2024 was not a great year to be a Newcomer to Canada. Beyond the increased racism, discrimination, being scapegoated for Canada's governance and corporate failures, it was also a year of a research pile-on about immigrant employment and "how to help employers get it" that hasn't really moved the needle at all.
I thought it would be interesting to track what was written and how similar the findings all are. Here's a short list of what was published in 2024:
I've found similarities and overlap in what has been shared in these reports and toolkits, have skimmed a few, but have found it painfully repetitive enough that I haven't read most of them. However, should you want to keep up on all important news related to immigrant employment and labour market integration, high level analysis of our current policy by polling immigration experience, I direct you to the WES Canada Programs Research Summaries. The weekly roundup includes research, stories, and events of interest to the Canadian immigration and settlement community.
For our purposes here I decided to play with AI. I've uploaded PDFs from 6 of the 7 links above (one is a web resource, no PDF) and asked Google Notebook LM's audio hosts to reflect on the research.
Here are 3 different conversations they had with varying emphasis and conclusions. The first one is super long, but I think it's my favourite. Our hosts do seem rather optimistic.
It's Gen AI, so it's not perfect, but the summaries are about right.
Here are Key Themes & Findings from the LM summary:
Overqualification & Underemployment of Immigrants
Challenges with Credential Recognition
Employer Bias and Perceptions
Impact of Region of Origin & Ethnicity
Importance of Skills-Based Hiring
The Role of Immigration Policy & Targets
Employer Practices & Recommendations
Specific Challenges for SMEs
Newcomer Language Proficiency
Common Recommendations:
Systemic Reform: Streamline credential assessment processes and establish national standards. Review current immigration policies to better align newcomer skills with labour market needs.
Employer Engagement: Educate employers on the value of immigrant talent and address their biases. Promote skills-based hiring and de-emphasize unnecessary requirements. Provide resources and training to SMEs on immigrant recruitment and integration.
Support & Integration: Enhance language training and support programs for newcomers. Develop mentorship and buddy programs to assist integration. Support the social and economic well-being of immigrant families.
Data Collection & Analysis: Collect data on hiring practices, including the impact of diversity and inclusion practices to make informed decision.
If you've been around long enough, you'll see the same old same old. Are we really still talking about credential assessment and recognition? Yes. Yes, we are. Four years ago I wrote a rant about all of this.
I'm not hear to rant again, but to put before you the vast body of research (and this is likely just scratching the surface) over the past 5 years or so to see how little has changed (it goes back much further than that, but there's a huge enough body of knowledge just from the recent past).
Here's a snippet from 1989: "The Task Force found that few professions were free of discriminatory practices, and that broad, structural solutions were needed to remove systemic barriers to the professions. The Task Force writes that such solutions are "win–win" for the professions and for individuals. It points out that, in coming years, the growing number of immigrants would be increasingly important to the health of the economy because of Ontario's declining birth rate and aging workforce."
<sarcasm> We've come so far, haven't we? </sarcasm>
In case you're wondering if there's a trend in the research
Here's just a smattering of additions to the research pile-on from the last 5 years or so. These are all linked on my site. I'm not sure I can even be bothered to post the new research given how repetitive it feels it is. As I wrote above, you can stay updated by reading the WES Canada Programs Research Summaries. You can also find conference video presentations on this topic from various sector events in case video is more your thing.
