Workplace Challenges
A new language-training program wants to help immigrants succeed in the Canadian workplaceAnother glass ceilingThe jury's still out on whether or not Canada is doing a better job at bringing immigrants into the country to help fill our widening skilled-labour gap. |
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 [ 2007-07-15 ] |
But there's considerable data showing that those we do entice to the Great White North are running head-long into barriers keeping them from fully participating in the workforce.
A recent Statistics Canada survey shows that after four years in Canada, immigrants' biggest difficulties remain "finding an adequate job and dealing with the language barrier."
"The ability to speak English is linked with the kind of job that new immigrants find, as those who reported speaking English well or very well were more likely to have an 'appropriate' job than those who reported speaking it less well," the report says.
And those who began in an appropriate job found they can't move up the ladder like their Canadian-born counterparts or immigrants who had better language and cutlure skills.
"Immigrants whose self-reported level of spoken English was good or very good were more likely to have a high-skill job," the StatsCan report said. "They also had higher wages compared to immigrants whose spoken English level was not as good."
That came as no surprise to Vincent Dong and Catherine Blakley.
Dong is Canadian-born, but was raised in a Cantonese home and struggled with learning English. Now a Toronto-based accountant and owner of tax consulting service Ad-Vice Inc., he recognized the difficulties qualified immigrants had when trying to apply their skills in the Canadian workplace.
CULTURE SHOCK
Blakley, who taught English across Asia for a number of years also saw difficulties, not only in language skills, but in adapting to the culture of work in another country.
"If you can imagine, I remember working for Samsung in Korea and I walked into my new boss's office and did what anyone would do -- I introduced myself and went to shake hands," she explained. "In that culture, to try to touch your boss is not only frowned upon, it's just not done."
Blakley learned her lesson the hard way, but wondered if there wasn't a better way to help adapt to a new job in a new country.
That's where Dong was ahead of her. About three years ago he began researching the subject because he recognized the massive need for immigrant accounting professionals already working in Canada to improve their image.
Dong recruited Blakley to partner with him on developing L.E.A.P. -- the Language Education for Accounting Professionals program, which opened in Toronto in the spring.
While there are plenty of English as a second language (ESL) schools in Toronto, they're mostly government funded and are designed for landed immigrants to start to learn the language and begin to fit in to general Canadian culture, says Blakley.
"There's usually about 40 people in a class and they learn a few words every day, but there's nothing that addresses career-specific language and there's no learning for an actual workplace."
Years in development, L.E.A.P is trying to fill that niche. The program, which operates out of the York School at 1320 Yonge Street, is specifically designed to prepare internationally and nationally trained accountants to communicate effectively in the Canadian business environment.
"It is our mission to produce graduates who understand the nuances of Canadian office culture and can communicate with the same level of confidence an accuracy as their established colleagues," reads L.E.A.P.'s online brochure, which can be found at www.leapesl.ca.
LEAPS AND BOUNDS
Blakley, the program's director, says L.E.A.P. is growing by leaps and bounds and continues to be upgraded to better serve the needs of its students and the firms they work for.
"A few of the accounting firms that have shared their insight with us on what it is the accounting industry is in need of . . . include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Somberman and BDO Dunwoody," she said. "Other firms that have seen L.E.A.P. as an opportunity to enrich their employee's personal development are Sedgwick Post&Hogg, Axiom and Consumer Impact Marketing."
Individuals who have yet to find an appropriate job also use L.E.A.P., which prides itself on being relatively affordable.
Blakley says that already she and Dong are looking at extending the program to other financial-based professions. As well, there's already talk about expanding to other cities across Canada and the United States.
"This is something that just needs to be done," she says. "And it's something Vince wants to do and succeed at as just one of the ways he wants to give back to the community and help out those who are new to the country."
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