HGV over the inspection pit at our Johannesburg test centre

For employers in Canada

Skilled trades, tested before you hire.

Welders, fitters, millwrights, mechanics and the rest of the trades. People already in Canada first. When the local market can't fill it, tradespeople tested in our vetted test centres in Manila, Johannesburg and Dubai, with every hire followed live in your own Sama portal.

I'm hiring I'm looking for work
  • Trade tested on camera or in person
  • Your own live portal
  • A named account manager
  • One fee, nothing up front

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.

Looking for work? This form is for employers. Register here instead, it is free.

We work directly with employers. We do not take on other recruitment agencies, labour suppliers or sub-agents.

9,462candidates available right now
908already in the UK, Ireland or Canada
22trades covered, local and overseas
1fee per hire, due once you make the offer. Nothing before.
Browse available candidates

Placed with

  • Transway
  • Maine Group
  • Liebherr
  • Nolan Engineering
  • Cherrymore
  • SFM Engineering
  • Oxigen Environmental
  • Sheridan Windows
  • Carlos Windows
  • Peter Martin Engineering
Tyre bay at our Johannesburg workshop
Our vetted test workshopJohannesburg tyre bay

How it works

Brief us. We test. You watch it happen.

Four steps, one weekly update, and nothing to pay until a job offer is accepted.

  1. Send the brief

    Role, numbers, salary and start date. We tell you the same day which route fits, local or overseas, and the real timeline for it.

    Same day

  2. We test on the tools

    Real trucks, trailers and plate in our vetted test workshops. Scored by an assessor and filmed, so you interview people who can already do the job.

    Video and score sheet in your portal

  3. You follow every hire live

    Shortlist, interview, offer, permit, start date. One screen, updated as it happens, with your own account manager on the end of it.

    Your Sama portal

  4. They start

    Flights, accommodation and the first weeks sorted for overseas hires. We check in after week one.

    One fee per person
Send us a brief Try the portal, no sign-up

Every candidate is trade tested

Welders. Fitters. Drivers. Mechanics. Tested on the tools, filmed.

Most of what we place is welders. Then fitters, mechanics, drivers, panel beaters, sprayers and the rest of the trades. All tested in our vetted test workshops, on real trucks, trailers and plate, scored by a qualified assessor and filmed. The video and the score sheet land in your portal, so you interview people who can already do the job. If they can't do it on the day, they don't travel.

What happens on the day, step by step
Trade test videoMIG welding, scored on the day
Trade test videoTrailer axle assembly
HGV on the inspection pit at our Johannesburg workshop
Inspection pit, Johannesburg
Tipper trucks on site with a client
On site with a client
Tyre bay at the Johannesburg workshop
Tyre bay, Johannesburg

Johannesburg

HGV workshop with inspection pit, tyre bay and trailer fabrication. Welders, fitters, mechanics and drivers.

Manila

Processed through our licensed Philippine partner. Trades and drivers tested before travel.

Dubai

Candidates already working in the Gulf. Often the fastest route.

Ireland and the UK

Local candidates tested at the employer or a partner workshop.

Tell us what you need Come and test candidates yourself

Two ways to fill a role

Local first. Overseas when local can't.

Tell us the role and we tell you the same day which route fits, and the real timeline for it.

Ireland and the UKAbout 2 weeks

Local hiring

Brief to start date. Candidates already here, screened before you interview them and trade tested before you hire, with a 6 month replacement guarantee.

908 already in Canada, Ireland or the UK right nowLocal hiring
Trade tested abroadPaperwork handled

International deployment

When local can't deliver. Tested in our vetted test workshops, then the recruitment campaign and paperwork run with a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or lawyer, flights and accommodation arranged, timeline in writing. 6 month replacement guarantee.

8,554 on our register abroadOverseas hiring

Your Sama portal

Every candidate, every stage, live

No more chasing for updates. See exactly where each hire stands, from shortlist to first day, with everything we hold on them in one place.

  • Live trackingShortlisted, tested, interviewed, offered, permit in, started. Updated as it happens.
  • Trade test videos and scoresWatch the test and read the score sheet before you book an interview.
  • One-tap decisionsMeet them, make an offer, or pass, in one tap.
  • Documents, invoices and your teamCVs, agreements and invoices in one place, with logins for everyone on your side.
Try the portal, no sign-up Create your account

Already set up? Sign in. Looking for work? Create a candidate account, it is free.

The Sama client portal showing candidates at each stage
A client portal, with sample data

Recent placements

Who we have placed, and what

Trades and drivers, local and overseas, across Ireland and the UK. References available on request.

