North Okanagan-Shuswap announces jobs for RCIP

April 30, 2025

Ishita Soni

What Is the RCIP (Rural Community Immigration Pilot)?

The Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) is a special immigration program designed to help rural areas in Canada bring in skilled workers. It gives foreign nationals a chance to become permanent residents if they get a job offer in one of the participating rural communities.

Launched on January 30, 2025, the pilot is employer-driven and will run for five years. Sometimes, successful pilot programs like this one can become permanent – just like the Atlantic Immigration Program did.

North Okanagan-Shuswap Joins the RCIP

The North Okanagan-Shuswap region in British Columbia is now part of this pilot. It includes beautiful communities like Salmon Arm, Vernon, Lumby, Enderby, and many others in the North Okanagan and Shuswap areas.

Which Job Sectors Are Prioritized?

To make immigration more targeted, each RCIP community can choose up to five key sectors that are most in need of workers. For North Okanagan-Shuswap, these are:

1. Health
2. Education, Law, Social, and Government Services
3. Sales and Service
4. Trades and Transport
5. Manufacturing and Utilities

Important: Even if a job has a high-demand NOC code, the employer must belong to one of these sectors to qualify under the RCIP.

What Jobs Have Special Limits (Caps)?

Some occupations in North Okanagan-Shuswap have a limit on how many people can be recommended per employer. Here are the capped roles:

• Accommodation Service Managers – 2
• Executive Housekeepers – 2
• Restaurant and Food Service Managers – 2
• Construction Trades Helpers and Labourers – 10
• Labourers in Wood, Pulp, and Paper Processing – 10
• Plastic Products Assemblers, Finishers, and Inspectors – 10
• Assemblers and Inspectors of Other Wood Products – 10

Other roles may not have a cap or are still under review.

What’s the Minimum Wage?

Wages are set depending on the role:

• $25/hour for restaurant and food service managers, accommodation service managers, and executive housekeepers.
• $22/hour for all other jobs under the program.

When Can You Apply? Intake Dates for 2025

If you’re interested in applying, keep an eye on these intake windows, when applications are accepted:

• May 12 to May 26
• July 7 to July 21
• August 25 to September 8
• October 13 to October 27
• November 24 to December 8

Note: Between each intake window, the community will hold recommendation meetings to assess candidates.

What Are the Requirements to Apply?

To qualify, you must:

1. Have a valid job offer from a designated employer in the North Okanagan-Shuswap region.
2. Make sure the employer is in one of the priority sectors.
3. Meet other eligibility criteria, including scoring at least 50 points in the region’s point system.
4. Be among the top-scoring candidates, as spots are limited.

Which Communities Are Eligible in This Region?

The eligible area includes:

• The entire Regional District of North Okanagan
• Electoral Areas C, D, E, F, and G of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District

Some of the key eligible communities include:

• Armstrong.
• Ashton Creek.
• Anglemont.
• Blind Bay.
• Bench.
• Celista.
• Cherryville.
• Coldstream/Lavington.
• Deep Creek.
• Enderby.
• Falkland.
• Grindrod.
• Lumby.
• Salmon Arm.
• Scotch Creek.
• Sicamous.
• Silver Creek.
• Sorrento.
• Spallumcheen.
• Vernon.

How Do Employers Get Involved?

For a job offer to count, the employer must be:

• Designated by a local economic development organization
• Operating within one of the approved priority sectors

Employer designation opens on May 1, 2025.

What’s Next?

So far, North Okanagan-Shuswap joins other communities like:

• Timmins
• Brandon
• Sault Ste. Marie
• Thunder Bay

More communities will announce their own lists of priority occupations and sectors soon.

Get in touch with SPS Global

Receive professional advice on any of your questions regarding Canadian immigration. get in touch with us, experienced immigration consultants from SPS Canada. For additional information, contact support@spscanada.com (Canada) or support.amd@spscanada.com (Ahmedabad), or by phone at (1) 905-362-9393 (Canada) or +919586226232 (Ahmedabad).

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