The storefront is the connecting point between a nation’s industry and its people. The storefront is like the meeting place of the entire society and the primary definition of our social nature. As goods leave the production point, they eventually get to the stores. People working in the factories and those consuming the products need extra individuals who will be the middlemen. That one person is the storekeeper and his or her role in any society cannot be downplayed.
In Canada, there are several reasons for the occasional shortage of storekeepers. Given other lucrative ventures in the country, traditional storekeeping is often a preserve of younger citizens, and before long they find other fancy like pursuing higher education or a higher-paying job.
This means that the storekeeping sector is often experiencing workforce shortages. Remember that the store is the meeting point of producers and consumers and cannot be overlooked. It is an essential aspect of the Canadian system. This is why storekeeping motivated migration into the country has one of the most relaxed immigration procedures.
Supplying a workforce to the country’s numerous stores is seen as crucial to the survival and smooth functioning of Canadian society and you can take advantage of the opportunities provided by the country’s retail sector to migrate on sponsored visa.
What Does Store Keeping in Canada Feel Like?
Being a storekeeper in Canada can mean different things to different people but compared to other parts of the world, storekeeping in Canada can seem like a bliss. If you are the kind of storekeeper expecting a hectic time and a lot of conversation with customers, this rarely happens save for the cases of superstores.
Canada is a vast country with a scanty population; this comparison concerns the land size to population ratio. Citizens are often described as reserved, organized, kind, intentional, and either adapted to the serenity of the country or appreciate a bit of a calm atmosphere. Storekeeping in Canada can be best described as peaceful compared to several other places.
Understanding Canadian Visa Sponsorship with Regards to Storekeeping
Stores don’t run themselves. If willing or sufficient storekeepers are not available in Canada, they will be employed from elsewhere. Canadian store owners are faced with such options almost all the time, in several cases they have to turn towards the international space to employ workers. Thankfully, the Canadian migration system has visa sponsorship programs to ensure that storekeepers and others access workers.
In this case, visa sponsorship refers to a migration category where businesses, organizations, or other institutions source their workforce overseas when the local supply of such workforce is either unavailable or insufficient.
Apart from migrating workers, family members can also utilize visa sponsorship to migrate relatives from outside Canada. This leaves us with two primary Canadian visa sponsorship models (Canadian family visa sponsorship and Employment-based visa sponsorship). This is a storekeeper job advisory page; the focus is on employment-based visa sponsorship. Note that to benefit from visa sponsorship, there are obligations or responsibilities for the sponsor and applicant.
Canadian Visa Sponsor’s Responsibilities
Although there’s a manpower shortage in several of Canada’s sectors, it does not mean that businesses are free to bring individuals into the country just whenever they want and by any means of their choice. To migrate foreigners to Canada on visa sponsorship, the sponsor must subscribe to certain responsibilities which include:
Protect Canadian labor and employment space by ensuring your employment satisfies LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment): Every employer has an obligation to the Canadian labor society. Protecting the labor market from foreign takeover is an obligation. Entities are not to employ or migrate foreigners to undertake a job unless there are no willing or qualified individuals in Canada.
Ensure adequate examination of employees: Employing individuals who cannot deliver on employment purposes will eventually result in a liability to Canadian society and employers. The employer must thoroughly examine the applicant and confirm the applicant’s abilities.
Support migrant: The applicant in most cases may not be familiar with the Canadian system. This can bring several complexities along the line. Providing such support may be instrumental to a successful visa process. Supporting migrants doesn’t stop after the visa is granted. Even upon arrival to Canada, the support must continue.
Maintain Standard business practices: Standard practices are expected of retail stores in Canada. Stores aiming to employ migrant workers must respect Canadian provisions. These include observing safety standards, tax compliance, legitimate business operation, respect for immigration, and labor guidelines.
Requirements (Applicant’s Responsibilities)
Securing a job and migrating to Canada is a privilege and to succeed, some responsibilities are expected of the applicant. Remember that as a foreigner, you are a stranger to the Canadian system. Introducing yourself to the system is part of the process. To do that, the applicant is expected to provide the following:
Provide a valid passport of the home country or country of citizenship.
Recent passport photograph (required copies may vary).
Educational accomplishment proof (qualifications).
Provide a recent report on character issued by the home country’s police force.
Valid vaccination or lab result on stated health conditions.
Security clearance (in required cases).
Birth certificate or equivalent document or affidavit.
Provide a CV or Resume especially at the job application level.
Tender a valid contract indicating your employment.
Language efficiency: Shopkeeping in Canada requires interaction with locals. Effective communication is vital. Intermediate or effective command of either English or French is important in storekeeping in the country.
Benefits of Storekeeping Jobs in Canada
Working in Canada as a storekeeper has several benefits, especially for experienced migrant storekeepers. We stress the “experience” because to understand what Canadian storekeeping offers differently, you must have had prior experience as a storekeeper.
Excellent Pay: The retail sector is one of Canada’s biggest industries. This is because some of Canada’s retailers are multinationals; given that some of the world’s biggest retailers like Amazon and Walmart are present, storekeeping jobs can be highly lucrative.
Since this is a multiple storekeeping opportunities information page, we cannot give an accurate figure regarding your financial reward as a storekeeper in Canada. We can’t predetermine the store you will work for; every store maintains a unique salary and other benefits.
Peaceful work environment: Canada has a serene atmosphere and a civilized population. There have been cases in other countries where storekeepers are often disrespected by rude shoppers. This isn’t always the case with Canadian shoppers. There is decency in the majority of the population.
Less stressful: Shopkeeping can be a complex tax in some countries. Several countries with high population densities usually overload shopkeepers with responsibilities. Shopkeeping in Canada is associated with a moderate workload and less stress.
