Easing into the Canadian workforce

How staffing firms can help immigrants transition to Canadian careers

It’s no secret — many immigrants to Canada are not finding jobs they are qualified for and want. Recent numbers from Statistics Canada show that while 80 per cent of immigrants between 25 and 44 years of age found a job during their first two years in the country, only 40 per cent found work in their intended occupations.

This situation was somewhat better for skilled workers, many with university degrees, where 48 per cent found jobs in their intended occupations.

The study, based on face-to-face interviews with about 9,000 recent immigrants, also identified some obstacles. About one-quarter of the respondents cited lack of Canadian experience, followed by negligible acceptance or recognition of their foreign work experience, language barriers and job shortages among the challenges they face.

But some foreign-trained workers have found a different way to break into the Canadian workforce by going through contingency staffing service firms to secure contract and temporary positions.

As the Statistics Canada survey indicated, immigrants don’t always get the job they want because they lack Canadian work experience.

“During this time, misemployment is a common pitfall staffing firms can try to avoid by securing contracts for immigrants that align them as closely as possible with a profession or work environment related to the one they qualified for in their home country,” said John Rich, president of Concord, Ont.-based Affordable Personnel Services Inc. “For example, we may place an economist in a scheduling capacity, a nurse in a homemaker position or a teacher in an educational assistant role.”

Suzanne McInerney, vice-president of business development for Staffing Edge, a Brampton, Ont.-based firm that provides back office solutions for independent staffing firms across Canada, said there are excellent opportunities in Canada and short-term contracts can be the conduit to them.

“Contract positions allow immigrants to remain financially stable, while gaining Canadian work experience until a more ideal position becomes available,” she said.

She said staffing firms can also fulfil a risk management function for immigrants, particularly vulnerable workers who have negligible language skills.

“We equip our members with an orientation template to teach newcomers about health and safety policies and ensure they understand and can effectively exercise their right to refuse to do work that is unsafe,” said McInerney.

Staffing firms provide effective screening, testing and often computer-based training, tutorials and quizzes to help candidates brush up on their skills. They do not, however, offer English classes or step-by-step details on how to navigate the Canadian employment market but will direct foreign workers to relevant training, English as a second language programs, if required, and other resources such as World Educational Services (WES). Many staffing firms work closely with WES, a not-for-profit organization focused on evaluating international credentials and translating them into Canadian equivalencies to assess and place candidates.

Commentary arising from the 2001 census suggested the growth of the Canadian workforce relies on immigration, a fact that isn’t changing or going away.

Immigrant workers play a key role in helping to fill Canada’s void for specific engineering and skilled trade expertise, such as millwrights and electricians. Unfortunately, Canada’s immigration laws give top priority to processing university-educated workers and tier-two priority to the skilled trades.

A prime example of a sector in need of a rapid influx of foreign workers is the trucking industry, which needs 37,000 new drivers each year to account for growth and replacement of retirees and those leaving the industry. Linguistic challenges don’t hinder foreign-trained truck drivers, particularly those from Europe, who successfully adapt to Canadian roadways and are usually familiar with border-crossing procedures. Staffing firms have filled many contracts with these drivers and gained referrals from their personal networks — but they could easily place more if they were available.

To maximize the value of newcomers to Canada, it is important for HR professionals to maintain their objectivity when considering foreign-trained professionals and not to be tainted by the odd negative experience.

Chris Roach, president of Mississauga, Ont.-based staffing firm Cadre and vice-president of the Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services (ACSESS), said staffing professionals can help HR assess foreign trained workers because they process 10 to 20 contractors for every permanent hire an HR professional makes.

“This gives them insight into the trends in hiring foreign-trained professionals, such as current skill gaps being filled by immigrants, commonalities in in-demand skills from specific areas, as well as issues with academic requirements and false credential scams,” said Roach.

Members of ACSESS commit to a code of ethics when they join the organization. It directs how they deal with immigrants and diversity issues, among other things. It stipulates that all candidates and employees be treated without prejudice and that members decline orders from a client that are discriminatory in any way — which, unfortunately, happens from time to time.

Roach delivers bi-monthly seminars to new immigrants on how to deal with employment agencies.

“They need to know how to approach an agency, how to apply to a job board and what kind of a response to expect,” said Roach. “Sometimes, it’s as simple as coaching them not to expect an immediate callback after they submit a resumé.”

Even under the best conditions, agencies need to prepare immigrants for a six month to two year wait for ideal employment after they arrive in Canada. Once they arrive, staffing firms are often challenged to most effectively evaluate and process each individual to reduce their wait time and minimize the delay before Canada gets the benefit of their expertise.

Paul Christie is the national president of the Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services. He is also president of Unique Personnel Services and is based in its Montreal office. He can be reached at [email protected].

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