Employers in Canada could have an incorrect impression of the abilities and employability of immigrants. Their ability to obtain employment in Canada is being hampered by this, but there might be a remedy.
The impression that skilled Canadian immigrants might not have the abilities necessary to carry out many of the same occupations in Canada that they might have carried out in their home country is a problem for them.
This impression is mostly based on three things: immigrants’ lack of job experience in Canada, “language difficulty,” and difficulties with Canada’s recognition of foreign educational and/or professional qualifications. It is getting difficult for Canadian immigrants.
In fact, Nita Chhinzer, a specialist in human resources management at the University of Guelph, specifically mentioned “biases” that exist among some Canadian employers. According to Chhinzer, these prejudices lead to employers discounting foreign education and job experience and making assumptions about an immigrant’s language skills. Unfortunately, this reality has had a noticeably negative effect on the lived experience of some immigrants in this country.
Implications for Canadian immigrants of this reported skill mismatch
As a result of the notion that there is a skills gap among immigrants, newcomers to Canada appear to be passed over for career possibilities rather than receiving enough training to help address these problems.
This is evident in the words of Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor Tiff Macklem. Recognizing Canada’s need for heightened immigration to support Canada’s workforce, Macklem mentioned the following about immigrants at his November 10th speech organized by the Public Policy Forum of Toronto. It is becoming difficult for Canadian immigrants to get jobs.
“Increased immigration adds potential workers. … Governments need to ensure newcomers have a smooth path into the workforce, with credential recognition and settlement support like language and skills training. … Businesses [also] need to invest in training so we can reduce the skills mismatch.”
Some arrivals have been pessimistic about their chances of having a prosperous future in this country due to the idea that immigrants from Canada are not qualified to conduct professional labour because of a “skills mismatch.”
One Indian immigrant who arrived in Toronto in June of last year, for instance, described her struggle to find employment as a “heartbreaking” reality. Tanya Raizada relocated to Canada after spending more than ten years managing human resources in Bombay. She then applied for 600 jobs in just under four months. She chose to return to India in September 2022 after only 20 interview calls and 0 job offers.
Raizada stated in an interview with Global News that she “personally felt like a failure [in Canada].”
These effects could ultimately have a negative impact on how immigrants across Canada feel Canada, but there might be a method to start fixing this issue.
Working to rectify this problem for immigrants to Canada
A policy review at the federal level is the first step in correcting the notion that immigrants in our nation have skills gaps that render them unsuitable for work possibilities.
In order for companies in Canada to more effectively acknowledge the value that immigrants bring to the country through their overseas working history, a reassessment of the country’s current immigration and employment policies may be necessary. The same is true for the alignment of degrees, diplomas, and certificates granted in Canada with educational qualifications from other nations. Last but not least, BoC Governor Tiff Macklem proposed that examining and changing government policies might be the first step in giving immigrants greater language and skills training.
Theoretically, this would lessen Canadian employers’ prejudices against immigrants as candidates or employees, presumably enhancing work opportunities for all immigrants to Canada.
