New Live in Caregiver Advertising Requirements! - January 1, 2009

As of January 1, 2009, new advertising requirements must be met by agencies or families who seek to hire a foreign live-in Caregiver to work in Canada.

The HRSDC has eliminated all Occupation Under Pressure lists previously utilized by employers to facilitate the temporary entry of foreign workers into Canada. Prior to this date, employers seeking to hire foreign workers whose occupations were listed as being “in demand”, benefited from minimal or no advertising requirements for the provision of an HRSDC approval. Following January 1, 2009, advertising for foreign national employees that would have fallen into this beneficial exception has become mandatory and significantly more involved. This change significantly impacts families seeking live-in Caregivers and live-in Caregiver agencies across Canada.

Minimum Recruitment Requirements

For Canadian families in need of a live-in Caregiver in Canada, these changes mean significantly greater requirements. Service Canada now requires that the following minimum recruitment requirements be met before it will approve an application for a Labor Market Opinion for Live-in Caregivers:

• Advertise on the national Job Bank; and
• Conduct similar recruitment activities consistent with the practice within the occupation in the three (3) months prior to applying for a LMO; and
• Demonstrate reasonable ongoing recruitment efforts which include advertising directly to communities that traditionally face barriers to employment.

As families seeking to employ live-in Caregivers are often subjected to time constraints, these recent changes, which add a minimum of three (3) months to the application process, are of significant importance. We invite you to contact us to secure further information regarding your live-in Caregiver and other immigration needs.
http://www.a-procare.com/ E-mail: admin@aprocaregivers.com

A-PRO Caregivers & Nannies:

Thanks To All Who Again Made Our Annual Picnic A Success.

This year, Multicultural Helping House Society's "WE CARE" Settlement Support Services for Caregivers - came out to network with us, Vice-Pres, Felomina Piano, thank you for introducing yourself and the organization.

Special thanks goes out to Mr. Lito Orayan, for the delicious BBQ and chopping the Lechon. Sandy for organizing the games.

If anyone have photos they would like posted here - please email it to info@vancouvernannies.com

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FAQ's by Families

1. Why Choose Us?

EXPERIENCE - A-PRO Caregivers & Nannies Inc enjoy an excellent reputation, we know the players, we know the rules, and we have the necessary practical experience to support our services. We're experienced in handling both your stress and issues when choosing the best care possible.

CREATIVE, PRACTICAL and ACCURATE ADVICE - Knowing the regulations and meeting the families is the easy part of our job. The more difficult aspect is balancing the two in creative and practical ways, to achieve our Families' short and long-term objectives. We take pride in our ability to meet this challenge. Before we give an opinion, or make a recommendation, the legal and practical implications are always considered. The result is that you are put in the position of making an informed and pragmatic decision.

PROACTIVE SOLUTIONS - We encourage our Nannies/Caregivers to seek our advice before problems arise. By helping them take a proactive, preventative approach to Immigration and employment issues, we can save the families time, money and aggravation. We endevour to keep you up-to-date with the current processing times as it becomes known to us.

PERSONAL APPROACH - Our staff are committed to providing individual, personalized service. We take the time to get to know our clients. Once we understand the needs, we tell the client about their options, and our recommendations.

ACCESSIBILITY - We are easily accessible in person (where applicable), by e-mail, or by telephone Mon-Fri 10am-2pm Pacific Standard Time. Extended hours are available by appointment.

VALUE - Our clients need to be able to forecast and control their expenses. Our fees are clearly set out in our Engagement of Services and in our Fees & Refunds Schedule.

NETWORK - Our clients benefit from our good working relationships with many other professionals including lawyers, accountants, realtors, employment or business consultants. We can quickly put you in the hands of other advisors if the need arises.

2. How does A-PRO Caregivers & Nannies (A-PRO) find quality candidates?

Our organization has been successfully bringing together employers and candidates since 2001. A-PRO Caregivers & Nannies represents a diverse group of experienced, skilled and professional private service professionals from around the world. We are proud to work with candidates who refer their sons, daughters and grandchildren to us for placement. Our marketing, advertising and referral programs combined with our established network, allow us to work quickly to fill clients staffing needs with quality candidates.

