Research Paper – DUE DATE: Apr 8th The paper will be between 2,500 and 3,000 words and will be evaluated on the student’s ability to develop ideas and to integrate course concepts into their argume

Running head: Immigrants and the Canadian Workforce 1

Immigrants and the Canadian Workforce: Challenges of Employment

NAME

GMGT1010 Term Paper

Submitted: March 28, 2018

Canada prides itself on its diversity and multiculturalism. The Canadian 2011 census reveals that 20.6% of the population are foreign-born (Statistics Canada, 2011). When people move to Canada, they are faced with the task of entering the Canadian workforce; finding employment can be a challenge for these immigrants. Some of the barriers immigrants face when seeking employment include language barriers, workplace discrimination and lack of credential recognition which ultimately results in overqualified workers. Studies show that migrants occupy an unequal and disadvantaged position in the labour market in terms of higher unemployment rates, lower earnings and higher rates of over-education (McGuiness, S. and Bryne, D. 2014). This paper delves into the issues facing immigrants entering the workforce, the factors that enable these issues to persist, and the role business plays in this social topic.

The issues of language barriers, discrimination and lack of credential recognition impart devastating effects on newly landed immigrants. These issues act as barriers to assimilation into the Canadian workforce and prevent appropriate appointment of jobs to these immigrants. Aside from the financial burden of attaining a lower-paying job, these struggles with seeking employment can influence an individual’s self-esteem, and mental health due to the stress that is inflicted. The relevance of this issue does not only apply to the immigrants themselves, but to business and society on a larger context. “From a human capital perspective, de-skilling (i.e. lack of recognition of foreign credentials) is a loss for both Canada and the country of origin” (Bauder, H. 2003) and ultimately does not utilize the individuals to their maximum potential. From a business standpoint, it does not reflect well to impart a culture of intolerance and ultimately results in a less cohesive workforce which can negatively impact profitability. The struggle of an individual to assimilate into Canadian culture can influence future generations within the family, and lead to a loss of those individuals as hard-working tax payers and valuable assets to consumer capitalism. Overall, the poor assimilation of immigrants into the Canadian workforce impacts on an individual, business and societal level.

Business plays a role in enabling issues such as discrimination to occur through their hiring practices and their day-to-day operations. The act of turning a blind-eye to workplace discrimination done by personnel acts as a form of allowance f this negative workplace environment. The role of institutionalized racism, discrimination along with politics can influence managements hiring practices. “In-group members (i.e. majority ethnic members) who feel particularly threatened by a certain out-group (eg. Arab ethnics) may employ discriminatory practices against the out-group to compensate for the felt threat” (Derous.E., Ryan, A., Nguyen, H. 2011). Business managers can also use their authority as a way to influence the income and upward mobility of those they discriminate against. Another more recent study studying migrant nurses in Canada found that all nurse’s studies reported cases of discriminatory practices that thwarted upward mobility (Hagey, Choudhy, Guruge, Turrittin, Collins & Lee, 2001). The impact of discriminatory practices on employees can also take an emotional and mental toll aside from a financial one. A study of Southeast Asian refugees conducted by Noh et al. revealed an association between both perceived racial discrimination and depression. “Refugees who reported that they had experiences racial discrimination had higher depression levels than their counterparts who reported no such experiences” (Noh, S., Beiser, M., Kaspar, V., Hou, F., & Rummens, J. (1999), p. 193). As well, by discriminating against immigrants through their hiring practices, higher –paying businesses subject immigrants to alternatives of lower paying jobs in which they are overqualified. When coming to Canada some immigrants will take take these lower-paying job that are available, thinking it will be a short-term sacrifice, but ultimately they become trapped from falling behind in qualifications or expectation (Badets, J. & Howatson-Leo, L. 1999).

With the lack of recognition of foreign credentials, immigrants end up being subjected to lower-skilled jobs. The prevalence of these overqualified workers can have negative impacts on the community by depriving industry and society of properly-trained workers. The 2012 Canadian report “Who Drives a Taxi in Canada” found that “in a survey of 50,000 cab drivers across Canada, 200 were doctors or have PhDs, and twenty percent of drivers who immigrated to Canada have undergraduate university degrees or masters” (Li Xu, 2012). The development of overqualified workers plays a detrimental role in the productivity and profitability of the business that does hire them as well. “Recent immigrants who were overqualified for their job role were three times as likely to sustain an injury at work” (Health and Medicine Weekly, 2012). This has a negative impact on business by reducing productivity, causing workers compensation fees to these employees, or can be treated as grounds for suing if the employee was not told the safety precautions in a way they understood (such as their mother-tongue) or if in fact the proper safety precautions were not taken.

