Book cover

English edition to be released in Summer 2024

Authors Marcelline Bengaly, Patricia Dionne, Liette Goyer, Annie Gourde and Julie Morissette
Publisher CERIC
ISBN 978-1-988066-79-0

Synopsis

In proportion to the size of its population, Canada is among the countries that welcome the most immigrants (Beaudoin, 2016; May, 2022). To adapt to the reality of a new country and settle, immigrants in general and refugees in particular need to undertake multiple learnings: culturally, professionally and especially, the specifics of the labour market, but, first of all, linguistically (learn a new language or new codes of an already spoken language). Lower levels of formal education add complexity to those learnings. After being forcibly displaced, they must now cope with enormous sociocultural and health struggles, compounded by the issue of education.  

This guide—the end result of a three-year research project—is aimed at supporting the careers and employment of immigrants with a focus on refugees with minimal education. Supporting refugees in their societal and workforce integration is not only a professional commitment for service providers, but an ethical and political one as well. These newcomers need assistance with developing a plan for integrating into the economy that reflects their ideals and needs and lays the groundwork for a decent life in their new country.   

As a result, it is crucial to be able to act while respecting intercultural differences and, at the same time influence systems and build bridges—especially with employers and public institutions. By focusing both on social and professional advocacy, this guide provides a roadmap for reflection and action around interventions proving to be effective for refugees with little formal education. Developed with career advisors and guidance counsellors in mind, the guide is for anyone whose work involves helping refugees to obtain jobs they value and accomplish their aspirations for a successful integration. 

Get Your Copy (French only, English coming in Summer 2024)

  • Download the free ePDF
  • Print now available $29.99 Cdn via Amazon
  • Kindle edition now available $11.50 Cdn via Amazon
  • Purchase bulk copies (10 or more) at 30% off by contacting sales@ceric.ca

About the Authors

Marcelline Bengaly is Professor at Université Laval and researcher at the CRIEVAT. She is particularly interested in the analysis of identity reconstruction processes among migrants. 

Patricia Dionne is Associate Professor in the career counselling department at Université de Sherbrooke. From a social justice perspective, her work focuses on group intervention in counselling for adults living in poverty, with mental health problems or for immigrants.  

Liette Goyer is a professor, researcher, career counsellor, psychotherapist and supervisor. She runs the Laboratoire sur l’analyse des dispositifs d’accompagnement et de la compétence à s’orienter (ADACO) which is affiliated with the CRIEVAT at Université Laval. 

Annie Gourde is a PhD student at Université Laval and career counsellor since 2006. She meets with diverse clients in private practice, including immigrants, experiencing all kinds of career-related challenges. She teaches courses at Université Laval on LMI and socio-professional integration of various client bases. 

Julie Morissette is a career counsellor and socio-professional integration trainer. She has been working with refugees with low levels of education for over 15years. She is currently working on a PhD on the conceptualization of cross-cultural counselling. She also teaches career counselling at the Université de Sherbrooke. 

Webinar: View the recording for free

At the end of 2023, the research team hosted a webinar on the fundamentals of supporting refugees with low levels of education. Access the recording for a complete introduction to the guide (in French with English sub-titles).