Working in Canada

[techtech]

Hi All,

 

I'm thinking about working in Canada. Has anyone had any experience of this? Can anyone recommend any qualifications that would be useful to the Canadian entertainment industry?

Also could anyone recommend any sites / mags that would advertise positions abroad?

 

Any help would be much appreciated. I have had a lookee around the web but have not found any thing yet.

 

Cheers

 

techtech (Stockman)

 

;)

[Jivemaster]

DO you have rights of residence, and work permits for Canada?

[techtech]

Sadly not. I hoping on getting the points as it were.

 

;)

[Suzette]

Hopefully Bryson will be along soon with some pointers for you ... he's your man to ask!

[Bryson]

As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared!

 

 

First things first: The immigration part. This would be, by far, the hardest part. I'm now a permanent resident of Canada, which I did under the "family" class - my partner and my grandfather and uncles are Canadian citizens. The family class is "fast-tracked" which meant that my application took 8 months to process. If you apply via the points system (you can probably qualify - I had enough points to do it that way) the current waiting time is 31-38 months. That's 3 years away. So you had better be sure.

It's also an expensive process (I reckon I've spent about £3-4k on the process, including moving expenses) and can be pretty stressful. They won't talk to you on the phone, or correspond in any way except if you go and visit the High Commission in London, and even then they aren't very helpful. Basically they'll keep you entirely in the dark until the day they send you the "Passport Request" letter. Or, more likely, a letter explaining that there's something missing from your application. (They lost my Criminal Record Check - the only document you had to send the original of, and the only document that takes 40 days to replace.) It's extremely frustrating - and my experience was on the "Fast-track"!

There is another way to get in, by having an employer sponsor you - but it's very, very unlikely that any theatre company will want to become involved in that. Corporate stuff - maybe, but still unlikely. I found that employers wouldn't even look at my CV until I was able to give a Vancouver address. (Which is fair enough, I guess!)

 

What I've seen some people do is get a temporary visa and apply for permanent as soon as they get the temporary one - the process takes about as long as the temporary one lasts. That could work for you, but you'll need to look into it.

 

I wouldn't advise getting an immigration Lawyer or consultant unless you're really bad at paperwork (my, there is a lot of it!) or have some unusual circumstances (minor criminal record, non UK citizen or similar).

 

All that said: It's worth it. I'm just looking out of my apartment window right now and I can see the mountains, and the sea, and then Vancouver Island in the distance. The food is awesome, the service absolutely stellar and hockey is the greatest sport ever invented. ;) They can't figure out how to make a good pub, though.

 

Job-wise: Well, it varies a lot from City to City. I can only really comment on Vancouver. Where are you planning on going? Jobs tend to be advertised with very short deadlines, with interviews really soon after that. There is work in Vancouver for a freelancer, especially if you're a little older (which I see you are) - there's a shortage of experienced techs. Obviously, it takes a little time to "break in", so have a slush fund ready - 6 months in now, I'm at the stage of turning work down because I'm too busy.

 

I'll now share my carefully hoarded set of websites. Note that most of these are Vancouver-specific, so if you're planning on going somewhere else, then they won't be much use:

 

CITT (Like the ABTT)

Alliance For Arts (Vancouver-based arts association)

BC Touring Council (British Columbia arts organisation)

VANOC (Vancouver Olympics 2010 - worth checking)

Monster (Sometimes they have corporate jobs - you could probably change cities, too - that's a link to Vancouver)

 

If you were thinking more Toronto or somewhere else... Quebec? Speak French at all? (Best not, you'll only have to relearn québécois.... :) ) ...then you'll have to find your own stuff.

 

So, where were you thinking of?

[Jivemaster]

In parts of Canada French is the business language, in parts English. In the far West of Canada so many residents came from Hong Kong that the native language includes Chinese. Canadian business is largely bilingual -are you?

 

Look at everything that the Canadians might find worth while and learn about it.

[Bryson]

It's a good point - although I only really speak English and it isn't a problem. A good 45% of the people in Vancouver are Asian, (Which doesn't, over here, mean the Indian subcontinent - it means Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, etc etc) but virtually everyone speaks English. I know a few Québécois, but not a massive amount.

[Jivemaster]

Canada is SO HUGE that a target province would be a help! The weather can be a local speciality too! Friends in Calgary still had snow when my folks visited one JUNE.

[Bobbsy]

Snow in June is as unusual in Calgary as it would be in London. Indeed, Calgary is a couple of hundred miles farther south than London.

 

Typically, by June Calgary would be basking in blue skies and temperatures in the high 70s or low 80s (say 25-30C). Speaking as one who lived in Alberta from age 6 until I was 25, I personally wouldn't let the Canadian weather put me off: yes, the winters are cold but the country is ready for them in terms of things like heating and snow clearance. In my opinion, the cold is balanced by getting more dry, clear days. My mood is better at -20 with sunshine than a few degrees above freezing with dark clouds and drizzle. You might even discover you like winter sports!

 

Language wouldn't be an issue unless you wanted to live and work in Quebec. The rest of Canada, though officially bi-lingual, is pretty firmly English.

 

Being originally Canadian I can't comment on specific immigration issues. My applications were to get FROM Canada to the UK and then to Australia. However, Bryson's general advice about allowing lots of time for paperwork and having a decent living fund for when you arrive are spot on.

 

Good luck.

 

Bob

[Ekij]

Indeed, Calgary is a couple of hundred miles farther south than London.

The gulf stream and the fact that the UK is an island make a huge difference to the climate of the UK.

You can't compare by latitude at all.

Illinois gets much colder than the UK in the winter and is much further south.

Expect much bigger variations in temperature (if you're away from the coast).

[Bobbsy]

Oh, indeed. The issue of maritime vs. continental climate makes a far bigger difference to weather than just looking at latitude. I was just making the point that the image of Canada as "the frozen north" was simplistic and inaccurate. It's a big place with lots of different climates--and even in the "cold" parts, the summers tend to be warm, dry and predictable. Again, this is a product of being in the middle of a large continent, away from oceans and their currents.

 

That said, when I first moved to the UK from Canada, I was amazed at how early it got dark in the winter. The combination of heavy grey clouds and relatively high latitudes makes it dark very early. (OT aside: the first day I arrived in London from Canada--in January--I got checked into my B&B at about 2PM. I decided to lay down for an hour or two before meeting friends that evening. I woke up just after 4PM and it was so dark outside that I decided I must have slept straight through to 4AM so I just turned over. I had a VERY long night...and missed my meeting up with friends!)

 

Bob