Birthplace & Job: Foreign Trained Professionals

source: CBC News

Where doctors and engineers emigrate from has a big impact on whether they find work in their fields in Canada, according to a new Statistics Canada study. Using numbers from the 2001 census, it found immigrants from Western Europe, China and India were more likely to practise medicine in Canada while foreign-trained engineers had better luck getting a job if they were accredited in North America, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Underemployment in both professions was most notable for individuals coming from other Asian countries and Eastern Europe.

In 2001 there were 5,400 individuals living in Canada who had studied medicine at a foreign institution, but only 55 per cent were working as a medical doctor. About 33 per cent were in jobs completely unrelated to the medical field. There were also 34,100 foreign-trained engineers, accounting for one-quarter of the trained engineers in the country. But only 26 per cent of them were working in their profession while 35 per cent found completely unrelated jobs. Meanwhile, 92 per cent of Canadian-born doctors and 40 per cent of Canadian-born engineers find work despite foreigners having spent a longer amount of time on their education, adds Statistics Canada.

Arrival date had an impact: The chances of foreign-trained doctors and engineers finding work in their field in Canada depends largely on when they arrived, the study says. Foreign-trained physicians or engineers who arrived in the early 1980s are more likely to be working in their professions than those who came in the early 1990s due to a slower economy, says the study. Level of education, fields of study, fluency in French or English, and proximity to Canada's largest urban centres were also determined to influence the ability of immigrants to obtain employment in their fields. Foreign-born professionals were more likely to be living in urban centres with about 50 per cent residing in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. One-third of Canadian-born doctors live in those cities.

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Foreign-trained Professionals Job Depends...

A new study says the chances of foreign-trained doctors and engineers finding work in their field in Canada depend largely on where they are from and when they arrived. Statistics Canada has found that underemployment is most common among foreign-trained doctors born in East Asia, South East Asia, West Asia and Eastern Europe. The agency says foreign-trained doctors born in Western European and South Asian countries are most likely to practice medicine once in Canada.

Among foreign-trained engineers, those trained in a country that has accredited engineering programs recognized by Canada had the same chance of being employed as an engineer as someone born and trained in Canada. The chances were almost as high for engineers born in South Asia, the Caribbean or Latin America, but were very low for those born in South East Asia.

More young adults staying home by choice

by: Allison Hanes

Young adults are living with their parents in ever increasing numbers, according to data from the most recent census released Wednesday by Statistics Canada, but sociologists attribute a large part of the latest rise to choice rather than necessity. Staying in school longer and difficulty finding a stable, full-time job are historical reasons behind a trend that has been on the upswing for the last two decades. But experts believe the most recent rise has been in large part fuelled by shifting family values - both traditional and liberal. On the one hand, newcomers to Canada often expect their children to remain in the family home until they marry, said Marc Molgat, a sociology professor at the University of Ottawa. But on the other, he said, baby boomers often have a relationship with their adolescent and adult children that is more akin to friendship compared to past generations. Once young people have made it through secondary school in particular, there's a lot less control over what time you have to come in, who you're seeing," said Prof. Molgat, who has as studied the reasons why young adults are choosing not to leave the nest. "In many cases young people are able to bring back into the parental home a love or a partner.

"Young people have a lot more freedom to live out forms of autonomy within the family home than in the past." Some are so-called boomerang kids who leave to pursue a temporary job on a cruise ship, break into their chosen field by working contracts or travel the world for long periods, while others just never fly the coop. Twenty years ago, just shy of a third of young adults between 20 and 29 lived with their parents. In 2006, 43.5% of the 4 million Canadians in that age bracket did, up from 41,1% in 2001. The trend held true for those in their early 20s as much as for those pushing 30. The census found that a full 60.3% of 20- to 24-year-olds resided at home in 2006, compared to just 49.3% a decade earlier. Meanwhile 26% of adults between the ages of 26 and 29 lived with their parents up from 15.6% two decades ago. Darlene Wang, a 31-year-old Toronto investment advisor and entrepreneur, said both family values and a hard-nosed business sense have kept her living in her parents home all these years. "I'm Chinese and it's really cultural for us to stay at home until we are ready to be married and then we literally leave our family's home to go to our new home," said Ms. Wang who is engaged to be married in 2008.

