International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Improving Access to Labour market Information for migrants and employers
252
difficulties determining whether immigrants are qualified or not, but this is much
more difficult for SMEs hiring potential economic immigrants from abroad. The
solution remains programmes such as CIIP that increase contact between businesses
and immigrants without imposing significant cost on employers, and programmes
that either expedite credential assessment or make it easier for businesses to assess
the credentials and qualifications of immigrants.
Additionally, in the case of Arranged Employment Offers (AEOs), the informational
barrier has clearly been surmounted by both parties to the transaction. As mentioned
previously, those entering Canada through the federal system with arranged
employment face very different circumstances than those who do not. The most
common positions recruited using AEOs are senior management and academic
positions, indicating that those immigrants offered those positions have connections
to the Canadian labour market or an academic network (CIC, 2010b). The most
extensive study on the PNP, conducted in the province of Manitoba by Tom Carter
in 2010, acknowledged the use of employer-direct provincial nominees, but did not
explore their origin.
3.2. Information barriers faced by immigrants and temporary
workers
Immigrants have consistently reported the following difficulties, most of
which should be apparent at this point: a lack of Canadian job experience; no
connections in the job market; foreign experience either not accepted or heavily
discounted; foreign credentials either not accepted or heavily discounted; a lack
of Canadian job references; and language barriers (Schallenberg and Maheux,
2007). Discrimination has also been cited as a barrier faced by immigrants, and
several studies support this hypothesis (Oreopolous, 2009; Kukushkin and Watt,
2009). Many of these barriers can be alleviated by improving access to labour
market information, although they are primarily structural in nature. Many of
these barriers can be traced back to immigrants being unfamiliar with the labour
market in Canada.
In regards to the recognition of experience and education by Canadian employers
and professional or licensing associations, the informational barriers took several
forms. First, applicants have found it very difficult to determine whether or not their
credentials will be recognized in Canada (Alboim and McIsaac, 2007). Second,
immigration applicants have often been surprised by the cost of the credentialing
process after a point at which they had already significantly invested in the process
of immigrating (Alboim, 2009; Picot and Sweetman, 2012; Houle and Yssad, 2010).
A study in Manitoba found that half of respondents reported that credentials or job
experience not being recognized was their greatest problem; in an earlier national
survey, slightly fewer than forty per cent indicated that credential recognition was
their greatest problem. In that survey, more said that not having Canadian job
experience was their greatest problem (Alboim and McIsaac, 2007; Carter et al.,
2010).