As part of the Execu-Nannies family, we wanted to keep you up to date on what has been happening with regard to the Home Child Care and Home Support Worker pilot programs that went into effect on June 18, 2019. We continue to receive calls and emails every day inquiring about the availability of live-in nannies and many are surprised when we report on the state of the market.
The nanny market is mostly served by applicants who originated in the Philippines and came to Canada by way of Hong Kong or other countries/regions in the area. When the government cancelled the previous In-Home Caregiver pilot program suddenly, the flow of new caregivers to Canada came to a halt. The need for overseas caregivers is undeniable when looking at the demand for qualified nannies and the lack of available labour.
The new program requires a processing time of at least 12 months plus the time your prospective nanny needs to obtain the necessary documents to apply; an approved English test and an education credential certificate. Exacerbating this issue, the protests in Hong Kong have caused many English tests to be cancelled and the timeline for processing the education assessment has grown longer due to the sudden increased demand.
In addition to cancelling the previous caregiver program early without any feasible option for timely hiring of overseas nannies and caregivers, the government opened an interim pathway for many of the existing members of the caregiver program in Canada to apply for permanent residency up to 1 year earlier than usual. Not only were Canadian families presented with a new program that would take twice as long, the foreign workers who were already in Canada started dropping out of the live-in nanny market as they received their open permits and permanent residency way ahead of schedule.
The result is the markets around Canada who have high need for live-in nannies, such as suburban and rural locations in all of the provinces, are getting a huge shock when they look for a new nanny 3-6 months in advance like they always have. When presented with a timeline of 12-16 months, they tell us that they don’t know what they will do in the mean time.
Our recommendation to our Execu-Nannies families is to start an Overseas Job Offer under one of the new pilot programs as soon as they can. If you expect to need a nanny in the next 12-16 months, starting the process now will ensure you are prepared. We would be glad to consult with you on your future needs whenever you have time. The purpose of this post is just to let you know how the landscape has changed and the time you need to prepare for your next hire is much different than before. Your new nanny may have arrived just 6 months or a year ago but it may be time to start looking to the future now.
Contact us at 416-221-6000 or info@execunannies.com for more information.
