Written Submission for the Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the Upcoming Federal Budget 2022
TRIEC has joined forces with seven other Immigrant Employment Councils and immigrant-serving agencies across Canada to make a written submission to the federal government’s pre-budget consultations. Our recommendations set out how we believe this country can best harness the skills and talent that immigrants and newcomers could contribute to the post-pandemic recovery.
Submitted by: Calgary Region Immigrant Employment Council (CRIEC), Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council (ERIEC), Halifax Partnership, Hire Immigrants Ottawa (HIO), Immigrant Employment Council of BC (IECBC), Immploy, Niagara Workforce Planning Board, Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC)
Recommendations
Recommendation 1: That the government invest $2.5M in programs that help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) create immigrant-inclusive workplaces and therefore increases these organizations’ economic success in the post-pandemic recovery period.
Recommendation 2: That the government invest $5M in initiatives that identify and remove systemic barriers to immigrant women getting good jobs during the post-pandemic recovery.
Recommendation 3: That the government supports immigrants in the skilled trades and international students by investing $11M in proven programs like mentoring and workplace supported learning as well as new, targeted solutions, created in partnership between industry and immigrant employment organizations.
Background
As Canada emerges from the COVID pandemic and looks forward to economic recovery, everyone in this country is poised to contribute. For all of us to thrive, we believe we need to work towards an inclusive, diverse labour market that embraces the talents and contributions of each one of us. Immigrants and newcomers have much to offer, as together, we all look to a brighter time ahead.
It follows that Immigrant Employment Councils (IECs) are encouraged by the Government of Canada’s commitment in the 2021 Budget to build an inclusive economic recovery where everyone is able to contribute to their full potential. Achieving this will require a concerted and deliberate approach on the part of government and employers in all sectors.
Setting the stage for success
For newcomers to succeed and realize their potential in Canada, we believe we must strengthen the programs and supports that enable them fully to engage in our economy. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic had a disproportionate negative impact on immigrants and newcomers, making it that much more difficult for them to find and secure meaningful employment in line with their background, education and experience. An Environics survey conducted late last year found that recent immigrants, especially those who are racialized, have been more adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the average worker in Canada.[1] For immigrant and newcomer women, the reality is even harsher. To illustrate, the unemployment rate for university-educated newcomer women increased by more than 10 percentage points after the start of the pandemic, while for their Canadian-born counterparts, it increased by less than half of this amount (4.5 percentage points.).[2]
However, this persistent issue of underemployment among Canada’s immigrants can be addressed through employer relations programming focussed on building more inclusive workplaces. While many large enterprises have the internal capacity to design and deliver programming, small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) struggle with having subject matter experts who can design initiatives as well as planning for implementation. For both immigrants working in the skilled trades and international students who are either in the process of temporary residency to permanent residency pathway or already permanent, there still is a gap leading to underemployment. Those in the skilled trades may come from home countries that do not have robust apprenticeship programs that provide the necessary documentation. International students may have one-year of work experience but not in their field of study, so their employment potential is not being harnessed fully. Both groups could be part of the valuable talent pipeline that the Canadian economy needs.
In our close work with employers and immigrant professionals, Canada’s Immigrant Employment Councils and our partners have identified the following three recommendations for the Government of Canada. Across these recommendations, we are asking the federal government to invest an additional $18.5 million in enhancing immigrants’ unique opportunity to contribute to the recovery and growth of the Canadian economy and society.
Recommendation 1
That the government invest $2.5M in programs that help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) create immigrant-inclusive workplaces and therefore increases these organizations’ economic success in the post-pandemic recovery period.
Small- and medium enterprises (SMEs) employ almost 90 per cent of workers in Canada’s private sector, driving economic development and growth. Yet according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 39 per cent of small business owners say that a shortage of skilled labour has limited the growth of the business. A lack of qualified applicants was one of the biggest difficulties faced by small business owners when hiring (71 per cent).[3]
For small employers who lack the resources of larger businesses, hiring and integrating new immigrants is reported to come with many challenges, including complex paperwork, lengthy timelines and additional costs.[4] Supporting employers to reduce barriers to acquiring diverse talent through more inclusive hiring practices, as well as tools and resources for generating a sense of true belonging for all members of their workforce, will be an essential part of positioning Canada as a destination for the world’s best and brightest in the years to come. Opportunities to offer their full breadth of skills and talent, irrespective of race, gender, sexuality, religion, or country of origin are essential to employee satisfaction and demonstrative of a fair society and have been proven to deliver the best economic results.
Recommendation 2
That the government invest $5M in initiatives that identify and remove systemic barriers to immigrant women getting good jobs during the post-pandemic recovery.