Language barriers are another challenge immigrants face when entering seeking employment. “Language skills play an important role in determining an immigrants social and economic status” (McDonald & Kennedy, 2014). As a whole, this issue can influence their work placement and the ability to find resources to reach out to employers such as job banks. As well, “lack of English may be interpreted as poor communication resulting in limited social networking for employment search” (KIOSK ESL Communication Services, 2018) which would ultimately effect job placement as well. Studies done by Dr. Phillida Schellekens found conclusive evidence that “lack of English causes second language speakers to be one of the most excluded groups in society and the labor market” (Schellekens, P. 2001). Businesses play a key role in this barrier by invoking English-only and French-only policies, which also feed into the barrier of discrimination. “Employers must understand that discriminatory English-only rules can hurt their productivity, morale and ultimately their bottom line” (Jordan, M. 2005). If management were to exercise tolerance and proper training in the workplace, this barrier can be overcome which would result in less stress for immigrants, and with training to strengthen communication skills among employees, this could result in a more efficient and productive workforce.

There is a wide variety of people affected by the integration of immigrants into the Canadian workforce. Three of the major stakeholders in this issue are the immigrants, employers, and he local communities. The immigrants and their families are both influenced by these barriers that impact their employment. They financially benefit from the successful integration into the workforce, as well as suffer from the issues of language barriers, workplace discrimination, and lack of recognition of foreign credentials which can negatively impact their financial situations. These barriers manifest themselves in the form of unemployment and lower income jobs which is strongly associated with their health and quality of life.

Canadian businesses are also a major stakeholder in the results of integration of immigrants into the workforce; and lack thereof their integration. The businesses are stakeholders since the influx of immigrants into the workforce provides a wider range of potential employees, more so to the minimum-wage sector jobs. This influx of immigrants into the Canadian workforce can also influence businesses’ negatively by bringing in employees who lack Canadian work experience and an understanding of Canadian cultural norms such as “knowing how to engage in self-promotion without seeming to be too humble or too aggressive” (Chin.M., Sakamoto.I. & Young.M, 2015). From a business standpoint this can be detrimental since it can be off-putting to potential customers who seem alienated by other cultural practices within the workplace, for example in circumstances such as employees speaking their native -tongue in front of Canadians. In the larger context, a stakeholder in the introduction of immigrants into the Canadian workforce is the communities in which the immigrants work. With an aging workforce due to the baby-boomer’s generation, there will be a decrease in the workforce as people retire. “In 2016, more than one-third of the working-age population was 55 or over” (Statistics Canada, 2017). With a deficit in people leaving the workforce versus entering the workforce, an influx of immigrants could provide more of a supply of skilled workers to the workforce. This would help maintain the economic prosperity of communities, rejuvenate the workforce, and provide inhabitants for Canadian communities in population decline, as well as aid communities which are based on industry but that are declining due to lack of man-power.

