Alberta_Rose

More jobs for migrants


New immigration minister, Joe Volpe, has urged Canadian businesses to hire more immigrants, stating that the country is wasting a valuable skills resource. Volpe said that while Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) must do more to address problems with the recognition of foreign credentials, more companies must also be willing to give immigrant workers a chance to show what they can do.

“We have a vast resource of skilled people who have come here and are earning a living, but are underused,� Volpe said at a recent conference. “We [CIC] went on a recruiting spree encouraging the best and brightest to come here, only to find that these people couldn’t find jobs in their chosen fields because they don’t have the Canadian experience you want.

“We are squandering, wasting an opportunity that fell into our laps when we attracted the best and the brightest.
“We probably have the best educated taxi and limo trade in the world,� he added, making reference to the number of skilled immigrants who are forced to take up non-skilled positions to find employment.

During his speech, Volpe also cited concerns that Canada could struggle to attract the number of immigrants it required over the next few years as “Europe, the United States and Australia will also be competing much harder for skilled immigrants�.

The issue of immigrants being ignored in Canada’s skilled workforce is not a new one. Ever since Canada’s immigration system was changed to its current quota-based points system in 2002, there has been an underlying problem of foreign qualifications and credentials being assessed and converted into their Canadian equivalents.

In addition, Volpe also pledged to speed up visa processing times for skilled immigrants.
During a question and answer session at the manufacturing conference, Volpe’s department was criticised for the fact skilled immigrants currently have to wait for over two years before receiving their visas. The minister replied by promising to boost the efficiency of the operation.

“We can’t fill the needs of our economy if the applicants who can fill that need has to wait two or three years to get approval to come to Canada,� he said. “We have to streamline the system.�

mhhp

Awareness is the first step on the loooooong road to improvement!

Alberta_Rose

We can but hope!!!

mhhp

and we do!

Maple Leaf

too true to both of you *S* awareness is the first step.

Back in Australia they complain constantly (they being the public in general) about migrants who *take* the jobs away from the Aussies. However people do not think about how transient the migrant population is. New Australians, New Canadians, New Americans etc etc....it all cylcles round.
I also think perhaps some of us undervalue ourselves to a degree. I know i have been getting a little caught up in this mind set.
I am therapist *specificaly in Dementia Care* and i have been finding myself thinking of unskilled positions. (((((WHY)))) i ask myself.????? Is this a common practise.?
I have thought maybe it is because i am here on Family Class and skills and knowledgement requirement doesn't come into it. But then again, i am reading how many people who are brought into countries based upon their skills and knowledge do not go into, or cannot find employment in the field of expertise.
Does it come from us..?? do we go into with the thought that i am not good enough for this job?? is it because there is so many NEW things and different things to get used to that we feel a little lost and inadequate.?
Any insight will be most welcomed as i would like some clarity before i sink into the thoughts of *i can't apply for *that* when the time comes.

Thanks!~

iaink

I think there is a danger of that. People come to sites like this and constantly hear how tough it is to land a good job as a newcommer (mainly as there is a tendency for people to come to sites like this for moral support in hard times), and after a while the mindset becomes one of landing any job at first for the "canadian experience" and then moving on.

Honestly though if you look at the posters who live here, most of us managed to get a decent job pretty quickly, so maybe the mindset should be to go for the job you want, and then only if that doesnt happen to start looking at options lower down the foodchain.

The reality is that immigrants coming from the UK or Oz have a major advantage over a lot of immigrants in the job stakes, and its that their English ability is not going to be questioned. Another advantage is that traditonally a lot of migrants came from the UK, so there are many UK people, or at least people with a UK heritage who have climbed the slipery pole to the upper management level, and that helps propagate a certain image too.

In recent years the number of English migrants has gone down in relation to other groups (mainly asian?) so it seems to me that hopefully in the years to come hopefully there will be a positive impact on the way all immigrants are viewed as more immigrants from different ethnic backgrounds make it to senior management on the strength of their abilities. Heres hoping anyway.

wcitizen

I waited 6 months to get a professional job, but now that our savings are drying out, I am applying for any menial job, but still no chance, even for min wage jobs!

wcitizen

You think the government didn't know this?
They are following a policy of DECEIVE and BETRAYAL: deceiving potential immigrants, bringing people with high qualifications here, and then giving them a hard time, and making them ready for min wage dirty jobs just to survive!

Alberta_Rose

Yeah Ok, and why would they do that exactly? Just for fun?

I'm sure there are less-highly qualified people in the world, with lower expectations, who would do these jobs for the wages they pay and with better grace!

