REGINA - There was some cautious optimism expressed that last week’s changes to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada to international student program policy won’t impact Saskatchewan too significantly.
Saskatchewan Colleges said in a news release that it was “pleased to see” that the IRCC policy changes were not blanketed nationally.
The federal announcement policy changes are set to result in a national reduction of international students in Canada, and changes to the length of post-graduate work permits.
Despite this, Saskatchewan Colleges, which is an international recruitment and admissions partnership between Great Plains, North West and Suncrest College, states that Saskatchewan is one of few provinces positioned to see a provincial allocation of international students that allows for reasonable increases from 2022 levels.
“We are working closely with our post-secondary partners and the provincial government to ensure that rural voices are heard and that we are provided the opportunity to continue to serve our communities and local economies through international education,” said Kristy Sletten, Manager of International Admissions at Saskatchewan Colleges, in a news release. “Saskatchewan Colleges has always ensured the programs available to international students are aligned with local labour market needs that cannot be filled by Saskatchewan residents alone. We’re helping train skilled workers for careers in high-demand industries including business, healthcare, human services, hospitality and early childhood education to ensure these services are maintained in our communities.”
It was noted by Eli Ahlquist, President and CEO at North West College, that the interest from international students helps fill up spaces in the colleges and helps keep the programs afloat.
“Interest within our college service regions from domestic students is often insufficient to run a program with a reasonable cost per student,” said Ahlquist in a statement. “By supplementing domestic enrolments with international students, we are preserving, and often increasing, post-secondary access in a cost-efficient manner for tax payers and all students.”
It was also noted that students attending Saskatchewan Colleges do not face the same issues in finding suitable housing, as vacancy rates typically averaged above the three per cent national average.