The influx of immigrants into the work force brings on a variety of barriers that influence the quality of life of these individuals. The challenges faced by immigrants brings up the social question, should businesses be accountable to help these individuals integrate into the workforce? Some might argue it is not the responsibility of businesses to get involved; some might argue that businesses should stay neutral and avoid getting involved with employees or the politics of migration. Business managers might take into account such factors as public opinion and a patriotic sense of saving these jobs for Canadian-borne individuals when doing their hiring practices, therefore arguing they are accountable to those who are Canadian-born. On the other hand, it is apparent that there is a stronger need for business intervention in this social issue since it continues to persist, despite attempts made at a government level. Some of the main incentives for businesses to get involved in immigrant challenges within society is the benefits of having these skilled workers compose the diverse workforce. With in increase in the influx of immigrants into Canada, the use of a diversified workforce is beneficial to businesses. Diversity in the workplace can reduce lawsuits and increase marketing opportunities, recruitment, creativity and business image (Green, K. A., López, M., Wysocki, A., & Kepner, K. (2002)). Companies should be help accountable for the issues faced by immigrants entering the workforce since this would make them more aware of the impact their actions have on the major stakeholders of their own business, immigrants and society. This then could make them more aware of how they enable these challenges to persist such as discriminative hiring policies and overall fostering a negative working environment. As well, through taking care of immigrant stakeholders, “cultural diversity does in fact add value, and within the proper context, contributes to firm competitive advantage” (Richard, O. 2000), which would benefit the company’s stakeholders through a better return on their investment. Such efforts made so far that have been initiated by businesses to address these issues include sensitivity training. “At a recent conference of the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers, training representatives from 40 companies were asked if their companies had increased training in issues relating to diversity and sensitivity in the past five years. Fifty-four percent said that such training had increased” (Swan, J. 2012). Other attempts at integrating immigrants into an inclusive and accepting workplace environment include implementation of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Committees which “oversee the efforts made by the company to align the business strategies and priorities of D&I in the workplace” (Gonzalez, N. 2017). Other stakeholders such as the government have made attempts to help immigrants overcome some of the hardships of Canadian culture shock. “Federally funded language training programs like the Language Institution for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) have been aimed at basic and generic language training” (Kaida, L. 2013). NGO’s such as as the Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada have arisen in recent years to lobby against the Canadian government (Coalition for Migrant Workers Rights Canada, 2018). Among their demands, the coalition demands policy changes to make it easier for migrants to move between jobs, as well as removing limits on work permits. As well, some unions such as United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) fights for wages for workers in the agriculture Sector (UFCW, 2015). Overall, attempts on the government level and NGO level have been made thus far, but further accountability from businesses is required to help facilitate the successful overcoming of barriers faced by immigrants entering the Canadian workforce.

With the increase in diversity of the Canadian population, it is important companies take into account the changing demographics of their clientele and workforce. The ever-changing face of the immigration populating poses the question: how long into the future should Canadian businesses plan? It is important businesses take into account their diverse consumer base when doing their hiring practices. In the short-term, playing to personal prejudices may satisfy the managers internal prejudices, but in the long-term harms their company and diminishes their competitive abilities, thus negatively influencing the business and its shareholders. In the short term, the intake of immigrants into the work force would develop positive relationships with the immigrant community in the short-term and consequently in the long-term, building up the immigrant population as a source of consumer and labour. This support for diversity by companies would produce a strong prospective workforce for these businesses. “Children of immigrants graduate high-school at a rate of 91.6 percent, against 88.8 percent of children who are third-generation or more” (Immigration.ca, 2018). The long-term benefits of hiring immigrants would also include “reducing training costs by hiring international skills and experience, improving understanding and connections with the global business context as well as enhancing decision-making through diverse approaches” (Hire Immigrants Ottawa, 2017), all of which provide competitive advantages to the global markets. As well, studies indicate that board diversity is positively associated with financial indicators of firm performance and effectiveness in the oversight function of boards of directors” (Erhardt, N. L., Werbel, J. D., & Shrader, C. B. (2003)). Diversity in the workplace can enable a company to function on a global basis and interact with a broader client-bas by making a company seem more relatable (Deering, S. 2018). The hiring immigrants can cause a transformative benefit to companies in the long-term by providing more of an insight into a variety of cultural backgrounds. “Diversity within the business is necessary in order to serve a customer base that is also very diverse” (Balch,2014). Overall, the intake of immigrants into the Canadian workforce benefits companies in the long-term through strengthening public image, provide competitive advantage, and stronger oversight on the part of management.