We came to Sama Talent looking for skilled local window fitters and they delivered. Lance and Martin were responsive from day one, understood exactly what we needed, and placed the right people quickly.Carlos McDonagh, Managing Director, Carlos Windows
Liebherr Container CranesWelders and spray painters
Transway TrailersHGV mechanics, trailer fitters and CVRT testers
Maine GroupMechanical fitters, sprayers, joiners, welders and CNC operators
Nolan EngineeringWelders
Oxigen EnvironmentalHGV mechanics and drivers
AT&T RentalsHGV mechanics
CherrymoreHGV drivers, fitters, carpenters, bakers and hospitality staff
Carlos WindowsWindow fitters, plasterers and carpenters
Sheridan WindowsWindow fitters
Your company next?Tell us the role. A member of our team will get back to you within one working day.Send us a brief

Fees and guarantees

Nothing up front. One fee per hire, in writing.

In Canadian dollars. Half when the offer is accepted, the balance 14 days after they start. Government fees and flights passed through at cost, with no mark-up.

Hired in Canada

CAD $7,500Per person, already in Canada with the right to work.
  • Trade tested before you hire
  • No LMIA needed
  • 6 month replacement guarantee

From overseas

CAD $8,500Per person, plus government fees and flights at cost.
  • Tested at our vetted test centres in Manila, Johannesburg or Dubai
  • Recruitment campaign and paperwork run for you
  • 6 month replacement guarantee

Always

$0Up front, and nothing ever charged to the candidate.
  • No retainer, no startup fee
  • Orders over 15 quoted individually
  • LMIA fee of $1,000 per position, paid by the employer, at cost
  • You employ them directly, no middleman
Get a quote for your role The full fee schedule

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.

Live jobs

Open right now

See all 83 jobs

Automotive Jobs

HGV Mechanic, Waste And Recycling Fleet

Newry, Northern IrelandFull TimeView job Construction

Cabinet Maker

IrelandFull TimeView job Construction

Carpenter / Joiner

IrelandFull TimeView job Construction

Electrical Engineer, Water And Wastewater

Co. KerryFull TimeView job Construction

CNC Machinist, Large Milling And Turning (weekend Shift)

Killarney, Co. KerryFull TimeView job Construction

Welder / Site Fitter

IrelandFull TimeView job

Sectors

Where we fill roles

Live from our database: how many candidates are on the books for each sector right now. Each page shows the roles, the route and the timeline.

Hiring? Go straight to the trade: HGV drivers, Welders, HGV mechanics, Electricians, Mechanical fitters, Bus drivers, Plant operators, Chefs, or every trade. From abroad: the Philippines, South Africa, the UAE, India.

Looking for work?

You never pay us. Not to apply, not to be placed, not for a permit.

Employers pay us. If anybody asks you for money for a job through Sama, it is not us.

Free

Registering, the CV builder, the English and skills tests, the drivers' hours course. All free, always.

Register free Quick

Register in two minutes on your phone, then we talk on WhatsApp. No forms to print, no office to visit.

See live jobs Easy

Your own Sama page shows where you stand, live. Flights and a place to stay sorted if you are coming from abroad.

Your candidate account
See live jobs Register, it's free

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 CanadaPermanent 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 ProgramDesignated 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 routesHigh-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
Get a quote for your role

Figures as checked on 29 October 2026. They move, and we check them again for every hire. Canadian immigration applications are filed by a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or lawyer.

Common questions

Honest answers

Still wondering? A member of our team will answer within one working day, or ring us Weekdays, 3am to 3pm Eastern. +353 1 903 8249
What does it cost to get started?

Nothing. 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.

How quickly can you fill a role?

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, so we give you the current timeline for your role in writing.

Do you handle the visas and permits?

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.

Who employs the candidate, you or us?

They work for you. Anyone hired through Sama is employed directly by your business. No ongoing fees, no percentage deducted from their salary, and no middleman sitting in the arrangement.

Are you regulated?

Sama Talent & Offshore Services Limited holds Employment Agency Licence EA 5649, issued by the Workplace Relations Commission of Ireland and valid to May 2027. Irish company CRO 810220. UK entity Company No. 17175806. US entity Sama Talent LLC, Delaware.

Need staff?

Tell us the role and the start date. A member of our team will get back to you within one working day, and you get a named account manager from day one.

Tell us what you need
+353 1 903 8249

Weekdays, 3am to 3pm Eastern

Looking for work?

Registering is free and always will be. We read every application but, due to the high volume of applicants, cannot respond to everyone.

Register free