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This environmental scan assesses the current landscape of online employment services for immigrant professionals in Canada. The data collection method involved web scanning of twelve urban centers and two rural census areas with high per capita immigrant populations. The study analyzed 80 online services for immigrants in Canada based on geographical variation, the type of digital modality, clientele, and needs addressed. The findings reveal disparities in access to online employment programs tailored for skilled immigrants across different geographic locations. In addition, e-learning and self-paced online courses were identified as the most prevalent digital modalities. In terms of targeted clientele, findings show that the services primarily targeted immigrants as a homogenous group, with a notable emphasis on supporting skilled immigrants in high-demand fields such as IT and healthcare. Finally, access to job search resources emerged as the highest priority among the needs addressed, while areas such as financial assistance have the potential for further growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using microdata from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Population Census, this paper explores how spatial characteristics are correlated with temporary employment outcomes for Canada's immigrant population. Results from ordinary least square regression models suggest that census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (CMAs/CAs) characterized by a high share of racialized immigrants, immigrants in low-income, young, aged immigrants, unemployed immigrants, and immigrants employed in health and service occupations were positively associated with an increase in temporary employment for immigrants. Furthermore, findings from principal component regression models revealed that a combination of spatial characteristics, namely CMAs/CAs characterized by both a high share of unemployed immigrants and immigrants in poverty, had a greater likelihood of immigrants being employed temporarily. The significance of this study lies in the spatial conceptualization of temporary employment for immigrants that could better inform spatially targeted employment policies, especially in the wake of the structural shift in the nature of work brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the COVID‐19 pandemic emerged, instances of anti‐immigrant racism and more specifically anti‐Asian racism appeared to increase across Canada. Recognising the need to further explore and document racism and its link with the COVID‐19 pandemic, this paper explores the impact of COVID‐19 on the experiences of racism and discrimination. Using neoracism as a theoretical framework, the research is set in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, a city that has struggled with high levels of racism and discrimination in recent years. The paper draws upon both an online survey as well as interviews that explored the lived experiences of racialized individuals within the city and their experiences with racism as the pandemic progressed. Results note that individuals felt that racism and discrimination increased during the pandemic and was experienced in housing, the labour force and other public situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) is a managed migration programme that aims to fill labour shortages in Canada's agricultural industry with Black and Brown workers from the global South. For decades, migrant workers, scholars, and advocate groups have called for fundamental changes to address power imbalances produced by the design of the SAWP. The continued operation of the SAWP during the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the underlying structural violence that migrant labourers experience. Analysing the SAWP as a case study in how globalised labour processes dehumanise and make workers disposable, we argue that it is one component in a web of social and structural factors rooted in colonialism and racial capitalism, constituting the structural determinants of death. Whereas the structural determinants of health point to health 'inequities' and 'disparities', we advance the concept of structural determinants of death to politicise the numerous and multidimensional forms of violence embedded within state policy and to shed light on their beneficiaries. In doing so, we detail how policies can diminish the agency necessary to avoid death in deadly conditions and, specifically, draw attention to the preventable suffering and death perpetuated by the SAWP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: This study explores employer perspectives regarding barriers to and responsibility for the workforce integration of skilled immigrants. Specifically, this study assesses employer perceptions of how influential various barriers are to the integration of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) in the workplace, uncovers employer perceptions of SIEs competence levels, identifies employer perceptions regarding multiple stakeholders' levels of responsibility for SIEs integration and explores impactful means to overcome these barriers. Design/methodology/approach: Given Canada's dependence on SIEs for labour force growth, an online survey was conducted with hiring managers of 99 firms in a mid-sized city in Ontario, Canada. Findings: The results demonstrate that employers shift the onus of responsibility for SIEs integration to other stakeholders (namely, the immigrant or government agencies), require documentation to evaluate human capital attainment of SIEs and may be systemically discriminating against SIEs. Research limitations/implications: The results indicate a need for documented evidence to validate foreign education and skills previously acquired by SIEs. They advance research by providing a comparative assessment of barriers from the employer's point of view. Practical implications: The findings support the notion that employers should strategically partner with specialized private or government agencies to help with efforts to attract and evaluate SIEs. Originality/value: Given that employers are key decision-makers regarding employment outcomes, this study investigates the underexplored role and perspective of employers in integrating SIEs. Additionally, this study provides both a holistic and a relative assessment of the barriers to and responsibility for SIEs integration, exploring the impact of each factor on employer decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate interventions for assisting transnational social workers (TSWs), nurses and teachers in their transition into the receiving country are significant for enabling competent and safe professional practice. These professionals form a significant part of the professional workforce of many countries as globalisation and liberal migration policies encourage many to cross borders for professional practice. Engaging in employment overseas, however, is a challenging process for them as it entails relocating to a new country and working in unfamiliar sociocultural and practice contexts. While some form of profession-wide assistance is found in nursing and teaching, social workers rarely receive any such interventions. This article discusses existing support offered to transnational nurses and teachers in English-speaking countries such as the UK, US, New Zealand, Australia and Canada and suggests how a similar approach to social workers can assist their transitioning into the receiving country. It draws on the findings of a thematic review of the literature addressing support for transnational nurses, teachers and social workers. The imperative of interventions to assist transition of TSWs into host countries is explored and the article concludes with recommendations for some intervention strategies and mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the Canadian Labour Force Survey for March of 2006 through 2012, the present study examines precarious employment and trends over time between immigrants (recent and established) and their Canadian-born counterparts. The regression models are run separately