Can someone also help with this please.

Akingsqueen:
I have another question as regards cargo to Canada. How is it done? About how much does it cost? Are they efficient? Are there any restrictions as to what can be sent through them? Can someone who used them give me contact of the ones he/she used.
Thanks in advance.

Hi guys, nice to port from the express entry thread to this one. Expecting my COPR in a couple of days and I need some information to aid in my planning for the final movement to cannyland. I plan to settle my wife and two kids in Calgary ( cos I would be doing soft landing while family remains behind) and I would appreciate responses to d following questions, especially from Calgarians.
1.Which community is most recommended to settle, in terms of safety, infrastructures, proximity to public transport and very good elementary schools?
2.How easy is securing rental apartments by new comers and d possible steps to follow?
3.Which bank is most highly rated for new comers to Canada
4. Most recommended mobile phone service/network

Since I don't have any contact at Calgary, would greatly appreciate any volunteer to assist us settle and adjust to our new community when we arrive.

Hope to get great contributions from d dependable nairaland family, as I did with the express entry thread.

Thanks for the heads up @HTC2017

HTC2017:
Good day @TBDL,

Did you get any feedback from the SIU - Special Investigations Unit?
Well, I did and gave the officer a call as to clarify my driving history.

ken2sure:
Hi guys, nice to port from the express entry thread to this one. Expecting my COPR in a couple of days and I need some information to aid in my planning for the final movement to cannyland.

Hope to get great contributions from d dependable nairaland family, as I did with the express entry thread.

Check Page 113

.

You are welcome!

All the best!!

TBDL:
Thanks for the heads up @HTC2017

Flaj:

Check Page 113

Thanks a great deal. Really appreciate!

prideandjoy:
Hi Ken, congrats.

hmmm, our timelines are similar and we are both landing in Calgary. PM me there is a group

sent u a pm.

Truth234:

Masters, No but degree, yes.

please am interested. you pm me or share it here thanks.

Have sent you a pm, am also planning to land in Calgary too

prideandjoy:
Hi Ken, congrats.

hmmm, our timelines are similar and we are both landing in Calgary. PM me there is a group

prideandjoy:
Hi Ken, congrats.

hmmm, our timelines are similar and we are both landing in Calgary. PM me there is a group

Hey. I sent you a PM too

hi

pls whats the name of the insurance company

@house, please which other auto insurance company offers the cheapest premium for someone with naija driver's license.



Thanks

honey86:


It’s useful in Manitoba. After my husband submitted his he now pay $60 less on car insurance monthly and his driving merits went up.

doctorseven:


please am interested. you pm me or share it
here
thanks.

Pls am interested too! Kindly assist share

I see lots of people here who plan to go into IT once they get to Canada so this is me dropping my two cents on what I know.

First, IT is very very wide, even my side ( software) is broad. Most of the things I'll say here apply to the software side of things and also note this is my opinion not the gospel truth.

Breaking into software engineering is in my opinion the hardest part of the field and the reason for this is because it's a practical field. Recruitment tends to be show me what you can/have done rather than what you say you can do. Its why in my opinion people in frontend (things you see) get more opportunities than backend especially for folks just coming into the field.

Another reason breaking in is a little hard is because "we" tend to recruit by recommendations. In Nigeria I worked for a big firm and for a start up and both times when new folks were needed, people just ring their contacts and state their needs.

With that out of the way, let's talk about the positives.

IT probably has one of the lowest entry barriers, all you need is a laptop and the will and you are good to go.
Because it's a field were showing what you have done is better than your certificates, people started creating blogs talking about what they're learning so there's a ton of free materials to learn anything you want to learn all you need is search.

What do I recommend?
Start with web development (HTML, CSS and JavaScript). Get a GitHub account and put everything you do online. It doesn't have to be fancy but it gives you a portfolio to show potential employers. If you are visual person you'll probably tend to move towards frontend engineering, otherwise you'll move towards backend. There are some folks who are full stack (I currently am though I don't like frontend) who do both.

Its important to have a growth mindset. The field moves so fast that by the time you learn something it's already obsolete so you'll have to keep learning.
Also you'll have to learn patience because you'll spent more than fixing bugs than writing code and those bugs would push you to the end
- in python, adding an extra space would crash your program.
- I spent the whole of today trying to figure out why what I did yesterday wasn't working anymore.

As time goes, you'll get better so hang in there and never be afraid to make mistakes. Facebook had the motto "move fast and break things".


That's all I can think of for now, I'll add more things later.

