Scroll through the list below to find out what sector councils are doing to promote the integration of internationally-trained workers in the Canadian labour market.
BioTalent Canada is building capacity within the biotechnology sector so that internationally educated professionals can be assessed and connected with employers in an efficient and reliable fashion. Click here for more information.
The Canadian Aviation Maintenance Council is developing a national system to assess the skills of aviation and aerospace workers. Click here for more information.
The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum has completed a project, Accessibility and Removal of Barriers that identifies the perceived barriers faced by recent immigrants and other groups when accessing and completing apprenticeship training in Canada
The Canadian Automotive Repair and Service Councils has developed an inventory of available programs and resources for employers looking to hire and retain internationally-trained workers. CARS also welcomes internationally-trained workers to assess their skills at www.carsability.ca to help them identify any professional development that would enhance their success when integrating into the Canadian workforce.
The Canadian Plastics Sector Council has developed an online sourcebook documenting federally and provincially sponsored second language training programs for workers who are newcomers to Canada. Click here for more information.
The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council has conducted seminal research to inform the development of a foreign credential recognition system to address non-regulated professions.
The Canadian Trucking Human Resource Council is in the final stages of a project with the objectives of reviewing Canada’s need for foreign trained workers in the trucking industry, ensuring that a mechanism exists to recognize the competencies of foreign-trained workers, and facilitating a system to create seamless work transitions for new Canadians whose competencies have been recognized. The project will result in a resource guide geared towards helping employers recruit drivers and mechanics who have acquired their skills outside of Canada.
The Construction Sector Council has developed a comprehensive six-point strategy for Foreign Credential Recognition in the Construction Industry. Additional publications, including an analysis of information available to immigrating tradespersons and an international comparison of the FCR process can be found here.
The Electricity Sector Council’s Foreign Credential Recognition Project has completed a review of industry recruitment and employee-integration practices with recommendations on how Canada’s electricity sector can develop strategies to optimize the workplace contributions of foreign-trained workers.
Engineers Canada is working on a multiphase project, From Consideration to Integration, which addresses foreign credential recognition issues in the engineering profession.
The Information and Communications Technology Council has launched the Internationally Educated Professionals Integration Initiative, which aims to improve the integration of Internationally Educated Professionals (IEPs) in the Canadian ICT workforce through the development of a nationally recognized, competency-based self-assessment tool for IEPs; and the creation of mentoring processes and tools for IEPs, small- and medium-sized businesses and organizations working with IEPs.
The Petroleum Human Resources Council has published an article on hiring temporary foreign
workers which contains links to important websites. It has also completed a
study to determine the tools, resources, and support processes needed by the
oil and gas industry to increase the employment and retention of immigrants
already living in Alberta into the upstream petroleum industry. The project,
funded by Alberta Employment and Immigration has been completed and the Final
Research Report can be downloaded here. Given the level of interest and
support for this project, the Petroleum HR Council and Alberta Employment and
Immigration collaborated once more to develop and deliver an Employer Workshop
entitled "Hiring and Integrating Immigrants into the Petroleum Industry
Workforce". The workshop:
- Raised awareness of current
immigrant recruitment and integration barriers and challenges.
- Equipped employers to
evaluate and/or change current HR processes and practices.
- Provided tools and
resources to help employers recruit and integrate immigrants into the
petroleum workforce.
The
workshop was piloted in April of 2008 and the tools and resources developed
have been incorporated into the Increasing the Talent Online Toolkit.
The Textiles Human Resources Council is implementing the Global Skills Connection Project. This project is investigating the challenges associated with attracting and integrating new immigrants into the textile workplace as part of the Council’s examination of current and future skills shortages in the Canadian industry.