meeting bc’s workforce needs helping employers hire and retain skilled immigrants sohee ahn...
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Meeting BC’s Workforce NeedsHelping employers hire and retain skilled immigrants
Sohee AhnExecutive DirectorLabour Market & Immigration DivisionMinistry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training
September 2012
40,000 immigrants per year – 3,500 through the Provincial Nominee Program
70,000 temporary foreign workers per year
1 million job openings in BC to 2020 – 1/3 will need to be filled by immigrants
BC needs the full utilization of immigrant skills – huge source of untapped human capital and source of economic growth
Slide 2
IMMIGRATION IS ESSENTIAL TO BC’S LABOUR MARKET
Slide 3
KEY PRIORITIES TO MEETNEEDS OF EMPLOYERS
BC Government is taking action to increase labour market attachment and improve outcomes for skilled immigrants and employers
IECBC found employers experienced difficulties assessing credentials and qualifications, navigating the plethora of information and resources, and that a lack of Canadian work experience was a barrier to hiring more immigrants
Immigration Task Force found challenges recognizing foreign qualifications and work experience by regulators and employers prevent economic immigrants from fully contributing to BC’s labour market
Slide 4
IMPROVING INTEGRATION:FOREIGN QUALIFICATIONS RECOGNITION
Defining Foreign Qualifications Recognition –
The process of determining that the knowledge, skills and work experience obtained in another country are comparable to the standards established for professionals and tradespersons in BC
Provincial legislation
62 regulators
260+ regulated occupations
Priorities for improving BC’s FQR system for employers
Upgrade immigrants’ skills to Canadian standards
Slide 5
IMPROVING INTEGRATION:FOREIGN QUALIFICATIONS RECOGNITION
Implementing recommendations from FQR Review
Competency based assessments
Pre-arrival information
WelcomeBC.ca helps 1 million visitors each year
Slide 6
IMPROVING ATTRACTION:WelcomeBC.ca
Toolkit for employers to hire and retain internationally trained workers– March 2013
Tool to help employers identify the right program to find skilled workers
Checklists to guide employers through the hiring process
Webinars with experts to help employers walk through process of different hiring options
Slide 7
IMPROVING ATTRACTION:WelcomeBC.ca
Slide 8
How can current efforts to help employers hire skilled immigrants be improved?
What else can government do to support employers hire skilled immigrants?
Government’s role: facilitate an efficient system
Employer’s role: provide opportunities to immigrants
How can we improve?
Slide 9
Contacts
Sohee AhnExecutive DirectorLabour Market & Immigration DivisionMinistry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills [email protected]
Shannon RenaultManager Labour Market & Immigration DivisionMinistry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills [email protected]