Developing the Skills of B.C.'s Immigrant Workers
As local businesses rely more and more on immigrants to pick up the workforce slack, the need for language training and other skills development grows. But relatively few employers seem ready to make the necessary investment.
The Granville Grand Hotel acts as a kind of catch-all landing pad for newcomers to Vancouver.
More of a boutique hostel than a traditional hotel, the funky heritage-style building at Granville and Davie attracts young backpackers, ESL students and budget tourists from all over Canada and the world. But the hotel’s eclectic atmosphere also draws people who are contemplating a much longer stay in Vancouver, people who need a place to anchor themselves while they navigate the complexities of starting anew on the West Coast.
You’ll find this crowd on both sides of the front desk.
Among the new immigrants, temporary foreign workers and international students working for the Grand – and that’s nearly everybody – is housekeeper Leticia Ramirez. Originally from Mexico City, the 43-year-old moved to Vancouver three years ago to join her common-law husband, Juan Perez, the hotel’s handyman. Though she’d worked in hospital administration and was studying to be a radiology technician back in Mexico, Ramirez’s career in health care ground to a halt upon arrival in Canada.
Sitting down to chat in the Grand’s guest kitchen, Ramirez recounts a story familiar to many immigrants. She says she had no idea how hard it would be to make the transition, that she was ignorant about the long and complex process of having her credentials recognized in B.C. and that she was misinformed about the prospect of continuing her studies in radiology. Her most significant challenge, however, is a continuing struggle with the English language.
Of the 40,000 newcomers who arrive in B.C. each year seeking permanent resident status, 15 per cent have little to no English skills, according to BC Stats. Many more require some level of language training and other essential skills development in order to apply their existing educational and professional experience to a progressive career path. Those who don’t receive adequate support to obtain language and job skills often become mired in a rut of entry-level jobs. And that is a waste of economic potential this province can no longer afford, says Roslyn Kunin, a consulting economist and former regional economist with Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
“We have underused our immigrant workers. Very frequently, a lot of people who are in entry-level jobs are skilled professionals and capable of much higher-level jobs,” says Kunin. The price of leaving skilled immigrants languishing in low-skilled jobs extends beyond the dashed economic dreams of individuals, she says; it has wide-reaching economic implications that will become evident across the province over the next 10 years.
Immigrant and temporary foreign workers in Canada
According to B.C.’s Ministry of Regional Economic and Skills Development, more than one million jobs are expected to open up in the province by 2019. Of those, new immigrants and temporary foreign workers are expected to fill at least one-third, or more than 300,000 positions, necessitating the provincial government to actively encourage more international migrants to move here. Over the next four years, the government plans to triple the number of immigrants entering B.C. through provincial economic programs, from 3,500 to more than 10,000 annually. It also plans to expedite the process of recognizing foreign credentials as well as make it easier for the more than 68,000 temporary foreign workers and international students entering the province each year to extend their stay.
But with the expected influx will come increased pressure on businesses to help workers access settlement services, as well as language and culture training. Immigrants need to reach maximum productivity in the workplace, and fast, so they can move up the ranks to fill key vacancies at the higher levels. And they’ll need their employers’ help to do it.
“We’ve got to do better at finding people opportunities in their field or related to their field a lot faster than we’ve been doing,” says Kunin, noting that if an immigrant hasn’t transferred into their field by their fifth year in Canada, the odds of it ever happening are practically nil. “Or if we can’t get them back in their own professions, at least give them the opportunity to use their skills at a higher level in their new industries.”
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