for males and females as existing research shows that many precarious jobs are occupied predominantly by women. The findings of the present study show recent immigrant males and females (respondents in the sample who have lived in Canada for five years or less) are over-represented in involuntary part-time work and this trend is increasing over time. The pattern is not as pronounced for multiple-job holders nor for temporary-job holders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the trends in the economic advantage that highly educated immigrants hold over less educated immigrants in Canada, focusing on the differences between short-run and longer-run outcomes. Using data from the Longitudinal Immigration Database covering the period from the 1980s to the 2000s, this study finds that the relative entry earnings advantage that higher education provides to new immigrants has decreased dramatically over the last 30 years. However, university-educated immigrants had a much steeper earnings trajectory than immigrants with trades or a high school education. The earnings advantage among highly educated immigrants increases significantly with time spent in Canada. This pattern is observed for virtually all immigrant classes and arrival cohorts. The results suggest that short-run economic outcomes of immigrants are not good predictors of longer-run results, at least by educational attainment. The implications of these findings for immigration selection policy are discussed in the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the perceptions and experiences of second-generation Ghanaian–Canadian immigrant youths in the Greater Toronto Area labour market and highlights some of the challenges they faced. Specifically, the study explores how some of these youths viewed and expressed their feelings in their process of navigating the labour market as well as the connections between their neighbourhood of residence and their performance in the labour market. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to procure empirical data from youths residing in two localities in the Greater Toronto Area. The participants most frequently identified unemployment or underemployment as the main issues that highlighted the differences between the two study localities and that there were differences between male and females in this respect. The findings indicate that the youths’ performance in the labour market was influenced by a multitude of factors, including inefficient transportation, discrimination, lack of information, and dress code. In addition, the findings shed light on how neighbourhood characteristics influenced employment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the 2001 Canadian census and the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey, we find greater gender inequality in labour force participation among the newly growing religious minorities in Canada relative to mainstream Canadians. This gender inequality is only partly conditioned by the presence of young children. Although greatest among Muslim immigrants, other groups including Hindus and Sikhs also exhibit greater gender inequality in labour force participation relative to mainstream Canadians. These patterns fade with time in Canada. Lastly, the differences in gender inequality among religious groups reflect national cultures in the countries of origin more than differences in religious beliefs per se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarly and policy responses to skilled immigrants' labour market integration in Canada have a tendency to normalise and individualise skill as a key issue to address immigrants' labour market challenges. In contrast, a small body of anti-oppressive social work advocates the need for examining the racist and assimilationist assumptions that lead to dec-skilling and propose structurally oriented recommendations. In this paper, I draw from the historical materialist method of ideological critique and critical scholarship on work and learning for work to make a case that, since the notion of skill does not have a stable referent and is ideologically malleable, it helps to mask the exploitative relation between labour and capital in the job market. I argue that such an understanding of skill would sharpen the repertoire of anti-oppressive practice with skilled immigrant professionals by encouraging practitioners to acknowledge de-skilling as a fundamental aspect of the system they are critiquing, and thereby reorienting their critique to incorporate larger political economic structures. I conclude by proposing a dialogue between practitioners and researchers about the efficacy and viability of this proposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada's immigration system is currently undergoing significant change driven by several goals that include (1) a desire to improve the economic outcomes of entering immigrants; (2) an attempt to better respond to short-term regional labor market shortages often associated with commodity booms, and (3) a desire to shift immigration away from the three largest cities to other regions of the country. These goals reflect the implementation of new immigration programs in the 2000s. The paper discusses the recent changes to Canadian immigration policy, examines preliminary evaluations of the new programs and discusses potential future issues emanating from the changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The migration of health care professionals exposes the individual to a variety of challenges as they adjust to the host country's workforce system. While there is a growing body of literature on the individual transition stage of internationally qualified health care professionals, little is known about the overall process and how each stage interacts with the others. To examine what is known about factors impacting transition experiences of internationally qualified health care professionals at various stages from pre- to post-arrival in their new country. Scoping review incorporating narrative synthesis was conducted. A range of databases were searched, including CINAHL, Medline, Scopus, and ProQuest, as well as reference lists. The adapted framework methodology described by the Joanna Briggs Institute informed this review. The review included qualitative and quantitative primary peer-reviewed research studies focusing on transition experiences of internationally qualified health care professionals. Included studies were analysed and synthesised using a three-step narrative synthesis. A total of 48 studies were included in the review from nursing, medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and midwifery, with the majority from nursing. The majority of the internationally qualified health care professionals migrated from Philippine, India, and South Africa to the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Four themes emerged from the review: misguided migration (pre-arrival), a shocking reality (early arrival), challenging accreditation and orientation (registration), and multidimensional work challenge (post-registration). Identified issues impacting the transition experience of internationally qualified health care professionals across different disciplines and nations were generally similar. Misinformation resulted in unexpected realities upon arrival in destination countries, ineffective accreditation procedures during registration and inadequate support in destination countries led to workplace challenges. With ongoing recruitment of international health care workers, a holistic approach that considers the various stages of transition is necessary to assist in establishing new identities and integrating into the destination country's workforce. This includes informing internationally qualified health professionals accurately about professional and cultural expectations in host countries prior to migration, implementing culturally specific training upon arrival in the destination country, developing and implementing effective accreditation and registration policies, and providing structured mentorship and support following employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]