For employers in Canada
Skilled trades, tested before you see a resume.
Sama is a global staffing and trade testing company. We look for people already in Canada first. When the local market can't fill it, we bring in tradespeople tested in our own centres in Manila, Johannesburg and Dubai, and our own platform tracks every one of them from shortlist to first shift.
- Daysto a shortlist you can interview
- Testedon the tools, to your own procedure
- Liveyour own portal, every candidate tracked
- $0retainer or monthly fee
Rather talk? +353 1 903 8249 Weekdays, 3am to 3pm Eastern
Tell us what you need
Role, numbers, province and start date is plenty. A member of our team will get back to you within one business day.
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We work directly with employers. We do not take on other recruitment agencies, labour suppliers or sub-agents.
Employers we work with
What we supply
The trades we fill for Canadian employers
Every candidate does a hands-on test with one of our assessors before we put them forward, on camera or with you in the room.
- Welders: MCAW, FCAW, GMAW, SMAW and TIG, tested to your procedure
- Structural steel and plate fitters
- Millwrights and mechanical fitters
- Heavy duty equipment and truck and transport mechanics
- Autobody technicians and painters
- CNC machinists and machine operators
- Electricians and industrial electricians
- Pipefitters and steamfitters
- Carpenters, formwork and scaffolders
- Engineers: mechanical, electrical, process
How we fill roles
Three routes. We tell you which one fits.
The route decides the timeline, so we set it out in writing before you spend anything.
Fastest
Already in Canada
- Permanent residents and open work permit holders, including working holiday participants
- No LMIA, no immigration fee, can start straight away
- Tested and interviewed like any local hire
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Immigration Program
- Designated employers in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and PEI hire overseas trades with no LMIA
- The job leads to permanent residence, which keeps people
- We gather every document the endorsement needs
Anywhere in Canada
LMIA and provincial routes
- High-wage LMIA: four weeks of advertising, then an average of 98 business days to decide
- Provincial streams for trades in Ontario, BC, Saskatchewan and rural Alberta
- We run the recruitment campaign and evidence it
How long, honestly
Where the candidate applies from sets the clock
Work permit processing times are published by IRCC by country and they move. These are the figures on 29 October 2026, and we check them again for every hire.
NowAlready in Canada on an open permit or as a permanent resident
4weeksWork permit processing for candidates applying from the UK
18weeksWork permit processing for candidates applying from South Africa
98daysAverage business days for a high-wage LMIA decision
Low-wage LMIAs are not being processed in cities at 6% unemployment or more, including Edmonton, Calgary, Halifax and Toronto, unless the employer is in construction or another exempt sector. If that is you, we will show you the route that still works.
Trade testing is what we do
Watch them weld before you hire
Send us your weld procedure and drawings. Candidates are tested to them in our own centres in Manila, Johannesburg and Dubai, on camera with an assessor, or with you there in person on a recruitment trip.
- Test video and score sheet with every resume
- Your positions, processes and materials, not a generic test
- Meet and test a full shortlist in a day or two
- Documented experience for provincial trade qualifier and Red Seal challenges
Manila Johannesburg Dubai
Our own technology
Run the whole hire from one live portal
Every client gets their own Sama portal. No chasing for updates, no spreadsheets passed around by email.
- Every candidate we put forward, with the resume, test video and score sheet
- Interviews and trade tests booked and recorded
- Each hire tracked step by step: offer, documents, permit, flights, first day
- Documents and invoices in one place, live for your whole team
See it for yourself
Fees and guarantees
One fee per person. Here it is.
No retainer, no monthly charge, nothing to open a search. The fee is per hire, in writing before anything starts, and government charges and flights are passed through at cost with no mark-up.
Hired in Canada
$7,500 CAD per person, already in Canada with the right to work- Half when the offer is accepted, the balance 14 days after they start
- Trade tested before you see the resume
- No LMIA needed
From overseas
$8,500 CAD per person, plus government fees and flights at cost- Half when the offer is accepted, the balance 14 days after they start
- Tested at our own centres in Manila, Johannesburg or Dubai
- Recruitment campaign and paperwork run for you
Always
$0 up front, and nothing ever charged to the candidate- No retainer, no startup fee
- Orders over 15 quoted individually
- You employ them directly, no middleman
6monthsReplacement guarantee on every placement
$1,000LMIA fee per position, paid by the employer, at cost
0%Mark-up on government fees and flights
$0Retainer, startup or candidate fees, at any point
Sama Talent & Offshore Services Limited, 136 Capel Street, Dublin D01 T2C9. Licensed employment agency EA 5649, Workplace Relations Commission of Ireland. Canadian immigration applications are filed by a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or lawyer. Our managing director is a Canadian citizen.
Questions
What Canadian employers ask us
Can you really place in Canada?
Yes. We source and test the candidates, run the recruitment campaign where one is needed, gather every document, and work the immigration route with a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or lawyer, so the paperwork is right first time. If a route does not fit your role, we tell you before you spend anything.
How long does it take?
A shortlist in days. Someone already in Canada on an open permit can start as soon as you make the offer. From overseas it depends on the route and where the candidate applies from: IRCC currently shows about 4 weeks for work permits applied for from the UK and 18 weeks from South Africa, and a high-wage LMIA averages 98 business days. You get the timeline in writing before you decide.
Do your welders have Red Seal or CWB tickets?
Some do, and we say so on the resume. Most overseas welders arrive without a Canadian ticket, which is why we test them to your own procedure before you see them. Their documented hours support a provincial trade qualifier or Red Seal challenge once they are here, and in Alberta, where welding is a compulsory trade, we plan that in from the start.
Can you supply truck drivers?
Yes, but plan for it. Commercial licence classes do not exchange for a Canadian licence in any province we have checked, so drivers from overseas sit the province's testing and entry-level training, and that goes into the start date.
Do the candidates speak English?
English is tested on every candidate and the level is on the score sheet. Most routes to permanent residence also need an approved language test, which we arrange before the paperwork starts.
What does it cost?
CAD $7,500 per hire already in Canada and CAD $8,500 per hire from overseas, half when the offer is accepted and the balance 14 days after they start. Government fees and flights are passed on at cost. Every placement carries a six-month replacement guarantee, and nothing is ever charged to the candidate.
What roles are open?
Role, numbers, province and start date is plenty. You get a straight answer and a timeline before you decide anything.