Canadian employers shy away from hiring foreign-trained workers

Canada, 21st October: Several Canadian employers, especially those having small businesses in Canada, shy from hiring immigrant workers, findings of recent survey indicate.

This reluctance to hire overseas trained immigrant workers is primarily due to uncertainty hovering around qualifications of such workers.

The survey was undertaken by Ekso Research Associates and involved around 519 businesses including small, medium and large scale enterprises in Canada.

The survey was undertaken on behalf of CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) stated that around 50 percent of employers in Canada showed reluctance in hiring foreign-trained workers because they could not seek any verifications regarding the place of training  and were not sure whether such training will be applicable to business sector of Canada.

In a bid to solve the predicament of employers in Canada, Canadian immigration minister Jason Kenney has announced an expansion program providing internship opportunities to immigrant workers to help them get temporary work experience in Canada. It’s being believed that such program will solve the challenges faced in hiring immigrant workers who are trained overseas.

Kenney stated that the biggest challenge faced by new immigrants in Canada in getting a good employment in their chosen field of specialization is the absence of Canadian work experience.

The expansion of Canadian internship program by Kenney is being welcomed by Olivia Chow; the New Democrat who believes such program will encourage potential Canadian immigrants possessing specialized qualifications to get early recognition of their foreign credentials even before entering Canada.

Although, pre-assessment opportunities are there in Canada, but only 10 percent of immigrants are aware of them, added Chow.

The latest step by the Canadian government has resulted in significant increase in the number of internships over the previous year, Kenney asserted. As compared to around 29 internships provided in human resources and immigration department last year, the total number of internships has moved to 60 this year.

Stating the new initiative for foreign-trained immigrant workers as a welcoming move, Kenney hoped that all government sectors as well as private sector will accept that such ways can help in unveiling new eras of opportunities in the coming times.