World Education Services (WES) is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to helping international students, immigrants, and refugees achieve their educational and career goals in the United States and Canada. The weekly roundup includes research, stories, and events of interest to the Canadian immigration and settlement community. This content has been created by WES and is reproduced here with their permission, in partnership.
Working (and Learning) Online: Improving Remote Work-integrated Learning Experiences for Students and Employers (HEQCO)
Work-Integrated Leaning (WIL) unites formal learning with practical learning in a relevant workplace setting. This method of learning enables improved labour market outcomes and supports the job readiness of students. Students are not the only beneficiaries of Work-Integrated-Learning; post-secondary institutions benefit through improved recruitment and retention, enhanced relationships with stakeholders and opportunities to ensure that cirricula align with employer needs. WIL offers employers access to a fresh and innovative talent pool to support a higher quality employee pipeline. Results from a recent study undertaken by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario demonstrate promising practices for WIL but also the opportunity for further improvement. Challenges with remote environments can be addressed through enhanced interpersonal relationship building, intentional mentorship programming, and formal assessments to ensure both students and employers experience the value of WIL programming. Regarding the digital nature of remote WIL opportunities, stakeholders are urged to continue to build on existing orientation and onboarding processes to ensure participants have access to the supports they need and experiment with new technologies to further facilitate improved processes and training.
Triple-glass effect and language barriers erode Canadian charm, say experts (New Canadian Media)
Recent research has shown that in 2022, Canada welcomed a record number of 431,645 new immigrants. Despite these impressive numbers, the number of immigrants who transitioned to Canadian citizenship has not been as remarkable. Looking at permanent residency to citizenship data over the past twenty years, numbers indicate that there has been an overall 40% decline in citizenship uptake in this time period. Researchers argue that poor job prospects and higher cost of living are contributing to this trend and the “triple glass” effect is taking place. The “glass gate” is the first level that prevents people from becoming members of professional associations. For example, internationally trained physicians, engineers and lawyers all must become members of the professional associations in order to practice in their field. However, the barriers many immigrants face with regulatory bodies prevents many from accessing these associations. Secondly is the “glass door” whereby individuals are prevented from accessing high-income jobs. Even after becoming recognized by regulatory bodies and being members of a professional association after re-certifying in their fields, there is still no guarantee that individuals will gain a professional job right away. Finally, many immigrants still hit the third layer “the glass ceiling” whereby immigrant professionals are unable to move into higher management positions or earn equal to their Canadian-born colleagues due to lack of recognition of their years of experience and/or implicit biases within the organization. These realities impact the downward trend of citizenship acquisition and have long term negative implications for the Canadian economy and population.
Canada waives fees for family members of Canadians who fled Sudan (IRCC)
As Canada continues to support evacuations for Canadians who remain in Sudan, additional measures are being announced. These measures include waiving fees for family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents who have been forced to flee their homes. According to IRCC, the federal government will waive temporary residence application fees for internationals who fled Sudan along with their Canadian family members, meaning that they will be able to apply without paying processing fees. Upon arrival in Canada, they are then able to apply for an open work permit or study permit, and/or permanent residency for free. Canada has since reduced its military presence in Sudan and will be now focused on supporting and assisting departures and commercial transportation; nearly 500 Canadians and their families have been evacuated since violence erupted in mid-April.
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