3. What kind of experience do A-PRO candidates have?

Since 2001, we have been successfully placing experienced candidates. Many candidates have a long term relationship with us. Each time their job comes to an end they return to us for a new position.Candidates are required to have verifiable previous work experience in a home or similar industry. For many years, candidates interested in working in a home could only learn the trade by on the job training. In the past 10 years, schools have opened that now train nannies, and household managers, Candidates will also have transferable experience and training from fields such as education, hospitality and health care.As the employer, your job description will determine the type of experience and background a candidate needs to meet your requirements. Based on your information we will execute a search to match your requirements. Candidates that are not authorized to work in CANADA are not eligible for placement through A-PRO.

4. How Does A-PRO screen candidates?

A-PRO requires all candidates to complete a rigorous pre-screening, personal interview, reference verification and independent background check process. Initially, candidates are pre-screened for work eligibility in CANADA (Overseas caregivers), work history, skill assessment, communication skills, attitude and job preference. If the candidate passes our initial screening they are personally interviewed and individually assessed. Each candidate completes a 12page application which provides us with their personal and work history, work style, education and work preferences.Upon completion of the interview, the candidate's references are checked by phone. You will be provided with detailed reference summaries for review. Local candidates: Criminal background checks are performed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. As there are fees involved for these background checks, they are conducted after a job offer has been made and accepted. Additional background check - driving record when applicable.

5. Does A-PRO have a Registration Fee/Retainer Fee?

NO, A-PRO does not charge a Registration Fee/Retainer Fee to begin your search.

6. What is your agency fee? The fee for our service is due if a candidate is hired, directly or indirectly by an employer who has listed their job opening with our firm. Our placement fee is $1200. Our fee is due upon submission of Service Canada (HRDC) Foreign Worker Job Validation Application to A-PRO. Fees for pre-employment background checks are included in our placement fee after a job offer has been made and accepted. If you're interested in these services prior to hiring a candidate you will be required to pre-pay the fee for these services.

7. Indirect fee: Employers who introduce candidates who have been introduced to the employer by our firm to another employer will be responsible for payment of the placement fee. Our services include an initial phone consultation or on-site consultation.

8. What are the current salary for Nannies/Caregivers? Salary will depend on the experience & education that a Nanny/Caregiver brings. Live-in Caregivers coming from outside Canada can be between $1400-1600 while others who are available locally, between $1500-$1800. Live out Nannies/Caregivers between $1800-$2500+ (View salary)

9. How do I know if the person I hire is the right person for the job?

When you list your job opening with us, your consultant will spend time going over your family needs assessment form. Your consultant will begin formulating a job description, the required personality profile to compliment the household, preferred experience and other details. We will identify and present appropriate candidates for your consideration.

10. Where will A-PRO staff candidates for employment?

Currently we are staffing Live-in childcare and household employees in the British Columbia area only. Geographic placement is concentrated in Vancouver, North Shore, Burnaby and select locations in the South Surrey area, and East to Mission.Nationwide we staff Live-In Nannies and Domestic Helpers by request.

Please fill out our family needs assessment form: your first step.

A-PRO Caregivers & Nannies Inc. Site Links:

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RESOURCES

Nanny Killed answering Craigslist ad -- Oct 2007

24yr old Sought Nanny/Babysitter Job
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=268354

A Minnesota woman was killed after answering a nanny job advertised on Craigslist. It is the first murder on the site, which offers free classified ads hawking just about anything you can imagine.

Katherine Ann Olson, 24, was found dead in the trunk of her car late Friday night at a park about 15 miles south of Minneapolis. She was last seen on Thursday morning, when she went to meet what she believed was a couple who recently relocated to the area and was in need of a babysitter, according to news reports.

Police have arrested a 19-year-old man they believe placed the ad. They have declined to identify the suspect except to say he worked at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. He was arrested there Friday night.

Like a lot of online bazaars, Craigslist has its fair share of illegal activity. Prostitutes have long advertised their services there, and it's also been used by fraudsters pushing 419 schemes and other types of scams. It's the first known time the site has been used to lure a victim of murder.
"I can't recall a single case like it," Craigslist founder Craig Newmark told KARE 11 News. "I'd like to express my condolences. This is a real tragedy and we're more eager than ever to help deal with the bad guy."

Olson had landed two previous nanny jobs through Craigslist, including one in Turkey, according to reports.

Earlier on Friday, Olson's purse had been found in a trash can not far from where her body was recovered. Police later found a blood-soaked towel in the same can. Police haven't disclosed a cause of death.

Nanny/Caregivers read the post on Nanny Job Search Safety

http://www.a-procare.com/

Tel: 604-771-4159

Email: info@aprocaregivers.com