From Policy to Reality: A Study of Factors Influencing the Employment Trajectories of Internationally Educated Professionals

Over the past decade there has been a changing policy landscape in Ontario that aimed at assisting foreign-trained immigrants to integrate into their intended professions. However, many foreign-trained immigrants continuously face barriers in the labour market such that their employment experiences are often contrary to their expectations. This study explores and examines the factors influencing the employment trajectory of Internationally Educated Professionals (IEPs) in Canada. In particular, the study focuses on selected Filipino immigrants and IEPs from other cultures, and examines their employment trajectories and shifts in professional status. Recent literature indicates that there is a widening gap between the policies of immigrant inclusion and equity in many Western countries and the social realities of immigrants in the workforce. This study is an interpretive qualitative research with a critical orientation using Bourdieu’s theory of social reproduction as a lens. A total of 30 participants were divided into three categories according to their year of arrival in Canada. Interview data were analyzed using critical discourse analysis and grounded theory. Findings reveal four broad sets of factors (socio-demographic, individual, sociolinguistic and contextual) influencing the employment trajectories of IEPs and their resulting shifts in professional status. Government immigration policies and economic conditions at the time of participants’ arrival were found to be important influences on IEPs employment success. The contented IEPs and struggling IEPs who had both different years of arrival experienced frequent changes in employment. High achieving IEPs who arrived in Canada between 1988-1994 and 2002-2008, had successfully navigated the employment trajectory with frequent job changes. However, low achieving IEPs, were also found among immigrants arriving between 2002-2008 who experienced less and/or no movement in their occupations. Findings are discussed in relation to relevant policy implications for the economy, educational practice, curriculum, theory-building and new knowledge construction for socioeconomic equity.Ph.D