Workplace Challenges

Skilled immigrants are better educated than Canadians but 60% who come here are unemployed or underemployed

Endless job search frustrates new arrivals

Luma Sayegh couldn't find a job.

ROSALYN SOLOMON
[ 2008-03-12 ]

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With a degree in civil engineering and 25 years of experience as an engineer for three government offices, her resume was rejected by countless companies.

Originally from Iraq, the newcomer had to face what thousands of immigrants go through when looking for skilled work in Canada.

'HIRE A SKILLED IMMIGRANT'


"It was not easy," Sayegh said. "You try and try and you feel so frustrated when you can't find work."

The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) resource for employers and applicants called hireimmigrants.ca recently launched a new campaign called "Do Yourself a Favour: Hire a Skilled Immigrant."


The campaign is aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, which outnumber large firms and corporations. But, with limited human resources to find the right candidates, many good-paying positions remain unfilled.

"By far the skilled immigrants that are coming to Canada are better educated than the Canadian population overall because of the criteria system the federal government set up to get them into the country," said Kevin McLellan, project manager of hireimmigrants.ca. "Sixty per cent of skilled immigrants who come here are unemployed or underemployed."

When Sayegh arrived in 1996, she first sent her resumes out to engineering consulting firms, then to companies with more technical jobs such as drafting. After months of trying, Sayegh reached a dead end.

"I started looking for any kind of job -- anything, from retail, typing, just anything," she said. "I had to go back (to Iraq) because I couldn't find a job."

LANGUAGE A MAJOR BARRIER


Of the major barriers for applicants and employers, the most critical is language. McLellan said sometimes managers believe accents are a sign of poor communication skills.

Also, the lack of Canadian work experience, or education from a foreign university, make some employers hesitant because they are unable to translate how experience overseas can apply here.

"All research has shown that the single biggest factor in successful immigration is appropriate employment," McLellan said.

"If people can find jobs in which they're trained and experienced they settle faster, they make more money, they spend more money ... and their integration proceeds much more smoothly."

About 6.2 million Canadians were born in foreign countries, and about 57% of newcomers who've arrived since 2001 are in their prime working years from 25 to 54 years old. Although immigrants account for 70% of all labour market growth, the challenges are still there.

According to hireimmigrants.ca the Canadian economy missed out on about $4 billion to $5.9 billion due to a lack of recognizing the experience of skilled immigrants. If these newcomers were able to find good employment, the firm estimates more than $3.4 billion could be added to the economy.

The campaign is running in specialty trade publications, newspapers, billboards and on TV, in hopes of educating owners of small and medium-sized businesses to be more open-minded to hiring immigrants and to take into account their foreign skills and education.

HARD NUMBERS


- Filipinos and other Southeast Asians find work more quickly and remain longer than any other immigrant group in Canada, a Statistics Canada study says.

- About two thirds of Canada's population growth comes from immigration.

- 20% of Canada's population is foreign-born, the highest number in 75 years.

- 72% of Ontario immigrants in their prime working years have an international university degree; about 25% of the same age group in Ontario are as educated.



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