Canada

Job Placements in Canada

Applicants interested in a work placement in Canada must find out if the Canadian Embassy in their country has an International Experience Canada (IEC) Program, formerly known as Youth Mobility Program. The European Hotel Academy co-operates with hotels in almost all regions of the country. Awe-inspiring landscapes, huge nature reserves or multi-cultural busy cities – Canada is an exceptional country with much to offer, whatever your interest. For our European standards it is an unbelievably vast country – a visitor with only a few days time will have a hard time experiencing the entirety of its beauty. The eastern and western parts have very different sights to offer. Most of our partner hotels are located in Alberta. Average working hours in Canada is 40 hours over a period of 5 days per week. The hotels in Canada prefer to employ experienced hotel or restaurant professionals, although placements for newcomers to the trade can also be arranged as long as the candidate is eligible for a Working Holiday Visa or any Visa tied to the IEC Program (formerly Youth Mobility Program). For detailed information on these visas, please visit the website of the Canadian Embassy in your country.

Health Insurance

Canada has a public health system called Medicare. In most provinces, Medicare is financed by taxes. However in British Columbia and Alberta, deductions will be made from your wages for Medicare contributions, although taxes are lower in these two provinces. In return for the tax or Medicare contributions, Canadians receive free medical treatment. This system has two drawbacks: First, only Canadian citizens and foreign workers with a permanent residence status (legal immigrants) are insured on Medicare. Temporary workers will have to take out their own private health insurance. However, some provinces allow Medicare treatments for certain groups of temporary workers without a permanent residence status. Secondly, the range of services you can get on Medicare is very limited. E.g. Doctor’s consultations and treatments at the hospital are covered, but medication is not and must be paid for by yourself. The same applies to emergency treatment and dental care. Again, the Medicare services vary from province to province. Sometimes, Canadians have a special health insurance plan set up by their employer. This does mean that if you lose your job you also lose your right to claim benefits off the health care system. So regardless of whether you have the right to claim Medicare, it is advisable that you take out your own private travel insurance. We advise you to take out a special insurance policy that is suited to the EHA program and includes insurance for medical treatment, accidental injury, and liability. This will cost you € 66.00 per month.

Wages

Wages vary from employer to employer. There is a minimum wage but this in turn varies by province; between CAD 8.00 and CAD 10.25 per hour.

Average gross pay per month:

CAD 1560.00

Average net pay per month before deductions for accommodation:

CAD 1290.00

Best time to start the program

January – July. In theory and according to the staff requirements of our partner hotels, placements should be possible throughout the year. However, the IEC program issues only a certain number of visas per year. Once the quota is filled, no more visas will be issued. This usually happens in August – September, but we have known it to happen as early as May!

Preferred duration of job placement

12 months