I got my job via Reddit. Do not be afraid to try things

AZeD1:
I see lots of people here who plan to go into IT once they get to Canada so this is me dropping my two cents on what I know.

First, IT is very very wide, even my side ( software) is broad. Most of the things I'll say here apply to the software side of things and also note this is my opinion not the gospel truth.

Breaking into software engineering is in my opinion the hardest part of the field and the reason for this is because it's a practical field. Recruitment tends to be show me what you can/have done rather than what you say you can do. Its why in my opinion people in frontend (things you see) get more opportunities than backend especially for folks just coming into the field.

Another reason breaking in is a little hard is because "we" tend to recruit by recommendations. In Nigeria I worked for a big firm and for a start up and both times when new folks were needed, people just ring their contacts and state their needs.

We that out of the way, let's talk about the positives.

IT probably has one of the lowest entry barriers, all you need is a laptop and the will and you are good to go.
Because it's a field were showing what you have done is better than your certificates, people started creating blogs talking about what they're learning so there's a ton of free materials to learn anything you want to learn all you need is search.

What do I recommend?
Start with web development (HTML, CSS and JavaScript). Get a GitHub account and put everything you do online. It doesn't have to be fancy but it gives you a portfolio to show potential employers. If you are visual person you'll probably tend to move frontend engineering, otherwise you'll tend to towards backend. There are some folks who are full stack (I currently am though I don't like frontend) who do both.

Its important to have a growth mindset. The field moves so fast that by the time you learn something it's already obsolete so you'll have to keep learning.
Also you'll have to learn patience because you'll spent more than fixing bugs than writing code and those bugs would push you to the end
- in python, adding an extra space would crash your program.
- I spent the whole of today trying to figure out why what I did yesterday wasn't working anymore.

As time goes, you'll get better so hang in there and never be afraid to make mistakes. Facebook had the motto "move fast and break things".


That's all I can think of for now, I'll add more things later.

I got my job via Reddit and this is the post that got me the job. Do not be afraid to try things
https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/7dufho/software_developer_looking_for_a_job/

Nice one AZED, for me as an IT Consultant experience is also key..its not just easy to say u learn saleforce or dynamics crm and want to get a Senior consultant position, entry level position for this are also few....so if u can use scope to gather experience that would also be helpful.

Fusion23:


Nice one AZED, for me as an IT Consultant experience is also key..its not just easy to say u learn saleforce or dynamics crm and want to get a Senior consultant position, entry level position for this are also few....so if u can use scope to gather experience that would also be helpful.

Yeah, I think the whole industry just skipped training rookies. You need to have some sort of experience before you get in.

Xbxbxbxb

Chimpazeeee:
Xbxbxbxb

TEECANN:


Thank you @remiaig for your thoughts.

But really, I am a bit confused with the conflicting vibes.

1. Why are some folks in the prairies stucked on transit jobs? (They will most probably be professionals in Nigeria before relocating either through PNP or FSW- Agreed, most don't want to go back to school or don't have the resources to pursue that venture and just feel comfortable earning the cash from transit jobs) What is the underlying issue(s) here really- no/scarce professional jobs, advanced age disadvantage, no Canadian education, etc. Could the situation be similar in Ontario?
cc: @papaking1 and others, can you kindly explain this scenario further? some of us are curious!

2. I also read that you need to get the Canadian education and experience (maybe through school internship)...since most international students seem to be having headway in this regard.

3. Now, my friend @remiaig said a diploma or masters should be the last resort of a finance related professional...how does this landed PR finance professional get his own headway "assurance" job-wise? Except you say the post-arrival settlement trainings and internship (plus the pre-arrival trainings he has done before departing Naija) will suffice to get him started and landing a job in the interim...at least maybe an 80% assurance.

BTW, lets use Ontario as the landing bus stop for this hypothetical finance professional PR bros.


Other landed seniors abeg, please weigh in, as very important as information in this regard is, it is few and scanty for the most part


Thank you.


It will end in praise IJN!

My 2 cents (just my observations):

(Nobody wants to work in transit or survival job but Canada is expensive to live in and there are bills to pay. Age has nothing to do with it being employed or not. Employers here do not discriminate based on age or sex. Alot of people working in transition jobs would eventually move on to better jobs.)

Newly landed immigrants that are professionals from their home country work in these jobs everywhere in Canada and not just the prairie provinces.

1.

A. A lot of immigrants are in careers that are regulated in Canada. Licensure exams are hard, so people still have to pay bills while they are writing the exams which can take some time to comete.

