Mobility Deal Signed by South Korea and Finland

Arrangements have been made, according to Canada, between South Korea and Finland, stating that the government will finally be able to provide equal work and travel opportunities between the two countries. 

Members from Canada, Finland, and South Korea will have the opportunity to join the International Experience Canada programme or the Finnish or South Korean equivalent programmes. In addition, the two agreements will come into play in 2024. 

According to the leaders of the agreements, the improvement in labour market access will also improve personal ties between people. 

Sean Fraser, minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship in Canada, stated on May 23 that there is continuous “support” and arrangements for both Canadian and international youth overseas.

“Canadian and South Korean youth will have more opportunities to live, travel, and work abroad for longer than ever before, and Canadian employers will have a bigger talent pool to find the workers they need.” He stated. In addition, he emphasised the similarity in benefits between this programme and the Finland programme. 

The Korea-Canada initiative's age eligibility was raised to 35-year-olds after being only up to 30-year-olds for so long. 

The two partners emphasised that there will be two categories: International Co-op (Internship) and Young Professionals; both will be added to the already existing “Working Holiday” category. Also, most people will be able to attend the programme twice, each one up to 24 months. 

Park Jin, Korea’s minister of Foreign Affairs, described the programme as a “remarkable milestone”, “Canada is one of Korea’s closest partners because of the two countries’ shared values and interests,” she said. 

“I am hopeful that it will give future generations who will lead Korea-Canada relations for the next 60 years the opportunity to directly experience and gain a better understanding of each other’s country.”

The agreement with Finland has the exact same categories, in which members will be able to join for up to 12 months per category. 

Tuula Haatainen, the Finnish minister of employment, agreed that the plan would strengthen ties “between our already close countries”.

She stated, “The youth of both Finland and Canada will have even more opportunities to travel, work abroad, and learn of each other’s cultures in the future.”

IRCC Minister Sean Fraser met with Alfred N. Mutua, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, on May 18 and discussed “the tremendous economic, cultural,and social benefits that Kenyans bring when they choose to immigrate to Canada”. The agreement came immediately after that. 

Universities Canada stated that the youth mobility agreements between the two countries would strengthen their relationship, as would the Global Skills Opportunity pilot that is funded through Employment and Social Development Canada and administered by Universities Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada. 

Launched in 2011, the GSO has “funded nearly 5,000 mobility opportunities to date, with plans to engage thousands more students before the end of the pilot in 2025”, according to Graham Barber, assistant director of international relations for Universities Canada. 

“GSO students have already been travelling to South Korea and Finland, but they can now access these youth mobility agreements in addition to the GSO funding to travel abroad and return with skills and connections in other countries, building people-to-people ties and bolstering trade and collaboration across borders.”