Unemployment four times higher among university-educated newcomers, says national report card

By : TalentOyster Staff
Posted : October 18, 2010

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Despite the fact that Canada will soon rely on immigration to replenish its shrinking labour force, newcomers with professional credentials are suffering unacceptably high unemployment rates, in comparison to non-immigrants with the same level of education, says Canada's Vital Signs 2010, the annual report card on quality of life from Community Foundations of Canada.

In 2009, recent immigrants (lived in Canada for five years and less) with a university education had an unemployment rate that was 4.1 times higher (13.9%) than that of Canadian-born workers with a university degree (3.4%).

"It's disheartening to see such a significant gap among well-educated newcomers; their experience in our labour market is dramatically different than that of non-immigrants with a comparable education level," said Monica Patten, President and CEO of Community Foundations of Canada.

"Integrating newcomers into our workplaces is a necessity, not an option - our country is going to rely on immigrants for all of our net labour force growth as early as next year. We need to act now," said Dianne Fehr, Executive Director of the Immigrant Access Fund Society of Alberta.

The Immigrant Access Fund offers micro-loans to immigrants to assist them in their quest to obtain the Canadian accreditation or training they need to become gainfully employed in the career field established in their countries of origin. The fund was supported by The Calgary Foundation, one of the more than 170 community foundations in Canada.

"The majority of loan applicants are working in jobs well below their capabilities, simply in order to survive," said Fehr.

TalentOyster Partners help to bring those looking to immigrate to Canada and those already here who are looking for work together with diverse employers and the groups and organizations looking to help them.

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