STEPWEST RO – We are a Recognized Organization

Hey guys! We have some super exciting news to share with you all – we’ve been designated as a Recognized Organization (RO) under IEC (International Experience Canada) by Citizenship and Immigration Canada! Before, we were only able to offer our Working Holiday in Canada and Internship in Canada programs to those from more than 35 IEC approved countries.

With this new designation, we are now able to offer our Working Holiday in Canada programs to those from Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia, and Thailand! And as for the rest of you? Our awesome Internship in Canada programs are now open to everybody from around the world, providing you are a student or have a hospitality background! Excited? You totally should be! If you want to see how we actually went about getting such a coveted designation, then keep on reading!

A Recap of our Previous Year

Last year, we experienced a lot of growth as a company. We were able to triple our program participant numbers compared to previous years. We connected with the work and travel industry on a global level through networking, communication, and ensuring we deliver only the best experiences in Canada for our participants. This was reflected in the quality of our Working Holiday in Canada programs, such as our Working Holiday City Jobs and our Working Holiday Resort Jobs. This also reflected in our Internship in Canada programs, such as our Student Internship and Hospitality Internship programs.

Establishment of our Outbound Department

Eventually, we decided that it was time to establish an Outbound Department of Stepwest. Since Stepwest is continuing to grow and make a splash in the work and travel industry for Working Holidays in Canada and Internships in Canada, we thought it would be naturally fitting to start sending our Canadian youth overseas as well. We ended up creating programs such as Working Holidays for Canadians, Internships for Canadians, and our Teach Abroad programs. Our Outbound Department is aptly named Stepabroad, which aims to provide the best work experiences overseas for Canadian youth.

Becoming a Recognized Organization (RO)

All of this growth lead to our application to become a Recognized Organization (RO). After going through a rigorous application and screening process based on the quality of programs, as well as financial and operational measures of the company, we are happy to announce that Stepwest is now a Recognized Organization (RO)!

We have received the status of Recognized Organization by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) via International Experience Canada (IEC). This means that we will be able to provide our exclusive work permits to participants from countries that do not have a Youth Mobility Agreement with Canada. And to top it all off, we were the only organization to be added to the RO list by Citizenship and Immigration Canada for the new year! You can see see us on the Recognized Organization (RO) list on CIC’s official website.

What does it mean to become a Recognized Organization?

Essentially, those who are interested in participating in International Experience Canada (IEC) but were unable to do so before because their country was not on the IEC approved list would be able to participate now through Stepwest. Previously, only participants from countries who had a Youth Mobility Agreement with Canada were able to obtain Working Holiday visas, International Co-op visas, or Young Professionals visas in order to participate in our Working Holiday in Canada and Internship in Canada programs.

Through Stepwest, we are officially able to offer the opportunity to be granted a Working Holiday visa for these countries, on top of the 35 IEC countries: Argentina, Brazil, Thailand, and Malaysia. Hopefully, we are able to offer more countries Working Holiday in Canada opportunities in the near future.

As well, we are happy to announce that International Co-op visas will now be available through us for all countries, providing that applicants are students or have a hospitality background. And how is this done? We have a private quota of work permits that are given to us by International Experience Canada to provide to international participants.