Steps need to be taken now since solutions are complex and require time to implement: study
The underutilization of skills is a pressing problem contributing to downward trends in employment and earnings among immigrants, according to University of Toronto professor Jeffrey Reitz.
In a study released by the Institute for Research on Public Policy, an independent non-profit think tank based in Montreal, Reitz said these trends persist despite high and rising educational credentials among recent immigrants, and despite steady levels of fluency in at least one official language.
“Foreign-educated immigrants earned $2.4 billion less than native-born Canadians with formally comparable skills, because they worked in occupations that were below their skills levels,” said Reitz. “At least two-thirds of their unutilized foreign-acquired skills — worth $1.6 billion — are in fact transferable to Canada.”
Why highly-skilled immigrants aren’t thriving
Reitz said there are two factors contributing to deteriorating earnings prospects among immigrants:
•Glass ceiling. Immigrants who manage to successfully gain access to professional fields often hit a glass-ceiling, preventing them from promotion to the more lucrative senior-management jobs.
•Social problems. A lesser-known, but significant observation according to Reitz, is that the earnings disadvantages of highly educated immigrants in occupations outside the knowledge sector are actually larger and more financially consequential than those within it.
According to the study, the net earnings of immigrant men with bachelors’ or post-graduate degrees in all other occupations outside the knowledge sector are 25 to 34 per cent lower than that of native-born Canadians with similar education.
A number of social problems could emerge as a result of this, according to the study. Among them are:
•increased demands on the social safety net;
•more widespread public perception of immigrants as a liability or social problem; and
•political reaction on the part of immigrants themselves.
Addressing the issue
To address the issue and its associated problems, Reitz proposes a range of necessary institutional innovations:
•improve pre- and post-arrival sources of information for immigrants;
•give more support to providers of credential assessments and build credential assessment service awareness among employers and immigrants;
•subsidize workplace internships and mentoring programs for immigrants;
•upgrade HR management training programs on ethnic diversity issues;
•recognize best practices among employers in hiring or integrating immigrants;
•implement bridge-training programs to top up immigrants’ skills and to fill occupational gaps; and
•improve society’s sensitivity to racial diversity issues.
The full report is available on the Institute for Research on Public Policy’s website at www.irpp.org/indexe.htm.
In a study released by the Institute for Research on Public Policy, an independent non-profit think tank based in Montreal, Reitz said these trends persist despite high and rising educational credentials among recent immigrants, and despite steady levels of fluency in at least one official language.
“Foreign-educated immigrants earned $2.4 billion less than native-born Canadians with formally comparable skills, because they worked in occupations that were below their skills levels,” said Reitz. “At least two-thirds of their unutilized foreign-acquired skills — worth $1.6 billion — are in fact transferable to Canada.”
Why highly-skilled immigrants aren’t thriving
Reitz said there are two factors contributing to deteriorating earnings prospects among immigrants:
•Glass ceiling. Immigrants who manage to successfully gain access to professional fields often hit a glass-ceiling, preventing them from promotion to the more lucrative senior-management jobs.
•Social problems. A lesser-known, but significant observation according to Reitz, is that the earnings disadvantages of highly educated immigrants in occupations outside the knowledge sector are actually larger and more financially consequential than those within it.
According to the study, the net earnings of immigrant men with bachelors’ or post-graduate degrees in all other occupations outside the knowledge sector are 25 to 34 per cent lower than that of native-born Canadians with similar education.
A number of social problems could emerge as a result of this, according to the study. Among them are:
•increased demands on the social safety net;
•more widespread public perception of immigrants as a liability or social problem; and
•political reaction on the part of immigrants themselves.
Addressing the issue
To address the issue and its associated problems, Reitz proposes a range of necessary institutional innovations:
•improve pre- and post-arrival sources of information for immigrants;
•give more support to providers of credential assessments and build credential assessment service awareness among employers and immigrants;
•subsidize workplace internships and mentoring programs for immigrants;
•upgrade HR management training programs on ethnic diversity issues;
•recognize best practices among employers in hiring or integrating immigrants;
•implement bridge-training programs to top up immigrants’ skills and to fill occupational gaps; and
•improve society’s sensitivity to racial diversity issues.
The full report is available on the Institute for Research on Public Policy’s website at www.irpp.org/indexe.htm.
