While recent immigrants to Canada are more highly educated than previous cohorts and the Canadian-born, they earn lower wages and have more difficulties entering the labour market. At a time when we are competing in a global economy, Canada has clearly not leveraged this talent into innovation and productivity.
As we saw with the release of Canada’s Vital Signs 2010 earlier this week, recent immigrants with a university education had an unemployment rate that was 4.1 times higher (13.9%) that that of Canadian-born workers with a university degree (3.4%), according to 2009 data.
There is no doubt immigrants to Canada are unemployed and underemployed. About 65% who arrived in the 1990s experienced a low-income period, and about one-fifth had chronic low incomes. In the most recent recession, immigrants were disproportionally affected. Many of the newly unemployed were immigrants who had taken jobs in the manufacturing sector because their skills and experience were not recognized in Canada. They now find themselves even further from their original career goals.
One of the main factors that explains the gap between employment rates for recent skilled immigrants and their Canadian-born counterparts is the lack of social and professional networks that new immigrants have in their new home.
Now that the economy is hopefully improving, this means that they have no access to the hidden job market, including job openings that are not advertised. Depending on where they worked and how long they’ve been in the country, recent immigrants may also lack an understanding of the Canadian workplace culture and find it hard to have their international qualifications recognized.
However, more and more community organizations and employers offer programs to overcome these deficits. In particular, mentoring has shown itself to be a proven strategy as it connects a skilled immigrant with an established Canadian professional in the same or related occupation.
It’s not just the mentee who benefits – it’s a two-way street. Mentees benefit by the expert advice and connections that mentors provide – it is their bridge to becoming Canadian professionals. Mentor benefit by developing their leadership and coaching skills in addition to enhancing their ability to lead diverse teams.
The success of mentoring is demonstrable. In a study of The Mentoring Partnership in Toronto, you can see the difference that mentoring made to the individuals who participated:
o Almost 80% of mentees found work;
o There was a 67% increase in income for the mentee; and
o 95% of all mentors said they would hire a skilled immigrant.
A mentoring program is also advantageous to the participating employers. Among other benefits, it:
o Helps identify hidden talent by bringing employers in touch with qualified candidates;
o Provides a learning opportunity for staff ; and
o Recognizes volunteerism and helps gain greater visibility in the community.
To learn more about mentoring, visit http://www.alliescanada.ca/how-we-can-help/mentoring/.
Peter Paul is the project leader of ALLIES, a project jointly funded by Maytree and The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. ALLIES (Assisting Local Leaders with Immigrant Employment Strategies) supports local efforts in Canadian cities to successfully adapt and implement programs that further the suitable employment of skilled immigrants. For more information, visit the website at www.alliescanada.ca.
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