustling night life in the major city centers, and lots of jobs! Canada can be pricey, so unless you’re sitting on a fat trust fund, you’ll need to work while living here.
- Work and Travel Visa to Canada
- Alternative Jobs to Search for in Canada
- Getting the Right Certification
- Best Canadian Cities to Work and Play
Work and Travel Visa to Canada
Getting a year-long work and travel visa to Canada isn’t hard, especially if you’re from a country with a bi-lateral governmental agreement. Australians can get up to 2 years!
There are also opportunities for professionals, and international internships. The program is called the International Experience Canada program (IEC).
To be eligible you must be: a citizen of a country with a bilateral agreement, between the ages of 18-30, and have at least $2,500 CAD in the bank to prove that you have enough funds to get started. One important thing to note, is that this opportunity will only be available to each candidate once, so make sure the timing is right for you.
There are more technicalities, to find out if you’re eligible, and about the program, click here.
Alternative Jobs to Search for in Canada
The tourism industry is a great place to find flexible, temporary employment, which is perfect for travelers, as it gives you the time off season to explore.
There are so many cool jobs to get into – rafting guide, adventure guide, driver, jobs in hotels, a zip line guide, dogsled guide, or top-rope rock climbing guide.
These jobs require certifications, which can be expensive. If you want to work in the adventure industry as an adventure guide, there are some certifications which will help you along the way.
Getting the Right Certification
A first aid certificate is perhaps the biggest asset for anyone wanting to work in the adventure tourism industry. It’s a mandatory requirement for most jobs.
There are 16 hour, 40 hour, and 80 hour courses. The 80 hour course qualifies candidates as Wilderness First Responders, this is the most expensive course, and will cost participants around $900 CAD. For more information, click here.
If you want to work in the food and beverage industry in British Columbia, a Serving It Right card is absolutely necessary. To find out more, click here. This is a quick and easy course to get.
For working in kitchens, a Food Safe certification will also be required, click here for more information. In both cases, having a 16 hour first aid certificate with CPR would be an asset.
Want to set yourself apart in the service industry? Visit the Go2HR Training and Education page and do the online courses for the Super Host program, or the Special Event Server, this would really impress potential employers. Click here to find out more.
Check out some of the websites below to get a sense of what the jobs require in terms of certifications. Great job search resources are:
- Go2HR Canada (for British Columbia)
- Whistler Pique News Mag employment section
- Discover Tourism Canada
- Cool Jobs in Canada
- Job Trekker
- Indeed Canada
Best Canadian Cities to Work and Play
The best cities in Canada to live, work, and play while on an IEC visa, are usually in need of tourism staff. Great target cities are: Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria, Tofino, Revelstoke, Canmore, Banff, Jasper, Quebec City, Toronto, Mont Tremblant, Montreal, and Halifax to name a few.
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