She has put her earnings from her successful career in finance toward the purchase of several income properties, her own business ventures and investments. Paying rent to someone else made a whole lot less sense to Ms. Wang than collecting it herself. "A long time ago I decided I was never going to pay rent," she said. "So until I could afford to live on my own, I had to interest in paying someone else's mortgages. So that led me to make the decision that I did not want to waste money on living expenses that were not directly related to my well-being." There have been trade-offs, of course. She's had the means to travel internationally quite frequently, but she had to invite her parents to the parties she threw until she has a place of her own to play hostess. Questions surrounding the phenomenon revolve around whether young adults today are truly benefitting or simply prolonging adolescence. Bigger homes in suburbia and affluence mitigate toward children staying at home. With little or no constraints from their parents, James Ct, a sociology professor at the University of Western Ontario said many kids have no incentive to go live in a ratty little apartment on their own if they would be missing out on the comforts of a large home loaded with amenities like pools, Jacuzzis, big screen TVs, and access to a car. Many have the basement to themselves - while a handful he's heard about even take over the master bedroom from their doting folks, Prof. Ct said.

Lower family income or a large number of siblings are factors that push young adults to move out sooner - either because their parents can't afford to support them anymore or because they are challenged to assert their individuality in a crowded house. Prof. Ct said living at home longer can somewhat delay the full maturation into adulthood. "I think people mature through experience and you're limiting your experience if you stay home," he said. "That's what maturity is about, it's about living life. If it's kind of on hold and you just repeat the same thing over and over again and you just go home to your parents place and never have responsibilities like paying rent and buying food, then you're not going to get that sort of experience to help you grow." Prof. Molgat said young adults living with their parents to freeload are "few and far between." "It doesn't mean that they don't have any obligations," he said. "Many people who live at home pay room and board. In many circumstances there are obligations linked to household chores... The other obligation is more of a moral obligation toward their parents to be doing something, and this comes back often... that young people say well it's expected of me the I'm either working or I'm studying and if I'm not doing either I'm looking for a job and if I'm not doing that then I shouldn't be staying at home." But he said there is a delay to full-fledged independence. "They're not independent, but they're autonomous, but they're dependent at the same time," he said. "They don't feel that they've obtained full adult status because they haven't made that final transition."

Canadian House Prices at Risk of Dropping

A hot Canadian housing market has lifted prices above their long-term trend, raising risks of an eventual drop in prices, says Scotiabank. The evaluation is made in the latest Real Estate Trends report, released Thursday by Scotia Economics. "There is little doubt that current trends are unsustainable," said Adrienne Warren, senior economist for Scotia Economics. "Affordability is becoming increasingly stretched for many would be buyers after almost a decade of rising home prices. "More recently, economic risks have increased in the wake of the intensifying financial market turmoil stemming from the U.S. subprime mortgage problems." From a long-term perspective, the report says there is growing evidence of overvaluation in home prices in some parts of Canada - a common precursor to a period of softening conditions. In all 15 cities examined, with the exception of St. John's, current inflation-adjusted price levels are above their long-term trend. The national average deviation at mid-2007 was about eight per cent.

Despite the deviation, price growth remains consistent with short-term supply-demand dynamics. Most major markets in Canada are still "sellers' territory," in which prices are expected to rise faster than inflation. "The further domestic home prices climb above underlying economic fundamentals, the greater the risk of an eventual correction," said Warren. "The 1976 and 1989 housing peaks were both followed by some adjustment in real prices. In the past, this adjustment has normally occurred though a period of inflation erosion as opposed to nominal price declines." Still, Warren said the fundamentals underpinning Canada's housing market remain quite strong. ""Unemployment is low, immigration is high and apartment vacancy rates are tight. There is little evidence of overbuilding or speculative buying," she said. "The industry also has relatively little direct exposure to subprime lending, with these loans accounting for only about five per cent of domestic mortgages in recent years compared with about 20 per cent in the United States." The report follows a release Wednesday that found more Canadians than ever before owned their dwelling. Statistics Canada said about 68.4 per cent of Canadian homes were owned by their occupants, up from 65.8 per cent in 2001. The Royal Bank of Canada also released a report Wednesday, which showed the cost of owning a home in Canada continued to rise in the second quarter of 2007.

