Nova Scotia expands immigration program to fill pharmacy and paramedic jobs – Halifax

Nova Scotia is expanding its accelerated immigration program to include international students who want to become paramedics and pharmacy technicians.

Health Minister Michelle Thompson and Advanced Education Minister Brian Wong said today the government is adding students in these two fields to its in-demand international graduates stream.

The province is allowed to nominate immigration candidates for federal approval, and in this case it hopes international students trained here as paramedics and pharmacy technicians will settle in the province.

Nova Scotia’s accelerated immigration program already includes nurse aides, personal care aides, continuing care aides and child care workers.

In March, the province’s nursing regulator announced it was reducing the time it takes for nurses from seven foreign countries to become licensed to practice in Nova Scotia from about a year to “a matter of weeks “.

And officials recently participated in international gatherings where they interviewed refugees with health care backgrounds interested in settling in the province.

Allison Bodnar, executive director of the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia, says pharmacy technicians can perform tasks such as dispensing medications after the prescription has been reviewed by the pharmacist, and she said there would be need about 200 workers over the next few years. .

Meanwhile, Charbel Daniel, director of operations at Emergency Medical Care Inc., said between 150 and 200 paramedic positions could be available for international students after they are trained in a certified college program private or community.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published September 22, 2023.