Ontario’s Handling of Foreign Trained Professionals Rapped

It is official, once again. Professionals who migrate to Canada have a tough time getting jobs appropriate to their qualifications and experience

Ontario Fairness Commissioner’s Report On Foreign Trained Professionals

This is the conclusion of a new report issued by Ontario’s Fairness Commissioner. The Commissioner’s office is an independent agency, and studied extensively the challenges faced by immigrants from 37 professions, ranging from doctors, engineers, accountants and lawyers to chiropractors and even foresters.

The study was conducted between April and August of last year, and close to 2,800 professionals in Canada since 2000 participated.

The report says that there is a fundamental contradiction between the positions taken by the various levels of Canadian government (federal and provincial) and the licensing bodies that regulate the professions. For example, a medical professional can get extra points based on the profession, and can be approved to migrate to Canada based on the need for such professionals in Canada, but once he or she is here, the challenges in settling down in the profession are huge.

The report also points to a host of issues – from the cost and time needed to get licensed to appeal processes – that pose serious challenges to immigrants.

The time taken for foreign-trained professionals to get licensed, if they do get licensed at all, is evident – for example, the time taken to complete the licensing process is 2.5 years for a locally trained professional while it is four months longer for an internationally trained professional (ITP). But the difference is glaring when all the requirements have been met and only the licensing process needs to be completed – one year for a locally trained professional and 2.5 years for a foreign trained professional.

The different layers of governments as well as companies have been blamed for the sorry plight of the ITPs. But of late, many settlement agencies, and even government officials, have pointed the finger at professional bodies that regulate the respective professions as being too cumbersome. Often, there have also been complaints of these bodies acting intentionally to create hurdles for foreign trained professionals to practise.

But to be fair, these bodies have been cooperating ever more closely with government and other agencies to help immigrants.

In 2009, Canada received just under 247,000 immigrants, as compared to 190,000 ten years ago, and of them almost two-thirds came through business class, self-sponsorship, caregiver and other professional categories.

Drivers Licensing in Canada Part 1 Alberta

One issue many immigrants face when moving to Canada is whether or not their current drivers licence will be accepted in Canada.

Generally, issuing drivers licence is a provincial/territorial issue in Canada, and the system varies from province to province.

Drivers Licensing in Alberta

• If you visit Alberta as a visitor, you can use your International Driving Permit (IDP) for up to 12 months, in conjunction with the licence from your country of residence.

• If you have moved to Alberta as a permanent resident (immigrant), then you must obtain an Alberta driver’s licence within 90 days of moving to the province, regardless of whether you travel outside Alberta during those 90 days (see below for more information on the difference between reciprocal and non-reciprocal licences)

• If you are working in Alberta but have your residence outside the province, you may continue to use the valid licence from your home jurisdiction.

• If you are only visiting the province, then you may use your valid licence from your home jurisdiction as long as you have a legitimate residence there and do not take up residency in Alberta.

• If you are staying in Alberta as a full time student or you are working here as part of a co-op program of study, you may use your valid driver’s licence from your home jurisdiction.

Reciprocal/non-reciprocal Licensing Agreements

• If you have moved to Alberta from the countries with which Canada has a reciprocal agreement – Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, UK (excluding Northern Ireland) and the USA – then you can exchange your home jurisdiction licence to an Albertan one, provided you meet certain conditions.

• If you come from one of the non-reciprocal countries, but have had the licence from your current jurisdiction for at least two years, then you can apply for the Alberta licence Class 5 (cars, light trucks, motorcycles and mopeds) or Class 7 (learner’s licence for cars, motorcycles and mopeds), after you pass the knowledge, vision and advanced road testing.

• But if you do not possess the minimum two years of experience, then you will be placed under the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) which will require few years of progressively increased privileges as a driver.

More information can be obtained from Transportation Alberta

Canada Introduces New Web Tool To Help Immigrants

The Canadian federal government has launched a new website to help newcomers get all the information they need to successfully settle down in the country.

The new tool, at servicefornewcomers.cic.gc.ca, is a sort of a one-stop gateway for new immigrants and even new citizens in Canada.

It is divided into community and government services, and provides information on a vast range of issues – from getting driving licenses, to opening a bank account and finding language courses. It also has information on the various federal, provincial/territorial and other state services given.

Immigrants will also be able to e-mail the results of their searches to themselves, family members or others.

The government says it will continuously update and expand the website.

The new online resource is part of a multi-step government plan to help newcomers settle down in the country.

Canada’s New Project to Help Would-Be Immigrants

The Canadian government is funding a 1.7 million dollar project to help immigrants who want to migrate to Canada find the necessary information ranging from labour market training to getting their qualifications accredited to Canadian equivalent.

The fund was given to the Toronto based JVS to develop the Integrated Pre-Arrival Services Online project and will help immigrants from China, India and the Philippines.

This is part of a 50-million dollar fund given to Canada’s provinces and territories to resolve the ongoing problem of foreign credential recognition in Canada. The federal government has also announced a Pan-Canadian Framework for the assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

As part of this Framework, immigrants who apply to be recognised or licensed to work in certain sectors will be informed within a year whether their qualifications will be recognized.

