Canada as a destination for international students
The view of Canada as a destination of study has strengthened amongst international students and 2022 is poised to be a strong year for student numbers thanks to the positive image.
The positive image among international students can be attributed to several factors.
One of the reasons for students choosing Canada has been the handling of the Coronavirus by the Canadian government that students consider dealt with correctly and quickly.
The new migration laws have contributed to increasing interest too, such as the Post Graduate Work Permits Program (PGWP) to extend eligibility for a PGWP to international students who need to complete their studies online from abroad.
According to a recent survey by the Latin American agency Association group, the main destination that students choose to apply to study abroad is Canada.
According to Navitas’ latest Agent Perception survey, 79% of agents agreed strongly that Canada’s handling of COVID-19 had made it a more attractive study destination. It even scored higher than the UK with 75% of agents agreeing strongly about the above statement.
In order to attract students, the country strives to present itself as open, welcoming, and safe for them. As part of its participation at ICEF in Berlin in November 2021, Languages Canada (an organization representing both official languages: English and French) presented the following message: “Travel is back! Canada is open! Language schools are open!”.
ICEF Berlin is mostly a European Ed-event and this year conference was attended by almost 20% of educators coming from Canada or from international chains with a school established in Canada. The event was also an opportunity to introduce the Canada Course for Education Agents, a professional development tool for agents looking to specialize in Canada as a study destination. The Canada Course for educational agents is offered by ICEF together with Languages Canada, and the Canadian Association of Public Schools International (CAPS-I). The course is recommended for any education agents who wish to further their professional knowledge and focus on Canada as a study destination.
The information about the course can be found at https://www.icef.com/icef-agent-training/canada-course-for-education-agents-ccea/.
If travel agents add Canada to their portfolio, it can be a worthwhile opportunity to increase student bookings.