As the 2021 federal budget noted, Canada has seen major advances in gender equality and diversity in the past half-century. It further notes that “Canada’s challenge now is to ensure an inclusive, intersectional recovery that builds a truly equitable society”.
To ensure this happens, specific and special attention is encouraged to ensure that the systemic barriers that continue to hinder the ability of immigrant women to secure meaningful and appropriate employment be addressed. Obstacles ranging from access to affordable childcare to the absence of networking opportunities all present challenges for immigrant and newcomer women.
The federal government’s commitment to building an equitable society is an excellent starting point on which to address this reality. Putting programs and policies in place to ensure this happens is the next critical step.
Recommendation 3
That the government supports immigrants in the skilled trades and international students by investing $11M in proven programs like mentoring and workplace supported learning as well as new, targeted solutions, created in partnership between industry and immigrant employment organizations.
Canada’s immigrant employment councils and settlement organizations have demonstrated success in developing and delivering programs to support immigrants find meaningful employment. Measurable outcomes of key initiatives, like TRIEC Mentoring Partnership – a collaborative partnership of employers, settlement agencies and newcomers – demonstrate that working collaboratively we can support immigrants to find meaningful productive employment in their field. Hire Immigrants Ottawa’s Coaching program, a partnership with immigrant employment agencies, brings employers and immigrant jobseekers together in a networking setting, enabling small, medium enterprises with limited human resource capacity, and who use informal recruitment process, to build their social networks among the immigrant pool of talent for current and future recruitment needs. Immploy, a partner project of WIL Employment Connections, facilitates a number of programs connecting employers to immigrant talent in the Southwestern Ontario region. More specifically, the Virtual Mentorship program allows for connections and supports across communities to ensure newcomers in small to medium sized geographic areas are able to access supports regardless of location.
International students and people working in the skilled trades have a key role to play in the rebuilding of Canada’s economy. The single largest and fastest growing component of international mobility is the international graduate group, who work under a post-graduate permit,[5] and yet they earn less on graduating than their counterparts who are Canadian citizens.[6] Additionally, employers interviewed as part of a 2018 GTA Employer Survey agreed that there is a shortage of people in technical fields and the skilled trades, and it is hard to fill such positions from the domestic labour market.[7]
Gaining Canadian work experience directly correlates to international students’ prospects for settling in Canada. The more opportunities an individual has to gain work experience while a student or while on their post-graduation work permit, the more likely they are to transition to permanent residency.[8]
Presently, international students are ineligible for the support programs funded by the federal government. But this group could benefit substantially from programs that connects them to employers and employment opportunities. They are ready and eager to make major contributions to the Canadian workforce and economy. What is required for putting this group of young people to work in their fields of study is the same types of networking, mentoring, job-seeking support offered by the existing settlement sector. Bridging the gap between international students and employers through effective programming will significantly reduce precarious employment and ensure they are able to make the best possible and most long-term contributions to the labour market and the economy.
About Canada’s Immigrant Employment Councils
Immigrant employment councils help employers capitalize on the skills and experience of newcomers across Canada helps newcomers secure work in their field of expertise.
In partnership with corporations, individual supporters, community organizations, and governments, we work to remove barriers to the labour market and support the retention and advancement of newcomers in the workplace.
Canadian workplaces are diverse, reflecting our diverse population.
This is a good thing! Diverse organizations are more innovative and productive – but to be productive, workplaces also need to be inclusive. Diverse teams need environments where everyone feels that they belong and that they can contribute.
How exactly do you create an inclusive workplace? The TRIEC Inclusive Workplace Competencies can answer this question. They provide a framework to help you and your colleagues build organization that works for everyone.
The competencies are based on research and consultations with a range of experts. But what do we mean by competencies, and why should your organization use them?
Competencies describe the knowledge, skills, and behavior that you need to perform effectively at work. Nowadays, being great at your job is about more than just getting through a list of tasks – it’s about being able to demonstrate key behaviors in different situations. Creating an inclusive organization is everyone’s job and goes way beyond what an individual employee does. So competencies are also about how teams work together and the organization’s culture.
There are 15 competencies, divided into three areas: myself, my team and my organization. You can add them to your existing competencies and customize and adapt them to meet the needs of your workplace. For example, if innovation is a priority for your organization, you can set the competency “collaborate in diverse teams to foster productive outcomes” at a high level for all of its employees.
One of the great things about these competencies is that you can use them in many different ways. You can use them to write job descriptions, in recruitment, to design training, to review organizational policies and processes, and much more. To find out more about how the competencies work and try them out for yourself, visit triec.ca/competencies.
