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Sandra Lopes Research Associate Public Policy Forum

Forum of Labour Market Ministers Knowing and Growing: The Role of Labour Market Information in Advancing Economic Prosperity Diagnosing the Issues: Session 1 November 8, 2005 Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sandra Lopes Research Associate Public Policy Forum. Public Policy Forum.

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Sandra Lopes Research Associate Public Policy Forum

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  1. Forum of Labour Market MinistersKnowing and Growing: The Role of Labour Market Information in Advancing Economic ProsperityDiagnosing the Issues: Session 1November 8, 2005Halifax, Nova Scotia Sandra Lopes Research Associate Public Policy Forum

  2. Public Policy Forum • The Public Policy Forum is an independent, not-for-profit organization aimed at improving the quality of government in Canada through better dialogue between the public, private and voluntary sectors.

  3. Context • International mobility, demand for the highly skilled • Aging population • Outcomes of Recent Immigrants • Government announcement to increase number of immigrants

  4. PPF Research Projects • Canadian Business Perspectives on the International Mobility of Skilled Labour • Bringing Employers Into the Immigration Debate: Survey and Roundtable • www.ppforum.ca or sandra.lopes@ppforum.ca

  5. Canadian Business Perspectives • Objectives • Methodology • Who is affected? • Why are companies moving people? • What problems do some companies encounter? • What do companies want? • Summary

  6. Objectives To better understand from the employer’s point of view: • the importance of labour mobility; • the motivations for moving people across borders; and • the challenges to moving people.

  7. Methodology • telephone interviews with appropriate managers at large companies and industry associations operating in Canada • Sectors represented include Financial, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Information Technology, Transportation, and Education • Companies and industry associations were reluctant to be interviewed

  8. Who is affected? • Do not move significant numbers of people (highest numbers in engineering and information technology ) • Much more likely to move executives and those with highly specialized skills • Equally likely to recruit for both short and long term assignments • Short term assignments not captured by HR data

  9. Why are companies moving people to Canada? • Require unique or specialized skills • Provide professional or personal development • Transfer knowledge or skills to local staff • Manage foreign operations • Integrate a newly acquired asset • Seek or affect an acquisition • Provide services • Support research and development • Support the sale of goods • Faster to move people than to hire locally • Reduce costs

  10. What problems do some companies encounter? • Costs - Taxation - Employee Compensation - Exchange Rate • Family Issues - Spousal Employment - Children - Elderly Parents - Establishing Roots • Visas • Professional Accreditation • Language Skills/Cultural Barriers • Employment Law • Accommodation/Social Services

  11. What do companies want? • Simple and transparent legal requirements • Negotiate tax treaties • More flexibility to companies wishing to recruit internationally

  12. Summary I • Overall companies do not move many people, and do not face significant obstacles moving them • When companies do move people, they move management or those with very specialized skills for both short and long-term assignments

  13. Summary II • Companies are motivated to move people because they require specialized skills, to transfer knowledge and to provide professional or personal development • Cost, spousal employment and family obligations are the most significant obstacles to labour mobility

  14. Bringing Employers Into the Immigration Debate: Survey and Roundtable • Project Objectives • Methodology Key Positive Findings: • Positive Attitudes towards immigrants and immigration • Benefits to hiring immigrants But: • Open to being involved in Strategies • Overlook Immigrants in HR • Face challenges hiring immigrants • Are not hiring immigrants at right level • Face challenges integrating immigrants

  15. Project Objectives To determine the extent employers think recent immigrants: • could fill their current or future labour market needs • face challenges when they are hired or integrated into the workforce To identify and share the policy implications.

  16. Methodology • Survey of 2091 employers across the country • Survey observations made by province, company size and city • Focus groups in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Moncton • Conference on November 4 to discuss policy implications

  17. Key Positive Findings Employers: • have positive attitudes towards immigrants and immigration • see benefits to hiring immigrants • open to being involved in strategies to help integrate immigrants into the workforce.

  18. Positive attitudes towards immigrants and immigration

  19. Q.19a Have immigrant employees required any special training beyond what might be required by a Canadian-born employee? (Prior to July 9, wording was – Have employees who have been in Canada for less than ten years required any special training beyond what might be required by a Canadian-born employee?)Subsample: Those whose organization currently has immigrants as part of its labour force Benefits to Hiring Immigrants

  20. Benefits to Hiring Immigrants

  21. Open to being involved in strategies

  22. Open to being involved in strategies

  23. Key Positive FindingsSupported by Focus Group Results • Hardworking • Good work attitude/respectful • Loyal • Often highly skilled • Create a more diverse workplace • New ideas • Flexible – will work shifts that are hard to fill • Will work for less money – initially • Help to serve immigrant clients in their language

  24. Key Challenges BUT Employers also: • overlook immigrants in human resource strategies • Face challenges when hiring immigrants • are not hiring immigrants at the level they were trained • face challenges integrating recent immigrants into their workforce

  25. Overlook Immigrants in HR strategies

  26. Overlook Immigrants in HR strategies

  27. Overlook Immigrants in HR strategies

  28. Overlook Immigrants in HR strategies

  29. Face Challenges When Hiring Immigrants Q.11 From what you have seen or heard, what do you think are the main difficulties that immigrants face during the following phases of the job hunting process … the initial application phase, prior to getting an interview … getting called in for an initial interview … getting called back for a second interview or a job offer?Note: Respondents were previously instructed to always think of someone who has lived in Canada for ten years or less when they hear the term “immigrant.”

  30. Do not hire immigrants at their level of training Q.6a Thinking about the unique needs of your organization, which of the following best describes the requirement for potential employment with your organization? (Prior to July 9, wording was – Thinking about the unique needs of your organization, which of the following best describes the prerequisite for potential employment with your organization?)

  31. Do not hire immigrants at their level of training

  32. Do not hire immigrants at their level of training

  33. Face Challenges Integrating Immigrants into the Workforce

  34. Key ChallengesSupported by Focus Groups Results • Harder to assess skills/qualifications • Language, language, language! (Comprehension, writing, comprehensibility) • Lack of experience with Canadian work culture/business etiquette • Temporary: want to go to other larger Canadian cities (Moncton) • Frustration with being overqualified for their jobs • Cultural differences/misunderstanding: holidays, language, way of dressing themselves, religion • Harder to integrate to working teams

  35. Key Findings Employers: • have positive attitudes towards immigrants and immigration • see benefits to hiring immigrants • open to being involved in strategies to help integrate immigrants into the workforce.

  36. Key Findings BUT Employers also: • overlook immigrants in human resource strategies • Face challenges when hiring immigrants • are not hiring immigrants at the level they were trained • face challenges integrating recent immigrants into their workforce

  37. Conclusions/Implications 1. Employers need to be engaged. • Defining labour market needs • Helping to prepare communities for integration

  38. Conclusions/Implications 2. Employers should be encouraged to develop HR strategies which considers immigrants and mobility. • Recognition of looming challenges and importance of migration • More information on immigrants’ skills

  39. Conclusions/Implications 3. Help should be provided to employers and immigrants to help address challenges and issues • Highly-Skilled employer-led migration • Language Training (Occupation Specific) • Credential Recognition • Cultural Understanding

  40. Future Research Issues and Challenges • Public Sector Employers • Reaching Small Business • Smaller communities

  41. For the research reports: • www.ppforum.ca • Sandra.lopes@ppforum.ca

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