FCR 2.0: The Role of Employers, Communities and Service Provider Organizations The Hire Immigrants Ottawa Engagement Con

1. FCR 2.0: The Role of Employers, Communities and Service ProviderOrganizationsThe Hire Immigrants Ottawa Engagement Continuum – A Model Kelly McGahey Senior Manager, Stakeholder Relations kmcgahey@hireimmigrantsottawa.ca Twitter: @HireImmOttawa

2. Business Drivers Leveraging Immigrant Talent will Grow and Diversity our Economy • Skilled immigrants bring global experience, cultural and linguistic intelligence, and networks • Skilled immigrants to Ottawa have higher education and diverse backgrounds, contribute to increased innovation and productivity • Changing Local Market - expand customer base through improved understanding of product and service needs of ethno-specific markets • Broader talent pool for recruiting new employees • Well managed very diverse teams outperform well managed heterogeneous teams *Source: The Conference Board of Canada

3. Workplace Readiness; Workplace cultural differences; Language (including bilingualism) Immigrants not in networks; resume screening; communication challenges Assessing Foreign qualifications and Work Experience; Credential Recognition Compare experience and education obtained elsewhere; licensing and/or certification requirements Employer Challenges

4. Five Strategies to Leverage Immigrant Talent/Support Integration • For the effective hiring and integrating of immigrants into our workplaces, employers can implement strategies in the following areas: • Awareness • Participation • Collaboration • System Change • Championing

5. Awareness • Employees/colleagues need to be aware of demographics, labour markets, and evolving customer bases/markets • Employees/colleagues need to be aware of the business drivers related to diversity and inclusion initiatives • Invite in a third party to help deliver this information if that would be helpful • HR/People Managers/Leaders need to be aware of demographics, best practices in attraction, engagement and retention, the resources required to become and/or remain an inclusive workplace • Become familiar with where to find tools and resources • All - Get to know the immigrants in your workplace – ask them about their experiences arriving, settling. What are their challenges and opportunities?

6. Participation • Participation can include: • Networking events – encourage colleagues to participate in relevant networking opportunities where they’ll meet immigrants or other stakeholders • Coaching events – encourage colleagues to provide guidance and advice to immigrants on how to search for work in their field • Internship programs – consider tapping into an existing internship program, such as the Federal Internship for Newcomers program to help your employees become more familiar with newcomers in the workplace • Bridging programs – there may be a relevant bridge training program at a community college seeking hosts for placements or mentors – employees may respond to leadership development opportunities • Mentoring Programs – tap into existing mentoring programs through your immigrant serving organizations or consider implementing a mentoring program in your workplace

7. Collaborate Enhancing the ability of workplaces to attract, retain and advance immigrants requires the efforts of many stakeholders working together • Work with other IEC employers to share knowledge and information, provide input to other stakeholders (i.e. policy-makers, etc); provide input into future programming (i.e. training, tools and resources, etc) • Work with immigrant serving agencies/FIN to source candidates, provide guidance and feedback to job seekers, job developers and settlement workers • Work with educators, regulators, etc., to ensure skilled immigrants can address any skills gaps they might have

8. System Change • Review your HR policies and practices for unintended barriers, and address them • i.e. work to ensure that the hiring process is as bias free as possible, from the posters (asking only for bona fide requirements) to interview guides (behaviour-based interview questions may elicit responses influenced by culture) • Identify ways to value internationally obtained education and experience • Access cultural competency training • Examine orientation processes for new employees and build in rigorous and robust on-boarding programs • Ensure that performance management systems allow for effective management with an inclusive lens – recognizing and valuing difference

9. Champion • Be a champion – in your workplace, in your community • Articulate what you know – having inclusive workplaces and being a welcoming community will help to grow businesses and economy, and contribute to a more vibrant community • Engage other colleagues (internal and external) around this issue • Champions are involved in this issue at all levels – remain aware, participate in activities, collaborate with other stakeholders, and make changes when necessary. • Blow your own horns – celebrate successes and share your stories.

10. Tools and Resources for Employers • www.hireimmigrantsottawa.ca houses a number of employer oriented resources including the following developed by HIO: • The Employers Guide to Integrating Immigrants into the Workplace • Employers in Action: From Recruitment to Retention • Labour Market Fact Sheets • HireImmigrants.ca on-line resources, including videos: www.hireimmigrants.ca • Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists http://www.cctt.ca • Links to similar initiatives: http://alliescanada.ca/ • CIC/TASCs Employer’s Roadmap: http://www.credentials.gc.ca/employers/roadmap/roadmap.pdf

11. Conclusion • The labour market demographic is changing at a fast pace and immigration will be a driving force of that change. • Integration of immigrants into the labour market is a process, not an event – there is no silver bullet. Employers and communities will need to work together to develop and implement strategies.

12. Thank you! www.hireimmigrantsottawa.ca