Although there are company-level attempts being made such as sensitivity training and Diversity and Inclusion Committee to promote diversity in the workplace, there is still the need for stronger managerial support and intervention to resolve these issues of discrimination, language barriers and the presence of over-skilled employees. The issue of language barriers causes an increase in workplace injury of the employees which both harms the employee and company. As stated earlier, “recent immigrants who were overqualified for their job role were three times as likely to sustain an injury at work” (Health and Medicine Weekly, 2012). An effort to reduce workplace injury as a result of both language barriers and over-skilled workers would include providing safety protocols in a variety of languages, rather than just English or French. “Some organizations institute English or French-only policies” (Kreissl, B. ,2011), so lessening the constraints of theses policies would benefit the company’s productivity and profitability in the long term. An increase in the quantity and quality of workplace training for these over-skilled immigrants would also promote more workplace safety and perhaps help them specialize to the point they may be promoted, thus promoting long-term relationships with immigrant employees and providing board of director’s diversity which benefits productivity. “Immigrants who arrive as adults train significantly less than those who arrive as children (Hum.D. & Simpson, W. 2003). An equalization of training for employees regardless of age, or whether they are foreign or native-born would help equalize all employees and provide equal opportunity for all, thus eliminating a sense of discrimination, promoting upward mobility and preventing workplace injury. Another action business could institute to assist immigrant workers and benefit their companies in the long-term would be to change their hiring policies through wording on their application forms. Not all immigrants have a valid drivers license which may be due to their home-country frame of reference, or due to expense. Changing applicant requirements from requiring a valid drivers license to requiring a mode of commuting would be more inclusive and provide more potential employees. Up until recently women in Saudi Arabia were banned from being able to drive (Al-Rasheed, M. 2017), thus this policy change would enable more prospective employees and prevent the view of discrimination in their hiring practices. Businesses such as those in the food industry prefer to hire employees with the necessary certifications such as a Food Handler’s certificate. In order to prevent the barrier of cost to influence their hiring practices (which could be viewed as a form of discrimination), companies could subsidize of reimburse their employees for doing such training on their own time.

The role of NGO’s and the government of Canada is also necessary to prevent such barriers for immigrants entering the workforce, which ultimately influences Canada’s well being in the long-term. The role of government could include the implementation of “circular migration, which would enable the movement of migrants between their homelands and foreign places of work. This would provide benefits for receiving countries through meeting labour market shortages, for the sending countries through guaranteeing remittance for development, and for migrants through offering employment and control over the use of their wages” (Vertovec, S. (2013)). The government of Canada could press on a global level for standardization of certifications of certain jobs such as medicine and health professions, so as to reduce the influx of over-skilled workers. As well, to combat the issue of language barriers, the government of Canada could also implement even more language support systems for immigrants in both urban and rural locations; seeing at the government is already implementing some of these services free of charge but they are not specialized to the language of certain job industries. NGO’s could press for a stronger sense of protection of migrant worker’s rights in worker’s unions. This could help prevent workplace discrimination and provide more of a safety net in terms of termination of immigrant’s employment. As well, NGO’s could press for an increase in inclusion of migrants into positions of power such as boards of directors for companies.

Pertaining to the argument that the government should continue to promote language support systems, employers should promote educational resource such as government-funded language courses. A potential obstacle to providing further language support systems in Canada is the effort required to implement changes in how to approach language education. “Results indicate that language support programs in Canada may be effective, but as with any new education reform, governments face obstacles in implementing such programs and practices” (Christensen, G., & Stanat, P. (2007)).

A potential obstacle to implementing the development of workplace safety in multiple languages is the cost of printing such material, as well as the issue of how meanings of words can be lost in translation. A potential solution to this problem could be if business’ hired a translator for the employees first day of work. This would enable them to obtain safety information in a language they understand which would help prevent workplace injury, build a positive relationship between the employee and their employer through mutual respect, and provide long-term benefits of less workplace injury and workers compensation.

The possibility of standardized credentials for certain careers such as those in the medical and health field can come with some backlash of a conflict between Eastern medicine practices and Western practices. It would be difficult for countries to collaborate on an approved criterion for syllabi for these professions, as well, it would cause overall reform in the standards of education in certain countries so as to fit the Canadian health care curriculum. As a possible solution, in the medical field costs of secondary schooling could potentially be subsidized or scholarships could be provided more frequently to support immigrants seeking to return to school to gain their necessary credentials. Perhaps then, in certain fields such as engineering or management studies, schooling could be standardized across borders to ensure there is recognition of foreign credentials more frequently in Canada.

To conclude, the barriers facing immigrants entering the Canadian workforce include language barriers, discrimination and lack of recognition of foreign credentials. Through intervention attempts at a government and business level, the challenges facing migrants can be reduced. Increase of immigrant’s workers into the Canadian workforce is important to Canadian society since these skilled workers provide competitive advantage to businesses and are good employees. The effects of business and society not promoting integration into the Canadian workforce are costly to all.

References:

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