The Canadian government’s foreign credentials website is an excellent source of information. And if you want to see how you might fare in the different provinces, try this Working in Canada link.

Language Fluency, Teamwork Can Affect Immigrant’s Career Mobility

Two dollars and eighty cents Canadian.

This is the difference in the hourly wage of an immigrant Canadian with a degree and a ‘non-immigrant’ Canadian of equal qualifications and training.

Career Success of Immigrant Professionals: Stock and Flow of Their Career Capital

A new study that has appeared in the International Journal of Manpower says a non-immigrant professional would get about $ 30.10 an hour while an immigrant professional with the same qualifications that includes Canadian workplace training, will earn 27.30 an hour.

One of the critical conclusions of the study, that was co-authored by academics from Canada’s York University and University of Mississippi in the USA, is that there is more than just workplace training and development for a person’s career development.

It Is Not Just Training

The study found that while both immigrant and non-immigrant employees undergo the same type of training funded by their employers, it is a different story when it comes getting higher salaries, promotions or even increased job satisfaction. Immigrant professionals score low in all these sectors.

The study points out to one factor as a potential reason for this situation: lack of ‘cultural fluency’. This would include language limitation, including possibly the lack of experience in ‘Canadian English’, and the cultural difference in the education and training many immigrants have had.

For example, corporate cultures that emphasis on teamwork would be a stumbling block because while Canadian-born professionals have had this type of training and experience through their schools and later universities, the educational system in countries from where these immigrants come are different, the study points out.

By extension, therefore, while it is a good that for training is available for everyone, the training manuals have to take into account the cultural differences of employees.

Role of Biases and Stereotypes

Finally, the study does not discount that cultural biases and stereotypes can also play a role in denying immigrant professionals the rightful place in the workplace but this is something the study did not take into account.

But there is one interesting fact the study points out: immigrant/minority-friendly companies out-perform the Fortune-500 companies.

A number of studies have also pointed out how countries like Canada are losing billions of dollars by not utilising the experience of immigrants appropriately.

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Call for Canada to Bring in More Indian Students

India can expect more attention from Canadian universities and even the government’s officials responsible for immigration.

This, after an expert study called for dedicated effort to woo Indian students, not just as a source of foreign exchange, but also as an investment in cementing firm political, economic and cultural relationships with an emerging powerhouse.

In his study, titled ‘A New Direction for the Canada-India Relatiionship, Professor Ryan Touhey castigates the current status of Canada’s efforts to attract Indian students.

And Touhey has hard numbers to back up his complaint: Of the more than 150,000 Indian students going abroad every year for studies, less than three percent – about 4,000 – come to study at the various universities and colleges in Canada. Compare this to the 80,000 that go to the USA and 40,000 to Australia every year. Even New Zealand, which has much weaker links to India than Canada, with its more than half a million Indians spread throughout the country, gets more than 6,000 students every year.

Economic & Political Advantages

For one thing, attracting foreign students is good for the economy, as they pay much more than what locals pay for their studies.

A case in point is Australia.

Since the nineties, Australia has invested heavily in attracting Indian students with a number of annual events throughout the country. The foreign students sector itself is said to be the third largest foreign exchange earner, with annual earnings of about 12 billion dollars. And the estimated 100,000 Indian students are the second largest group next to Chinese.

The importance Australians pay for their foreign student component was very evident during the racially motivated attacks on Indian students in May of this year. Conversations were held at the highest level between officials of both countries, and recently even the Australian deputy prime minister was in India to reassure that Indian students are welcome.

But it is not just economy that benefits from having Indian students, says Prof. Touhey.

It is also about building future relationships.

India, along with China, is emerging as an economic powerhouse and nations are hurrying to build relationships with current leaders of those nations. But today’s students are future leaders and once they return to their home countries and rise up in life, they will fondly remember all things Canadian, and this will help Canada politically, says the study.

80,000 Foreign Students Come to Canada Annually

About 80,000 foreign students come to Canada every year and recently the government announced it was keen on increasing this number. At present, Canada offers a host of incentives for foreign students and these include allowing them to work here after studying and an easier path to permanent residency in the country.

Immigrants More Affected By Recession

Canada, like most other countries, is going through a recession. And as jobs are being cut across the board, among those first to be affected are those with immigrant background, particularly those who are considered ‘new immigrants’.

Recent studies have given proof to this. A report that appeared in the Globe and Mail newspaper says that in general, immigrants tend to lose jobs more easily than Canadian-born workers. And within the immigrants group, those who came to Canada recently can lose jobs faster than those who are more established.

The newspaper and Statistics Canada analysed unemployed data during two, three-month periods – ending June 2008 and June 2009. They found out that while unemployment among Canadian-born workers rose by 1.6 percent, it rose by three percent for established immigrants and 5.7 percent for recent immigrants.

And worse still, studies have found that even when the recession is over and the economy is bouncing back, immigrants find it difficult to find jobs that fit their experiences and qualifications.