Possible insurance: Most retailers in Canada follow international standard practice. Shopkeepers in the country usually benefit from insurance coverage.
Possible discounts: Retail stores sell products that workers also need. Some retailers sell products to their workers at discounted rates.
Disposal benefits: Most items sold by retail stores have a shelf life. Items approaching their expiry are usually sold at a cheaper rate whereas storekeepers usually have benefits of first refusal.
Eligibility Criteria for Working as a Storekeeper
Note that several retailers may have other eligibility criteria as such we don’t consider these criteria exhaustive. Depending on the store and your role, more or less criteria may be the case.
High School Diploma or Higher qualifications: Storekeepers interact with a diverse class of individuals. The job itself can be demanding. Improved education can indicate a teachable individual.
Storekeeping requires the ability to learn on the go while being capable of effective application of such learned values. Educated individuals are more teachable than uneducated people. Both formal and informal education is important in storekeeping.
Experience: It is possible to work as a storekeeper in Canada without experience; however, it is unlikely that the big players in the industry will consider sponsoring a greenhorn.
Storekeeping apprenticeship or apprenticeship in related fields: Shopkeeping in Canada is a crucial sector. The effectiveness of employees is important. Prior apprenticeship in storekeeping or other related fields will ensure effectiveness.
Effective communication: Communication is crucial in storekeeping as the storekeeper is a primary point of contact between the producer and consumer. Apart from the vital role of communication in buying, selling, and record-keeping, it is also a primary channel of feedback from consumers to manufacturers.
Effective use of storekeeping machines: Shopkeeping in Canada is an advanced sector. Machines play a crucial role in most stores. From POS machines to barcode readers, storekeepers must understand how these machines work and be able to use them effectively.
Effective use of computers and associated shopkeeping applications: Shopkeeping is a broad field and can entail different aspects of an enterprise’s life. At one time a storekeeper may be sorting items and at another time such a storekeeper may be keeping a record of sold products. In today’s world, these basic shopkeeping practices rely on computers. Computer literacy will improve store keepers’ effectiveness.
Fitness: Storekeepers are usually young and agile individuals though elderly individuals can make excellent storekeepers too; however, some storekeeping jobs may require sorting, loading, and offloading products. This usually requires physical fitness.
Be organized: It is a thing of focus in Canada that stores must be as organized as possible, this can’t be accomplished if storekeepers are not organized individuals.
Ways you can secure a Canadian Storekeeping job remotely
For several overseas Canadian job hopefuls with no contact in Canada, remote job application remains the most reliable means of securing a job in the country. The following have been proven to work:
Online Application via soil media: No serious business today ignores social media. It has become a means of maintaining a relationship with the society. This includes serving as a channel of communication and as a means of conducting business. Most retailers in Canada operate social media handles. Often they conduct business there or make other announcements. Potential shopkeepers can leverage the opportunities offered by social media to follow shopkeeping vacancy updates and possibly apply.
Staffing Companies: Staffing companies also known as dedicated recruiters are crucial to Canadian employment and migration. Staffing companies like Zip recruiters operate vacancy update websites where interested individuals can find available jobs and apply.
Professional platforms and vacancy publishers: Traditional publishing houses used to be the professional platforms back in the day. Things are changing today and traditional publishing houses are taking their businesses online.
Other professional platforms where enterprises publish their profiles also exist today. LinkedIn is a great example of such a professional platform. You can gain vital information about your potential employer through these platforms.
Canadian Retail Stores that sponsor visas
Different stores are at the forefront of making products available to Canadians. These stores serve producers as well as consumers. Meeting the demand of such stores requires additional hands. These Canadian retailers employ foreign shopkeepers and participate in their migration.
Metro Inc: Metro Inc. is one of the Canadian superstores with a loyal customer base, it has been serving Canadians for decades. With hundreds of locations and thousands of employees, the firm has expanded its employment globally.
Loblaw: Emerging as a retail giant certainly takes more than local talents. Diversity can sometimes spice up creativity. Apart from the pursuits of diversity, Canada’s huge landmass means that there are more branches compared to other countries as the population is spread across a vast land so more units will eventually be the case. To serve in its numerous stores, Loblaw has to seek out different categories of workers from the international community.
Walmart Canada: Being originally an American company, it is natural to go the way of Visa sponsorship as from time to time, workers may need to migrate from their home country to Canada. Since the US branch sponsors visas, it seems like an exported tradition maintained by the Canadian subsidiary.
Costco Wholesale Corporation: Another multinational present in the two North American countries (US and Canada). It is much easier for companies with international subsidiaries to operate visa sponsorship as it makes workforce transfer between branches easier.
These sponsorship benefits extend to other international employees. When you secure a job at Costco Wholesale Corporation Canada, you may benefit from their visa sponsorship program.
Note: There are many more retail stores in Canada employing migrants. Further research may help you discover your ideal employer.
What Visa Type is Ideal for Shopkeeping Jobs in Canada?
Since individuals with high school diplomas, storekeeping experience, on-the-job training, or shopkeeping apprenticeships are qualified for most shopkeeping jobs, the TEER 4 Canadian visa category is ideal for shopkeeper migration. You may consult further with a knowledgeable Canadian travel agent, immigration lawyer, or other experts.
Conclusion
The storekeeping sector is one of Canada’s biggest sectors employing citizens and migrants. It offers several advantages including an effective schedule, good pay, and less workload compared to other countries. The retail sector is also supportive and usually willing to sponsor an employee’s Canadian visa when employment qualifies for sponsorship.
If you have passion and the required skills to become a storekeeper in Canada, we encourage you to shun procrastination and start your pursuit today.