Looking for the best detours to roadblocks in international professional transitions

Take a walk in the major Canadian cities and you will undoubtedly notice the burgeoning diversity. It is a trend that has been covered in the media, politics, and beyond. What is interesting is that this diversity is now increasing outside the traditional top destinations of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, and into cities like Calgary, Winnipeg, Halifax, Saskatoon, and more. This makes sense, given the Canadian government’s successful economic policy to attract skilled immigrants. As well as supplementing the Canadian workforce, employee diversity can bring a myriad of experiences and ideas to create a more creative and competitive economic environment. Unfortunately, immigrants remain the largest group within Canada that experience unemployment or underemployment. There has been a focus in identifying the roadblocks that immigrant-workers face in not only transitioning into the workforce but in gaining positions congruent with their education level. What is not as discussed is how employers are acting to diversify and help immigrant-workers successfully transition into professionals in Canada.

I find it hard not to draw parallels with the experience my father had in immigrating to Canada and my own of moving to work in Japan. Barely out of his apprenticeship, my father was scouted by the Canadian shipyards in Halifax to bring his ship building experience to Canada. He would often tell me of the exciting decision to leave his tiny English town for ‘the new world’. However, when the shipyards began to downsize in the late 70’s, my father was faced with the choice of two detours: up-rooting his young family to return to England, or finding another profession. Our family struggled but made do while he searched tirelessly and eventually joined a Canadian engineering firm, after gaining some Canadian education. He remained at this company until his retirement. One of the key reasons, he claims, is that the company sought to match his experience and interests with the type of tasks and responsibilities they assigned to him. For myself, even though I was new to the position and had only just received my bachelor’s degree, I was frequently called upon by my Japanese employer to share my knowledge and view-points with my colleagues. When you move freely to a country with widely different customs, language, systems, and so on, it can be incredibly daunting, and the decision to stay or leave is ever present in the back of your mind. I can accredit the respect and credibility afforded to me by my employer as crucial in helping me develop my self-confidence, and most importantly, a sense of belonging in my new home. Although I only intended to stay in Japan for one year, I re-contracted for an additional two, successful years. Thanks to the support of our employers, my father and I were both able to successfully transition into these new roles and contribute meaningfully to our respective companies and communities.

Reflecting upon these stories in this changing, more volatile economic environment makes me believe it is time for the next logical step in career development. To me that involves moving past identifying roadblocks and instead capitalizing on the successful organizational situations that facilitate immigrant-workers’ transition into the workplace. I would like to leave you with some questions for possible future research, policy creation, career counselling avenues, and employer considerations.

1. Which professional positions are the most accessible to immigrant-workers? How so?
2. How do companies retain immigrant-workers? What conditions facilitate this?
3. For industries that lack diversity, how can these lessons be applied to these settings?

Author Bio

Jon Woodend, B. Sc, is currently completing his Masters of Science degree in Counselling Psychology at the University of Calgary, with research interests in multiculturalism and vocational transitions. He has previous experience working as a senior high school teacher and is currently completing his practicum placement working with post-secondary students.