Jobs that are regulated are highly regulated and roles are clearly defined and often unionised. e.g. A doctor cannot work as a lab tech except the doc has a lab tech diploma. An Engineer cannot easily find work as a tecnologist or technician because those fields require seperate schooling and they are professionals in their own rights.

B. Good jobs are not easy to find in Canada due to high competition. A large number of the population are educated to atleast diploma level, then add that number to the number of immigrants arriving from every part of the world on a daily basis all competing for jobs. Luckily, lots part time and survival jobs are available to help people live a descent live till something better comes along.

Employers are also spread out all over Canada.

C. Nepotism is common. Alot of professional jobs never make it to the street as they are filled internally or through recommendations from friends and families.

D. Communication skills.

E. Some survival jobs pay better than professional jobs.

F. Some have substantial mortgage payment or other huge financial obligations; hence, they can't afford to take a break from the survival job to attend upgrading programs.

There are many other reasons. This are just a few I know of.

The solution to the above are easy but it takes time and patience. Pass the licensing exams, update your communication skills, network using social media and through friends and families. Be flexible in changing careers if possible. Be willing to move or travel to where the jobs are.

2. If you are an hiring manager and you have two candidates with similar qualifications and experience in competition for the same job. Assume that the only difference between the two is that one schooled in a university and works for a company you have never heard of in Togo, while the other candidate schooled in Unilag and works for a popular company in Nigeria. Which one would you be more inclined to place a bet on if they both interviewed well?

Canadian education and experience are not prerequisites to obtaining a good job, but they definitely give you an edge in the job market.

3. Pre-employment programs just like Canadian experience and schooling also give you an edge in the job market. Use the same scenario above, but substitute if you were to hire an immigrant that has made an effort to develope skills via settlement programs vs an immigrant that has done zilch. Last resort means that you may be lucky to get a good job in 6 months or less if you are patient.

If your skills are in high demand and you do not need qualification exams, you can even get a job before stepping your foot on Canada.

I cargoed a lot of things, when I pick them up tomorrow, I will give you more details. I just wanted to let you know that someone has seen your requestion.

Akingsqueen:
I have another question as regards cargo to Canada. How is it done? About how much does it cost? Are they efficient? Are there any restrictions as to what can be sent through them? Can someone who used them give me contact of the ones he/she used.
Thanks in advance.

Hey guys,
Looking to move to Calgary with my family this August. Have a few questions

(1) Do I need to obtain the International Drivers Permit from Nigeria before travelling? Someone advised me it should help. Or is the FRSC letter adequate for processing the Canadian license - Alberta.

(2) I read about a rule / law that a child(ren) of opposite sex older than 5 years should not share rooms...or something like that. My kids are 5.5 and 2.5 years old. What is the rule / law and implications for us? Can the kids share rooms? Do we need to rent a 3 bedroom to cater for these rule / law?

(3) Whats with the ranking of elementary and secondary school rankings. Do we have to look for those ranked like 7 and above? Or it does not really matter much in terms of e.g. quality of teaching, background of children as per neighborhood, etc?

Thanks in advance!

Interested in this too!

Asinkwa:
I cargoed a lot of things, when I pick them up tomorrow, I will give you more details. I just wanted to let you know that someone has seen your requestion.

AZeD1:
I see lots of people here who plan to go into IT once they get to Canada so this is me dropping my two cents on what I know.

First, IT is very very wide, even my side ( software) is broad. Most of the things I'll say here apply to the software side of things and also note this is my opinion not the gospel truth.

Breaking into software engineering is in my opinion the hardest part of the field and the reason for this is because it's a practical field. Recruitment tends to be show me what you can/have done rather than what you say you can do. Its why in my opinion people in frontend (things you see) get more opportunities than backend especially for folks just coming into the field.

Another reason breaking in is a little hard is because "we" tend to recruit by recommendations. In Nigeria I worked for a big firm and for a start up and both times when new folks were needed, people just ring their contacts and state their needs.

With that out of the way, let's talk about the positives.

IT probably has one of the lowest entry barriers, all you need is a laptop and the will and you are good to go.
Because it's a field were showing what you have done is better than your certificates, people started creating blogs talking about what they're learning so there's a ton of free materials to learn anything you want to learn all you need is search.

What do I recommend?
Start with web development (HTML, CSS and JavaScript). Get a GitHub account and put everything you do online. It doesn't have to be fancy but it gives you a portfolio to show potential employers. If you are visual person you'll probably tend to move towards frontend engineering, otherwise you'll move towards backend. There are some folks who are full stack (I currently am though I don't like frontend) who do both.

