Employers Resources
Employers Resources in Prince George
Prince George, BC has become home to many Skilled New Canadians. Their inclusion and retention are essential for the growth of the City of Prince George's economy. Some are starting their own businesses; others are job searching, potentially bringing motivation and a world of experience to your organization.
Landed Skilled New Canadians, also called Permanent Residents, are entitled to work in Canada with no additional authorizations. They only need the regular orientation your company would provide to any other employee. Skilled New Canadians have proven that they have the potential to lead their organizations towards success.
Community Resources...
Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society
The Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society (IMSS) remains the sole settlement agency in BC's northern region. The agency has been providing settlement and adaptation services to immigrants and refugees since 1976 in order to provide and promote a welcoming and inclusive community for all. With the combined experience and expertise, IMSS meets the settlement and adaptation needs of newcomers in the north through various programs and services including English Language Services for Adults, Employment Assistance Services, Settlement Assistance, Community Bridging Services, and multicultural programs for youth, women, and seniors. IMSS promotes multiculturalism and racial harmony in the pursuit of social justice for all Canadians.
Immigrant Skilled Trades Employment Program
The Immigrant Skilled Trades Employment Program (ISTEP) is a pilot project to help landed immigrants build careers in British Columbia's construction industry and provide employers with skilled trades' workers.
The skills shortage in British Columbia is an everyday reality for employers in the industry. Contractors struggle to meet the demands of substantial sector growth with a limited workforce. Contractors are recruiting from other countries to try and fill their needs, while here in BC immigrants, a significant provincial resource, face barriers to training and employment.
Progressive Employment
Progressive Employment Services Limited strives to offer a full range of employment and career related services, programs and professional advice to unemployed and under-employed individuals, and in so doing enhance the individual's ability to achieve employment self-sufficiency. Furthermore, they strive to ensure their services remain relevant and accessible to their clients.
M. Turner and Associates
M. Turner and Associates is an Employment Service Provider who has received funding through Service Canada to provide Employment Assistive Services to individuals who are unemployed. This includes:
- Employment counseling (including assessments to help with career decision making).
- Job development services, which helps people find jobs and helps employers find employees.
- Regular information sessions on the community services available to help with job searching.
- Labour market information sessions focusing on employment in different industries.
- Workshops to enhance and sharpen job search skills.
- A job board advertising local and regional opportunities.
Other Resources...
Hiring and Retaining Skilled Immigrants – A Cultural Competence Toolkit (PDF file)
Canada's Changing Labour Force, 2006 Census: Overview of Canada's changing labour force (link)
Workshop: Why Hire Skilled Immigrants? (PDF file)
Workshop: Assessing the Recruiting Process (PDF file)
Recruiting - Finding Talent (link)
Labour Market Characteristics of the Immigrant Population in BC - August 2008 (PDF file)
Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: Employers Guide - Alberta (PDF file)
National Initiatives: Building Capacity for Welcoming Communities (link)
Welcoming and Inclusive Communities Toolkit [AUMA] (PDF file)
Employer Engagement in Immigrant Labour Market Attachment, March 2008 (PDF file)
The Future of Work: Confronting BC's Labour Shortage Challenge (PDF file)
Employment Access for Skilled Immigrants: An Implementation Strategy (PDF file)
Questions from Employers
Who is the 'Skilled New Canadian'?
A Skilled New Canadian is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident card holder with foreign educational background and work experience.
How can I find skilled immigrants who are already here as permanent residents?
There are a variety of ways of reaching potential employees from the pool of skilled new Canadian already living in Prince George, BC.
- Expand your methods of recruitment. Post your job openings with organizations that work with immigrants or have a multicultural and diversity-friendly focus.
- Examine your hiring processes carefully to make sure that you are not inadvertantly screening out candidates with international education and experience.
- Contact an Employment counsellor from a Prince George program. The Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society, ISTEP, M. Turner & Associates and other progressive employment agencies have a large database of Skilled New Canadians and can refer qualified Skilled New Canadian candidates to your workplace.
Our company doesn't currently have any job openings. Are there other ways that we could become involved with newcomers who are trying to enter the labour market here in Prince George, BC?
The Welcoming and Inclusive Communities and Workplaces program has identified that by working with employers to promote and create more welcoming and inclusive workplaces, a key service gap could be effectively addressed. WICWP's focus is on identifying strategies to help employers be "recruitment ready" by engaging in the development of more welcoming and inclusive workplaces where immigrants can reach their full potential. This focus will also support, in the current economic environment, the retention of immigrant employees.
The emphasis will be on creating broad community awareness which will then enable the targeted education of employers and community members. Employers can be a part of the success process of Welcome PG by participating in Welcome PG events such as the informational session.
Do you have any advice for employers who want to increase the diversity of their workplaces?
Here are some additional ideas for developing a stronger and more diverse workplace. The professional staff of Welcome PG would be pleased to talk to you about your particular needs and challenges.
- Don't automatically screen out resumes if the education and experience is from outside Canada. If you are concerned about education from outside Canada, request that the applicant get a Canadian equivalency statement from a recognized international credentials assessment service. The Canadian Information Centre on International Credentials provides a list of such services which can validate documents and provide assessments which meet a high standard.
- Screen newcomer job seekers into the competition. Give them the opportunity to be interviewed for the job!
- If you are concerned about communication skills, contact IMSS for information about the English in the Workplace Program. Through this program, we can provide an English as a Second Language teacher who will be able to help in the language training.
- Talk to other employers who have hired Skilled New Canadians into their workforces. Please refer to the list of Employers of Choice in Prince George, or speak to any of our staff for more direction. You may be surprised at how positive they are about the experience.
- Open up your business to new possibilities and hire a candidate with international experience. In addition to bringing knowledge of business culture and languages from other parts of the world – they will contribute other "value adds".
