Son of a friend wishes to go over to Canada to work in a bike shop.
Where do they start looking etc?
Cheers

Unless hes Canadian I’d say little chance before covid and now absolutely no chance that will happen

BUNAC it was.

“Working holiday” visa is the best bet, once the current sh*t dies down. Other than that, you’re looking at points based on skills, language skills etc which is just not worth the hassle!

Lots Aussies work at the ski hills on holiday work permits, get in touch with one that runs a bike park and ask some questions? I’m sure you would get a response from a smaller one with at least some information

Try Silver Star as they are smaller and more family orientated and have a great little bike repair shop with rentals etc

As above though bad year for extravagant plans so tell him not to get disheartened

My son did that last year, but he has Canadian citizenship. I have no idea how one would go about it if they don’t.

In terms of looking for a shop in which to work, I would suggest the young man seek out a place in Canada that draws fewer tourists than, say, British Columbia, find a shop in that destination, and maybe start communicating with them/building a relationship with them now, by stating his intention, and trying to ‘sell’ himself before he goes.

If his only desire is Banff or Whistler or Vancouver, it’s going to be hard.

Spoken as a Canadian ex-pat.

Get a working holiday visa assuming he fits the criteria. I think he’d stand a better chance of getting a job if actually in the country.

The more popular the location the more competition there will be for jobs and the higher the rent he’d have to pay. If he goes to a smaller town the more likely he is to be able to get sponsored by his employer for permanent residency should that be something he’s interested in.

my advice would be to research where he wants to live (trailforks will give a good indication of the volume of trails, then look into jobs and rental market), apply for a visa, save money. Go to desired location get a job and settle then look for the job he really wants.

there probably isn’t a shortage of folk looking to work in a bike shop for the summer, so unlikely to be offered a job if he’s still on the UK.

saving a pot of money will also be necessary for rent, car, food while getting set up.

as said above, wait for covid 19 things to pass.

Almost no chance for 2020.
The Canadian government handle their own working holiday visa now it’s called International experience Canada. Limited visas when the program is running, but I’ll bet there’s no hurry to open this program up.

Try Silver Star as they are smaller and more family orientated and have a great little bike repair shop with rentals etc

Great little place!

I think he’d stand a better chance of getting a job if actually in the country.

Good point – outside of the obvious resorts, Canadian companies generally can’t handle the concept of “I’m not currently here, but in the future I will be, and I’d like to work for you then”. They’re stuck at “in…. therr…. fut-ure?”.

So it may be that it’s best, with paperwork in hand, to have a rough list of places to hit and take it from there. Tbh he could start at one coast and work from there; my gut feel is somewhere busy but not overrun with working tourists might be a good bet – so Vancouver, but also more boring places like Toronto, Halifax etc.

According to This they aren’t processing any new working holiday applicationns at the moment. And also looks like they will only let you in if you have a job offer.
My 19yo just got back from doing a season in Whistler (on the IEC scheme), had the absolute time of his life and is not happy about having to come back. Obviously everything has changed now but he had absolutely no issues finding work (accomodation much harder). He’s planning to go back as soon as possible.

I work in a Canadian bike shop, feel free to ask me any questions.

If he is sub 30 then the IEC (international experience Canada) is the best way to get across here, as mentioned there is no chance of getting one of those in 2020 though.

I emailed a CV to shops while I was still in the UK and got 0 response, as soon as I arrived it didn’t take long to find something but employers want to see you in Canada before offering jobs.

I am close to Toronto (Hamilton), cycling is very seasonal here and using my shop as an example this winter was the first year in thirty that the business kept any staff other than the two owners on full time hours over winter. I had to work hard to prove myself useful around the shop, I did the same job in the UK and so am competent in dealing with suppliers and ordering stock, making sure the shop is stocked and ready to go that kind of thing. Being just a salesman or just a mechanic may not be enough. The situation could be very different on the West coast though as the weather is milder, I have no experience of that.

As mentioned cycling is seasonal so make sure you are in place for the spring and applying late winter for positions would be the best plan, I arrived in January of 2019. You may have to do some bar tending or something to fill in a gap depending on when you arrive as shops may have all their staff in place for the summer.

Hope this offers some insight and let me know if you have any other questions.

Also be prepared to tell a lot of people you are not an Aussie….

IEC visa first. I would ignore the speculation of people here and visit the CIC website and look up IEC visa It is like getting a ticket to Glastonbury so possibly now, or when the boarder opens would be either a) busy as **** or b)not busy because people have speculated that it will not happen. Either way… Visit the website and create a profile. Getting a job won’t be hard. In a bike shop?