The "highly-qualified people" can and do sometimes vote with their feet, cut their losses, and just move out again!

There obviously is something badly wrong with the situation as it is, but I am far from convinced its just done out of spite! More probably down to poor communication and bad management maybe? Canada does "want and need" skilled workers, but they haven't yet worked out how to let them work! Eh!

MikeUK

The reality seems that although the government is ‘attracting’ the ‘highly skilled’ workers to Canada via the skilled worker route…
It would seem that the companies still need to get them in via the Work visa…

In other words if the right people are already here.. why do the Canadian companies have to go abroad to find the right calibre of employees..

It would seem that the skills required don’t match the skill being allowed in or those attracted to Canada enough to emigrate (or disillusioned with home) are not the ones needed here ?

I know there are people from both skilled and work visa routes here.. It would be interesting to get opinions on why this is??

iaink

The government knows it needs skilled people to grow the economy...especially as many skilled canadians head south for more $. The governement controlls the immigration policy to that end.

Unfortunatly the government has little/no influence over the professional bodies that license or control many skilled trades, often for the benefit of one group of people only, their members. The professional bodies also propagate this idea that only canadian qualifications are good enough. Its not in the professional bodies interest to promote immigrant rights...that just means more competition and less money for their members, so you get the situation we have in Canada.

The governement is slowly waking up to this problem, and is trying to exert influence on the licensing bodies to open up and give immigrants a chance. Its not doing enough or doing it fast enough if you ask me, but as Glaswegian has said in the past (Im paraphrasing a bit) Until you've been here a year trying to get a job, a lot of employers just plain wont take a chance on you in case you change your mind about canada and return "home" which does happen...ask Julius), and its possible that thats exctly what the "canadian experience" trap is all about.

Good Luck, hang in there!

Maple Leaf

I think we have to look at ourselves to. Just because we don't get the Job..doesn't mean it was because if immigration issues. maybe it is to do with interviewing skills. I myself have interviewed prosective employees who just didnt' cut it in the interview. They had the qualifications but not the aptitude. I also know in my area there is a immigration help place. It offers help with job search, counseling and just about any other issue new immigrants face. Has anyone used these services?

I am thinking about this a lot today and one thought is. preparation. I personaly would not move to any country without doing some homework first. IE contacting companies etc to find out the potential of future employment.
Even tho i am applying through Family Class, i still did my homework for future employment prospects. I researched the area my fiance is in for the potential of future work. The need is high in my current area (aged care) However as previous posts have said, i am feeling a little like a fish out of water. (am finding it difficult to even cross the road . .LOL)

excellent points *iaink* and *morwenna*.....i am feeling inspired. i just need to keep that inspirational thoughts flowing *S*

Pretty Flowers

I was planning to come here under PR.

As part of the process of investigation - what the job market is like etc. I was offered a job that got me here in a fraction of the time I would have spent waiting for PR.

While I would say that luck and being in the right place at the right time had a lot to do with it, my family often point out that I spent hours on the internet sussing out potential employers. I also made sure I had a very compelling CV. I was prepared to drop everything and come over at a moment's notice to interview, which thankfully I didn't need to do.

I also explored other options - doing an MBA, writing etc, as I didn't really want to wait 2 years to move country at my point in life. I think that to make a success of moving you need to do as much research as you can, and then do some more. You have to be prepared to investigate all the options and also potentially make a sideways move.

If I'd stayed in the UK, I'd probably have made director by now, but as things stand, its probably at least a good couple of years off here.... But then I moved for a better quality of life, which I definately am starting to get, rather than a bigger pay cheque...

wcitizen

That's because they need immigrants for two different reasons: The government needs them to take their money ($500 processing fee, $1000 landing fee, min $12000 when you enter the country, %15 GST/PST etc etc). And the gov is providing Canadian job market with doctors who out of desperation are ready to be doc assistant (at best). If you were running a big company wouldn't you like it?

I am working part time for a market research company as a tel interviewer, and there are a lot more of highly educated immigrants there, doing a job which a native hi school kid can do. but I see the ads of this company boasting their call center is staffed by college educated people!

MikeUK

Ok.. I see your gripe.... but that still doesn’t explain why companies have to go abroad and pay relocation fees to bring in the skilled workers they need....

Picking up an Immigrant would cost about $20,000 less than importing the skilled worker via the work visa…plus most work visas move for equivalent salaries and don’t take a drop to move over so I’m sure they cost more in the long run too….

So why if there is this untapped skilled work base, do the companies still need to go abroad..

Because the one thing you can guarantee is importing labour on a work visa is that it has little or no Canadian experience…