Job Opportunities for Students and Graduates in Canada

Whether you already live there or are moving to study in Canada, it is always good to be able to earn some extra money to help with your living costs. Students often do this by working part-time while they study.

The first step is to determine the kind of work you can do, especially if you’re an international student in Canada. You’ll be able to do on-campus or off-campus jobs, and those of you who are coming from abroad will need a study permit. The conditions for work are usually listed on your permit, but you must be a full-time student with a valid study permit and have a Social Insurance Number (SIN). To be able to work off-campus as an international student, your course must be at least six months long.

The number of hours and kind of work you can do then depends on whether you are employed in an on-campus or off-campus job.

What kind of work can you do?

On-campus jobs

Working ‘on-campus’ means working at any of the buildings on your university campus. If your university has multiple campuses, as an international student, you can usually only work where most of your studies take place. You might be allowed to work at a different campus if you’re a research assistant, or your work is related to a research grant.

You could be employed by the school, a faculty member or a student organisation. So, you could be working as a waiter in the university cafeteria, an assistant in the university library or a teaching assistant. You could also run your own business) within the university campus.

Off-campus jobs

There is more variety when looking for work outside the campus. Students often choose to take up casual jobs like waiting tables at local restaurants, as sales assistants in shops or couriers so the hours are more flexible for them to fit around their studies

It’s a good idea to look for jobs that are similar to your field of study as a way of gaining work experience if possible. This can go a long way when you are looking for jobs after graduation as you’ll be able to demonstrate real-world experience in the field, not just learning about it.

How can you search for a job?

On-campus jobs will be advertised through the university’s own job portal. Your university’s Student Services is likely to list jobs on an online portal or a physical notice board. Alternatively, if you’re thinking of working with a faculty member, you can get in touch with them directly.

Looking for off-campus jobs is just as straight forward. You can look at the Government of Canada’s Job Bank where you can find jobs listed according to your needs. Another option is looking at other job listing websites like Indeed or canadajobs.com.

If you’re a home student, you can go straight from study to work without any restrictions. However, as an international student, you need a work permit to be able to work full-time.

If you’ve completed your studies, you can apply for the post-graduation work permit (PGWP). This will allow you to live and work in Canada after your studies. The amount of time you’ll be allowed depends on the duration of your course:

• If your programme took fewer than eight months to complete, you won’t be eligible for a PGWP
• If your programme was at least eight months, the PGWP will be valid for three years.This does not apply for those who've completed a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma.

You have up to 180 days after you graduate to apply for a PGWP. It usually costs CAD$255 and can take up to 145 days to be processed. It’s important to keep in mind that you have to apply for a post-graduation work permit before your student permit expires so make sure you account for the processing times before you make an application.

However, you can be employed full-time if you’ve applied for a PGWP but have not received it yet. You can’t usually extend a PGWP (unless you are explicitly told by the authorities). You’ll have to move to a different work permit if you wish to continue working and living in Canada. You can answer some simple questions on the Government of Canada’s online tool to know the kind of work permit you’ll need.

How can you search for a job post-graduation?

Don’t overcomplicate the process, it’s the same as looking for an off-campus job while you were studying. Use the Canadian government’s Job Bank, canandajobs.com, or Indeed and LinkedIn which are popular worldwide.