'Canada in Epic Battle for Talent' Says Business Expert Rohail Khan

LONDON, Ontario, April 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Like it or not, Canada is in the middle of one of the greatest economic battles in history:  The war for global professional talent for businesses and organizations that will ensure Canada's prosperity for years to come, says Rohail Khan , CEO of Skills International and business talent management expert.  

What's causing this "war?"  Khan says that, quite simply, Canadian employers increasingly can't find enough qualified, highly skilled people to fill open positions being vacated by thousands of retirees and created by economic growth.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, more than 300,000 private sector positions were unfilled in Q3 of 2014.  In a recently released report, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said, "For the fourth year in a row, the skills issue remains a main priority."

"This isn't a war between businesses in Canadian provinces, cities and towns," says Khan. "It's Canada, as a country, battling with other nations and regions to recruit, hire and retain the "best of the best" skilled professionals regardless of where they live."

According to Khan, to help win the war, the Canadian government created Express Entry, the world's most innovative talent recruiting pipeline in history.  "But here's the sad part," he says.  "For all practical purposes, Express Entry might as well be Canada's secret weapon. "Many businesses and organizations don't even know Express Entry exists; and even if they do, few understand how to use it to their advantage."  

To summarize, Express Entry is an "expressway" for foreign qualified professional talent, practically guaranteeing permanent residency if they first have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer.

Khan says there are four reasons why there's absolutely no downside to Express Entry. "One, it's good for immigrants because they no longer need to come to Canada with only a Visa and no job like my father did back in the 1960's.   An engineer, he had to work in humiliating 'survival jobs' for years before finding a position that fit his education and experience.  

"Two, Express Entry is good for businesses and organizations because they can interview and hire top talent from anywhere in the world," says Khan.  "Do you need a world-class SAP software engineer, a project manager or a financial analyst with Fortune 500 experience on their resumes?  Under Express Entry, you can have a pre-certified and qualified expert on the job in just a few months.  

"Three, Express Entry is good for the Canadian government because it brings in highly educated, high-income professionals and their families who immediately begin paying taxes and supporting the local economies as purchase homes, cars, vacations, etc. which all add incremental spending into their communities.  

"And finally," Khan says, "Express Entry is good for all Canadians because it fills open, hard-to-fill positions for which no qualified Canadian can be found.

Khan warns, "Make no mistake, Canada is in an epic battle for talent. To win it, Canadian businesses and organizations have Express Entry at their disposal.   All they need to do is understand it and start using it."

Rohail Khan is Chairman & CEO of  http://www.skillsinternational.com  and a former global human resources and human capital management services Group President at Xerox and AON-Hewitt.

Contact: Martin Kish, +1-859-351-8420