Oil boom equals Acute Skills Shortage

The oil boom in western Canada is exacerbating the skills shortage, which is most acute in the western part of the country but is being felt across Canada, according to the latest research. People considering Canadian immigration are likely to be in high demand in many industries and regions in Canada. The latest C-Suite Survey of Canadian executives shows that the shortage of skilled labour is now the number one challenge for business leaders and the economy. Survey respondents called for Canada's human resource challenges to become one of the government's top priorities. Finding available, qualified employees is "difficult" for a huge 84 per cent of survey respondents. Newfoundland cable television chief executive, Dean MacDonald, told the Globe and Mail: "The west has become the great big vacuum cleaner of talent in the country." Licensed tradespeople such as electricians are the most difficult type of worker to hire, along with the workers in the service sector, where the labour crunch is described as severe. More than 90 per cent of survey respondents said it is tough to get service workers.

Resource companies and manufacturers are also finding it hard to hire staff, with 81 per cent and 71 per cent of executives in those sectors respectively reporting it "somewhat difficult" or "very difficult" to find qualified, available employees. Other factors blamed for the skill shortage are Canada's aging population, with retiring workers not replaced by enough people coming into the work force. The failure of the education system to teach young Canadians the skills employers require was also criticised. The quarterly survey was conducted for Report on Business and Business News Network by the Gandalf Group, and sponsored by KPMG and law firm Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg. The survey interviewed 150 executives across the country between August 13th and August 31th, 2007. Respondents were spread across company size, geographically, and across industry sectors.

Am I Non-transferable?

by: Erika Barootes

Imagine being told that there is a “land of opportunity and equality”, where anyone’s dream can come true. A place where you can be recognized and rewarded for the skills you possess. The preachers of this wondrous land refer to it as North America, known as the land of milk and honey, a location that is envied by many for their lifestyle possibilities. North America is a continent that travelers come thousands of miles to experience first hand. Immigrants come to Canada in hopes of seeking the most remarkable career opportunities. Upon their arrival, many are discouraged to find out that the education received in their native countries is not credible here. These individuals also find that language barriers keep them from receiving the recognition and prestige they deserve. They come with expectations and dreams of what they will aspire to be, only to be limited to jobs people with no education or experience are eligible for. The question at hand is how would you feel if you dedicated time and money to receive a Bachelors of Arts Degree or an Accounting degree, you learned a second language and upon these accomplishments you were told that your efforts would not be taken into consideration when applying for a job? It is plausible to assume that, 'disappointed' might be the tamest word held in your thoughts. Now imagine leaving your friends, your family, and your life back home and have nothing to show for it.

This is a coast-to-coast problem in Canada. Many immigrants could be great assets to companies but a majority of degrees or diplomas do not transfer over. It is also unjust that these individuals were not informed prior to their venture to a new land they hope to call home, that their years of education would be irrelevant. Experience in their fields of expertise and their learning exceeds many of those with six figure salaries, however, they are left working in warehouses, washing dishes, and driving taxis, depending on minimum wage and tips in order to provide for themselves and loved ones. Not only is previous education omitted, many immigrants have trouble finding jobs that deal with customer service or communicating with people in person or by telephone. The reasoning behind this is because of their thick accents and how corporations do not want to send out the message that their companies hire people that cannot “properly” speak English or French. These voyagers from foreign lands try to adopt the Canadian culture, language and lifestyles while still maintaining some or all roots of their old country. Who are we to say how much or how little of “Canadian” ways these residents need to adopt before being considered one of us?

ESL is an enormous obstacle. Once an individual has hurdled the first obstacle, and he or she is recognized as fluent in English, they then have to be accepted into a program, similar to their training back home ,in order to receive the Canadian recognition for previously obtained knowledge. This process seems tedious and irrelevant considering the information is embossed in their brains. In the CTI application prospective students are asked their education history. Many of the students who have immigrated to Canada, have beyond high school educations but cannot find a job due to the language barriers or non-transferable degrees. These individuals enroll in the CTI program, which is perhaps not ideal for them, because they do not have employment prospects in their field of expertise. They choose to receive industrial certifications in hopes of working in a warehouse, driving a forklift or working on the oil rigs. CTI offers these people the requirements to find permanent employment but nothing that is on par with what they deserve for their post-secondary education. That is not to say that immigrants traveling to Canada will find little or no success. There are several colleges offering programs to assist immigrants in receiving rightful recognition for their qualifications in Canada. The question is, how can these Canadian newcomers become informed of these opportunities? It is up to the city of Calgary, and the communities within to encourage everyone to be the best that they can be and to have access to these opportunities.