An environmental scan of the workplace integration programs for skilled migrant workers within the Canadian labour market

The movement towards knowledge-based societies makes human capital a critical success factor for sustained growth and development. Thus, Canada utilizes its immigration initiatives as tools for nation-building and talent acquisition. Poor domestic growth rate, steady decline in working age population, and the attendant skills shortage, creates a growing dependence on immigration. Canada’s immigration policy places priority on skilled worker recruitment, the objective being that they are better positioned to integrate quickly into the workplace, causing minimal burden on social infrastructure. However, this research found an imbalance between this objective and reality of labour market outcomes: Although 84% of immigrants had university degree, against 22% natural born Canadians, they were unable to obtain skilled jobs. Their unemployment rate was more than double, taking 15-20years to achieve occupational attainment equaling their Canadian born peers. Barriers inhibiting workplace integration included accreditation of qualifications, language, lack of Canadian work experience, and employers’ concerns about culture dilution. Conference Board of Canada recently decried the resultant cost of this sub-optimization, estimating it at $4.1 to $5.9 billion annually. The environmental scanning research design enabled qualitative examination of Canadian workplace integration programs: utilising parameters to analyze individual program mechanism to generate reliable data on current practice, leading to findings that provide valuable insights into the framework of existing integration initiatives and program offerings, and highlighting areas were programs were deficient in provision. This study identified integral components which make up effective workplace integration practices, equipping stakeholders with tools for harnessing, developing and retaining diverse talent