Guatemala City, October 24, by AGN- Brenda Larios -Guatemalans have benefited from employment opportunities in the United States of America and Canada during the government of President Alejandro Giammattei.
According to data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare -Mintrab-, 3,485 temporary work visas have been granted during the 1,000 days of the current administration.
Mintrab and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are in charge of this program.
Main Positions
On October 14, the Vice Minister of Labor, Geovana Salazar, informed that the main industries where Guatemalans have been requested are:
- hotel industry
- gardening
- customer service
- kitchen staff
- construction
- seafood and vegetable packaging
- traveling fairs or carnivals to set up games and fairs in the country
- forklifts and heavy load management
Also, Vice Minister Salazar urged Guatemalans to avoid becoming victims of fraud as the Ministry of Labor conducts this temporary worker program.
About the Program
The Seasonal Labor Program was made official in May 2021. The main objective is to connect Guatemalan workers with decent employment opportunities in the foreign labor market.
This promotes regular, orderly, safe, and circular migration, which means people are not at risk during their journey.
Likewise, Guatemala and the United States of America have joint agreements for the promotion of labor by granting H-2A (agricultural) and H-2B (non-agricultural) visas.
For this purpose, applicants should contact the authorities of Mintrab, which designed and implemented the systems, manuals, and databases.
Recent Travel Experience
This August 16, a group of 166 Guatemalans arrived in Montreal, Canada, traveling to that country with a temporary work visa.
The group will work in the agri-food sector, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs -MINEX-.
At the time of their arrival, they received snacks as part of the protection actions undertaken by the Guatemalan consular mission in Canada. They also received guidance on health and prevention from the Public Health Office of Quebec.
