Well its a little place called grand forks, cant afford to move as we have just moved house in grand forks, and we know we have been done on the house but cant prove it so with what has happened in the house since we bought it it is unsellable. Just our luck, it just gets better. So cant sell the house till the problem has been done, but cant fix the problem with no money so at the moment yes we are as you say stuck. So yes depressed isnt in it at the moment, we just feel that everyone is against us at the moment. You tend to take it personally.

Hi,

The way they employ people and then fire them is horrible and the whole hiring process is just pathetic and a complete waste of time, everyone should get a fair chance and all this rubbish networking crap is stupid. Alot of people from the Uk can do the jobs with their eyes closed yet the employers wont give them a chance or invite them for an interview and make a fool out of them by grilling them, or they make them start from the bottom again, which is horrible, and no real prospects of promotion...In BC if you dont have a good stable job or your own successful business, honestly its not worth the hassle, you may think you will have a better life, but what life will you have were you are stuggling and barely making ends meet, wouldnt you be better off moving somewhere in the Uk or to a better area and work harder at work to get a promotion or a better paid job......Just a few thoughts really....

MR79

I think there is still a remnant of the wild west mentality in BC. Make your own life, build your own house, go out and do what it takes to put food on the table, don't rely on anyone but yourself. This is in stark contrast to the attitude of some in the UK who expect the state to underwrite their, and their families, futures.

I am not saying one is better than the other, but they are different. It is yet another way that Canada and Britain are superficially similar but are often very different. It is also something that a potential immigrant has to keep in mind.

I do take issue with your comment about not getting a fair chance. You are a foreigner arriving in a new country. What do you expect? Do you think that people fresh off the boat from India or China should be given the top jobs without so much as a proper interview to find out if they match up to their resumes? Don't you think it reasonable for an employer to expect them to work in a more junior position than they had in their homeland while they learn about how business is conducted in Canada? Do you think that because you are from Britain you should expect preferential treatment?

I have worked all my life with small and medium sized private businesses and can tell you that in this sector promotion is based much more on merit in BC than it was in the UK. However, soft skills are an important part of merit.

Emigrating, by itself, is big deal. Restarting and developing a career in a different work culture is an even bigger deal. It can be challenging and frustrating. However, it can be done. In fact it is being done all the time.

But Britain it isn't.

Maybe to an extent: the welfare state maybe less, but the nanny state is much much more. The government is everywhere here and that's how the people like it.

No-one in their right mind should think that they expect to be given preferential treatment because they are British and be given jobs without an interview. I don't think MR79 is saying that at all.

I think the point is that jobs should be offered on merit, not just based on who you know and that any qualifications/experience gained outside Canada should not just be automatically discounted as being worth less than the Canadian equivalents.

Your comments are based on your experience. My experience is that in the UK, getting a job is based more on merit than here and that international experience/quals are not as readily discounted.

Well after 18 years in Vancouver, i have not expereinced this. Got an interview, competed for the job, was hired (with a 1 in 10 hire rate) and have been promoted twice. i honestly can't say anything bad in the way i have been treated by my employers here. I'm now on my third employer. Two in the private sector and now the Feds.

I would have thought the latter part of your quote should be obvious to anyone no matter where they are.

I've had the same experience as JBE. Yes, there is a hire and fire mentality, on the flipside, lots of opportunity and less gender bias at work (in my experience). I haven't worked much in England though, only Scotland, Australia and NZ.

I haven't got one of my jobs in Van based on who I know, I wonder what I'm doing wrong? ha ha. Mainly employers have seemed concerned that I"m committed to Canada and being here - once they learn that I am the issue is dropped. I guess that's one of the barriers as an immigrant, but I also think fair enough.

Might come down to industries? A lot of nurses and cops are hired direct from the UK, valuing their international experience. I should imagine that it is similar in other fields???

Yup, I wonder about that too. If it's a competitive industry/unionized ie. film/tv work then it's probably going to be harder.

When I came on here over 3 years ago and asked anyone about Grand forks I was told it is like a Stephen King book. The people here are nice and it is a nice place to live. If you can get permanant work. The kids love it. Settled in to school. More here than back home.

The problem is here that it is a case of, like the council you have got to be related or lived here for 30 years or more. Work here is a case of who you know, doesnt matter if you can do the job better and thats the way it seems to work here. And being british has nothing to do with it. If you have worked paid in to the system and spent every penny you have and proberly paid more than some canadians have then yes we do expect some help when we need it till we find work.

We didnt expect to come to canada and sit on our backsides like some do back home and here and claim for the rest of our lives and expect something for nothing, That is not the life we had back home and it ist what we wanted here. We want to work and have a better life for us and the kids.Like I would of thought everyone on here wanted when they came to Canada. I think some people here need to catch up with the times. But yes my husband can now claim EI but the way his boss did it stinks. You dont lay someone off because there is no work and the next day before my husband was layed off a new one comes along and is doing his job. You can work for a company here and you have to give them 2 weeks notice for a day off, but then that night you are working the boss comes out and says right youre all layed off. That just cant be right the way they work here.

I think it does vary a lot depending on what field you're in, but it's definitely a lot more insular-looking overall. I read lots on here about nurses having problems getting past the various provincial hurdles.

It sucks and I feel for you, but unfortunately that can be the work culture here and it is only compounded by the fact that you live in a small isolated town. What does your OH do? Are there better opportunities elsewhere (AB was mentioned). You could always rent out your house if need be, whilst you get back on your feet?

I can only speak from my experience. When you put it like that it sounds as if you are saying nepotism trumps ability. I don't believe that at all, at least not in the private business sector.

We all know that in the private sector many jobs are never advertised. If one of my clients needs a new bookkeeper the first thing they will do is call me and ask if I know of anyone. If I know someone suitable who is looking for work I will make an introduction. I can understand that it might seem to a newcomer that it is not fair - they could do the job but didn't have a chance to apply.

In reality they had exactly the same chance, just went about it the wrong way.

If I returned to London I might want temporary office work. In London the vast majority of temporary work is handled by agencies. I wouldn't get much sympathy if I complained that I wasn't getting any temporary work but refused to contact these agencies because it wasn't the "Canadian" way of going about it.

That said, I found my first job here from answering a classified ad in the paper. You don't have to network to find a job, but it can sure help.


Academic qualifications are academic qualifications and I have never had, or seen, an issue with this. Licensing is different. I don't mind if a licensing body makes sure that people have the appropriate education and experience to do what they are asking to be paid for. It seems to be slowest where the licensing body also acts as a trade union for its members.

However, I do sometimes wonder if some posters think they should not have to go through the same processes as people from elsewhere in the world. After all, they have a British education which is obviously superior and should be quite good enough for a former colony. (Not aimed at you BTW - just an observation.)

Happened to me. Chopped on a Friday. Started a new guy the morning they got shot of me. Not even subtle. Still looking for work, not a sniff of a job.
It has made me question if staying here is worth it.
Pretty soon won't have a choice, the money is gone.
Don't feel I can blame BC entirely, should have planned it better probably. Underestimated the importance of the work situation.
In short, I sympathise with your situation.
If there is more job security in Calgary, that could be the answer for you.
Bozo

Hmm, but then I still lurk in the Oz & NZ forums and I see very similar complaints from nurses there. I suspect unless there's a massive shortage most provincial/state/national bodies want to protect their own first. I also suspect since the recession it's got harder.

Still, frustrating for the innocent immigrant for sure.