Its important to have a growth mindset. The field moves so fast that by the time you learn something it's already obsolete so you'll have to keep learning.
Also you'll have to learn patience because you'll spent more than fixing bugs than writing code and those bugs would push you to the end
- in python, adding an extra space would crash your program.
- I spent the whole of today trying to figure out why what I did yesterday wasn't working anymore.

As time goes, you'll get better so hang in there and never be afraid to make mistakes. Facebook had the motto "move fast and break things".


That's all I can think of for now, I'll add more things later.

I got my job via Reddit. Do not be afraid to try things

I have always loved software development and this is the career I want to pursue in Canada. My current experience is in line management in two of the biggest multinational manufacturing firms here.
However, in preparation for a career switch, I'm training on programming. Right now, I know HTML, CSS and a little javascript but my interest is not in front-end web development. I am now working on my Java coding skills to get to some level before arriving Canada in say 2 months time.
Now, how do I break into the field over there as a beginner without experience? like getting entry level roles and building up from there.

So lets say someone who has never had anything to do with software development or programming, or even engineering (pure humanities student all the way) but has very natural proficiency with computers and troubleshooting. Where can such a person start from just to check if there is any possibility whatsoever in an IT career?

Any construction estimator in the house. Please how easy is it to get a job over there and which province apart form ontario is also good for this profession

Mickychen:
Hello everyone. I'll be moving to Canada by August 11th and I want to ask if it's advisable to change all my money in Nigeria to CAD before leaving or I should hold unto my naira. Thank you.

Change few Naira to USD...Leave the rest in your naira Account,when you land you will see People who needs Naira then you can easily transact with them.
If you need further explanations..PM me.

Happy new month guys!

I recently got COPR but not landed yet. I wish to do a short-landing in September i.e stay for 2months in Calgary before coming back to Nigeria to tidy up my affairs. I'm using the short stay to test the waters, write a couple of NCA exams for FTL ( foreign-trained lawyers),and most importantly, get my PR card before leaving.

However, i have some concerns, maybe unfounded, about the following;
1. Does an officer at POE have access to one's itinerary to know if i intend going back?
2. what if in the event that I'm asked if I'm going back to Nigeria, how do i tactically maneuver ?
3. Will the officer refuse to process my PR card seeing that i plan to do short-landing?
4. Can I go ahead in paying for return flight ticket, or should I purchase one-way flight ticket? Prices are relatively cheap at the moment, but gradually increasing. Paying a one-way ticket isn't quite economical.

Veterans in short-landing/landed seniors, biko help me out . Just a young dude trying to use one stone to kill 3 birds in the most economical way. First time experience.

Apologies if this issue has been thrashed previously.

emelueobi:
Have sent you a pm, am also planning to land in Calgary too

@Prideandjoy, I have sent you a PM too.

Tojued:
So lets say someone who has never had anything to do with software development or programming, or even engineering (pure humanities student all the way) but has very natural proficiency with computers and troubleshooting. Where can such a person start from just to check if there is any possibility whatsoever in an IT career?

IT help desk.

AZeD1:


IT help desk.

Wow. I've been doing this job for free (in addition to my paid duties) at every organisation I've ever worked. Thanks for putting it into perspective.

TEECANN:


Thank you @remiaig for your thoughts.

But really, I am a bit confused with the conflicting vibes.

1. Why are some folks in the prairies stucked on transit jobs? (They will most probably be professionals in Nigeria before relocating either through PNP or FSW- Agreed, most don't want to go back to school or don't have the resources to pursue that venture and just feel comfortable earning the cash from transit jobs) What is the underlying issue(s) here really- no/scarce professional jobs, advanced age disadvantage, no Canadian education, etc. Could the situation be similar in Ontario?
cc: @papaking1 and others, can you kindly explain this scenario further? some of us are curious!

2. I also read that you need to get the Canadian education and experience (maybe through school internship)...since most international students seem to be having headway in this regard.

3. Now, my friend @remiaig said a diploma or masters should be the last resort of a finance related professional...how does this landed PR finance professional get his own headway "assurance" job-wise? Except you say the post-arrival settlement trainings and internship (plus the pre-arrival trainings he has done before departing Naija) will suffice to get him started and landing a job in the interim...at least maybe an 80% assurance.

BTW, lets use Ontario as the landing bus stop for this hypothetical finance professional PR bros.


