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Canada's experience: the perspective of newcomer service

By Gerald Kellogg Jane

By 2065, 100% of Canada's total labor force growth will come from immigrants. However, recent statistics show that, for example, the GTA unemployment rate of Canadian-born workers is 5.4%, while the unemployment rate of immigrants is almost twice that of the former, at 9.6%. If we only look at the immigrants in the past five years, the figure is as high as 14.2%.

In order to study the employment barriers faced by immigrants and the effective strategies for Canadian companies to use their skills, scholars from the University of Toronto participated in the "Beyond the Canadian Experience" activity with community and company leaders. 20 1 1 The author of the study agrees that the requirement of "Canadian experience" is one of the most important obstacles to prevent immigrants from contributing skills to the national economy.

But newcomers looking for jobs in Canada may be hindered by employers looking for "Canadian experience". However, it is difficult for even the settlement department to define this seriously abused term.

"Unfortunately, I think this is what employers use to express their lack of understanding and knowledge of international experience, education and certificates. Alison Pound, executive director of ACCES Employment Center in Toronto, said: "For companies that want to hire people, they are looking for something they are familiar with, which is why they talk about the Canadian experience." .

Pond sees organizations like her as a network of new people, connecting them with the workplace. As one of the main obstacles faced by newcomers is the lack of contacts, ACCES tries to establish relationships with employers and connect newcomers with employers, regulators and licensing agencies-always in order to get them into their own work fields.

A group of settled workers attended Gerard Keledjian's lecture on "Immigration and Media" at the Ryerson Immigration and Settlement Center.

But for others in the industry, "Canadian experience" is actually a convenient abbreviation for some important qualifications of future job seekers. For Shabnum Budhwani, manager of skills change project and service, what people call "Canadian experience" refers to "soft skills" (as opposed to so-called "hard skills", which are supported by evidence). "When they talk about the' Canadian experience', they are talking about being able to integrate into the Canadian working environment, become a team member, respond to problems and solve problems."

According to Budhwani, Skills for Change tries to create an environment in which newcomers gradually acquire these skills in workshops. At the same time, through interviews, job fairs, work arrangements and group interviews, employers understand the benefits of hiring skilled immigrants, overcome their fear of the unknown, and trust them to take on more job responsibilities.

Peter Paul is the project leader who assists local leaders to formulate immigration employment strategies (alliances). This project supports local efforts to successfully adapt to and implement plans to promote the proper employment of skilled immigrants. In fact, he said, these employers are willing to hire skilled new Canadians. "To hell with the Canadian experience-but they just can't find the right person to do the right job. New immigrants are working with community agencies and service providers, but "there is a huge gap between the settlement department and the actual employers who have these jobs." We try to build a bridge between the two communities, "Paul said.

One way ALLIES builds these bridges is through one-on-one guidance, which establishes a direct connection between employers and new Canadians. ALLIES also manages a website called hireimmigrants.ca, which provides enterprises with tools and resources to better recruit and retain skilled immigrants. Through webinars, success stories, videos and other tools, hireimmigrants.ca showcases the best practices of employers across Canada to help other companies make progress in finding skilled immigrants and integrating them into the workforce. Emphasis is placed on the "partner system" that matches new and old employees in Deloitte, a financial consulting company; Touch-a new Canadian or other new employee matches a long-term employee for six months-can help employers better screen, retain and promote skilled immigrants.

Another way that immigration service agencies try to better connect skilled immigrants with employers is through internships. For example, through the CareerBridge paid internship program, since 2003, 1700 internationally qualified professionals have established contacts with major employers in Canada. 80% of them have successfully transformed their internships into full-time professional positions in their fields.

"Internship may bring permanent opportunities in your field, and we know this is true. "Internship will give you Canadian work experience," said Anne lamont, president and CEO of Career Edge Organization, which manages the CareerBridge project. However, she pointed out that some institutions, out of kindness, told newcomers not to include all their skills and experience in their resumes, so as to avoid looking overqualified and qualify themselves for internships or job opportunities. Lamont said that all this really "makes employers pay less attention to skilled immigrants." She said that employers want to see a comprehensive and well-documented cover letter and resume, which reflect personal skills and achievements.

Paul said that progress has also been made in other areas in establishing contacts. "Compared with the past few years, employers are now more aware of immigrant talents and the value they bring to the company. Cities in Canada are developing various projects-cross-departmental guidance and internships-although relatively small in scale, they are building bridges between the manufacturing sector of the community and the community sector that provides talents. "

However, there is still a long way to go. Paul said that some community organizations serving immigrants, especially small ones, are not suitable to cooperate with employers because it is difficult to understand accounting, finance, manufacturing, insurance and other industries. That's why alliances tries to solve their own lack of knowledge by working closely with immigrant employment committees all over Canada.

One of the councils that coordinate between employers and resettlement departments is the Toronto Regional Immigration Employment Council. "We have the opportunity to get in touch with employers and find out what they want. Therefore, whether it is the actual skill set, experience or professional or professional type, TRIEC has the opportunity to obtain this information from employers and then pass it on to the community organizations that cooperate or work with us, "said Charles Achampong, manager of enterprise and stakeholder relations at TRIEC. On the contrary, he thinks it also gives them an opportunity to understand the challenges faced by some immigration service agencies and pass them on to employers.

He warned that the immigration industry must better provide information to professional regulators, governments at all levels and potential immigrants.

A special report published by TD Economics in February 20 12 suggested that the federal government could consider giving the provinces a one-time settlement fund. According to the report, as provincial authorities have a better understanding of which services are most suitable for the settlement, employment and other needs of immigrants under their jurisdiction, they will be better able to fund specific community groups and optimize the provision and results of services. The report also urges immigration service agencies to adopt a coordinated approach in providing services, including sharing common best practices. As stated in the report, "the standardization of language programs, qualification services and employment services can alleviate many risks associated with hiring immigrants."

As early as 2009, a participatory action research report released by the Mennonite New Life Center in Toronto also promoted the coordination and consistency of services, and suggested that professional regulators establish and disclose a consistent and transparent process to assess the relevant abilities and knowledge of skilled workers, establish and promote government loan funds for newcomers to obtain a certificate recognition process, and promote standardized language examinations for newcomers.

Pond, Budhwani and others working in this department admit that there are problems of lack of coordination, decentralized services and competition for funds. However, they quickly pointed out the efforts to improve coordination, as well as the cooperation being realized in platforms such as the local immigration partnership or the International Federation of Trainers' Service Agencies, where independent community-based institutions, service providers and colleges in general temporary assistance come together to develop formal partnerships and strategies to coordinate and strengthen services provided to newcomers.

"I know we didn't get immigrants into their territory fast enough. Although a lot of energy has been invested, obstacles still exist, but it has not yet reached its due level. It involves us, but it also involves licensing agencies, educational institutions, employers, funders and the government. Pond said: "There are many participants who must participate in creating this kind of service coordination.

(This article was originally published in the Canadian experience special issue of New Voice magazine. )