Have you seen this guy ?

Immigration is one of the major factors in Canada’s economic growth, but successful transition into the Canadian labour market remains difficult for many immigrants, whose skills, knowledge, and experience are frequently under-utilized. According to the Canadian Council on Learning (2008) “data from the 2006 census reveal that among recent immigrants, men earn 63 cents and woman earns 56 cents for every dollar earned by their Canadian-born counterparts” (p.2).

Foreign work experiences and qualifications of immigrant workers are difficult to estimate and assess. Basically, this is because in Canada there are federal and provincial initiatives which are attempting to verify knowledge, skills, experiences and credentials. In addition, there are different regulatory bodies of certification for regulate occupations and professions.

Foreign credential recognition which is defined by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) (2005) as “the process of verifying that the education and job experience obtained in another country are equal to the standards established for Canadian workers” (p.2).

Immigrant workers are facing several obstacles that impede them to have a successful transition and entry into the labour market. According to the Canadian Council on Learning (2008) “these barriers include language skills; lack of Canadian work experience; failure to receive credit for work experience in other countries; and problems related to the recognition of foreign credentials” (p.4). In addition, the cultural differences are a challenge for immigrant and employers. Immigrant workers are unfamiliar with existing workplace cultural norms. On the other hand many employers do not have cultural competencies to allow them to properly integrate the workers.  Another important fact is related to the language and literacy obstacles “for example, the results of the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey revealed that 32% of immigrants have very low literacy skills, compared to just 10% of native-born Canadians” (p.4). Finally, racism and discriminatory practices have also been identified as an obstacle for immigrant workers.