UAE | Visa
Canada: It is tough finding a job that matches one's qualifications
The feel-good factor of landing in Canada, perhaps still the best place to migrate to, does not last long. Many professional immigrants find they cannot live just on the beautiful surroundings and need jobs - particularly in their own area of expertise.
- By Hubert Saldanha, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:00 June 23, 2006
Toronto: The feel-good factor of landing in Canada, perhaps still the best place to migrate to, does not last long.
Many professional immigrants find they cannot live just on the beautiful surroundings and need jobs - particularly in their own area of expertise.
But many newcomers face a wall of professional intolerance.
The majority of immigrants have made what is perhaps the most momentous decision of their lives.
They have left behind comfortable lifestyles and a certain status in their chosen professions.
The first thing they come across in the job market is the fact that their qualifications and experience amount to zilch here.
One such story is about a Filipina ophthalmologist who cannot continue in her field of work.
She now processes prescriptions in an eyeglass outlet in a mall. "I do it for my children, so that they can have a better life," she says.
She will have to re-qualify to meet the 'Canadian' standards if she wishes to return to her work of choice, and to do this, she will have to devote years of time and money in study - something she cannot afford to do.
There is an electrical engineer who worked diligently to reach a managerial position back home. Today, he drives a forklift.
Protection needed
These are just two examples of the 'lucky ones', according to new immigrants.
To land a job, any job, one has to have the all-important 'Canadian Experience' - a dilemma the government has yet to address.
While professions like medicine and engineering in Canada require local certification because of practice legalities, this option is beyond the capabilities of most new immigrants.
Professionals then have little choice but to take up menial or "survival" jobs. But there is also the upside of immigration.
A few who enter this country manage to make it big, thanks to some forward-looking companies and businesses.
These companies have joined hands with mentorship programmes to take on staff that they train and tailor to their specific operational needs.
But such companies are unfortunately, too few to really make a difference in the lives of the thousands who come every year.
Sadly, however, the government has done little to ensure that the cream of the crop it attracts to these shores is settled smoothly in their new environment.
Hubert Saldanha is a journalist based in Toronto
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