Other landed seniors abeg, please weigh in, as very important as information in this regard is, it is few and scanty for the most part


Thank you.


It will end in praise IJN!

Let me try and explain further what I mean by doing a masters or diploma should be a last resort after considering all options. I will use my own personal experience, I landed in Ottawa, so my knowledge will be limited to Ottawa, as I don’t know much about other parts of Ontario. Just like your hypothetical friend after the first few weeks, of job search and no result, I was considering doing another masters, having just completed my MBA, the cost was not encouraging. Eventually, I realized that searching for a job as a newcomer in Canada is a full time Job itself. Asides, from daily job search online, I went to a lot of workshops to learn something new and connect with new people. Eventually, I started volunteering, that was one of the best decisions I made whilst waiting for my first paid job. I also considered unpaid internship (there are some settlement agencies in Ottawa that offer this), but got a Job before then. Below is a list I made for a friend who wanted to know what I did before getting my first job. Hopefully this helps. Ultimately, the decision is yours but I think it’s best to try, try and try again.

1) Register with organizations that help newcomers with job search, resume writing, interview skills, job opportunities ( there are a lot of resources available in these organizations)- I used the following (they also accept walk-in)

YMCA -
Website: http://www.ymcaywca.ca
Address: 180 Argyle Avenue Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2P 1B7

World Skills Employment Centre
Website: http://ottawa-worldskills.org
Address: 219 Argyle Ave., Ottawa ON K2P 2H4

Others include ( never used them but heard they are good)

OCISO (https://ociso.org) - I have attended a few workshops organized by them.

Catholic immigration centre
http://cciottawa.ca
219 Argyle Ave., Ottawa ON K2P 2H4

2) Attend bridging programs related to profession.

In-Tac - they offer bridging programs for international trained professionals in IT, Accounting, Finance and Banking Bacground. They also connect students to employers through employment fairs

Website: https://in-tac.ca
Address: 400 Cooper Street, Suite 2000 Ottawa, ON, K2P 2H8

There are bridging programs for other professions offered by other organizations

3) Register with recruitment agencies such as (some of them accept walk-in)
Randstad, Manpower, Hays, Adecco, Excel/Altis, LRO Staffing, OfficeTeam

4) Register and search job sites daily for new opportunities (see below some of the ones I use)
Workopolis, Glassdoor.ca, Monster.ca, Indeed.ca, Eluta.ca, simplyhired.ca, Kijiji.ca, wowjobs.ca

5) Update LinkedIn profile (WorldSkills organizes LinkedIn workshops which is really helpful). Also use LinkedIn to search for job opportunities.

6) Labour market research (this gives you an idea of where ones skills are required and companies looking for such skills)

https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/search_occupation-eng.do?titleKeyword=international banking manager&id_en=443&id_fr=568&noc=0122®ionKeyword=Toronto%2C ON&area=9219&action=Search

7) Volunteer while waiting ( there are some roles related to ones profession which will help gain essential Canadian experience)
Volunteer Ottawa (used the site to get my current volunteering role)
Website: https://www.volunteerottawa.ca

Consider Mentorship programs (I haven’t joined one yet, but will definitely do after my bridging program)

9) Join online forums of other newcomers in Canada sharing their experience, difficulties, success, (sometimes you learn new information, and possibly connect with other newcomers in the same field) Currently, I use the below online forum

https://www.nairaland.com/3617393/living-canada-life-canadian-immigrant/221

10) Research, Research, Research (searching online for new opportunities on a daily basis) - attended as many workshops as possible and used information from there to help with my online research.

Above all keep an open mind and look beyond Ottawa for opportunities if required

I may have forgotten somethings but hopefully this helps.

Saintp:


I have always loved software development and this is the career I want to pursue in Canada. My current experience is in line management in two of the biggest multinational manufacturing firms here.
However, in preparation for a career switch, I'm training on programming. Right now, I know HTML, CSS and a little javascript but my interest is not in front-end web development. I am now working on my Java coding skills to get to some level before arriving Canada in say 2 months time.
Now, how do I break into the field over there as a beginner without experience? like getting entry level roles and building up from there.

Like I stated in my write up, it's going to be tough so if I were you, I'll start by getting a GitHub account and writing simple programs, each more complicated than the previous.
I'll also advise that you prepare your mind to earn less than your worth for a while 6-12 months just so you get that experience.

Also if possible, find an open source program and contribute, even if it's documentation. That'll be a very big plus on your CV.