Canadian Job Market

The Canadian Immigration system is designed to attract highly educated and skilled people to meet the economic demand of the society. But once newcomers arrive, they are confronted with a lot of challenges once they start looking for employment. Every year more than 250,000 new immigrants are in this situation. Those who work smart and hard can overcome the initial barriers.

The most common barriers for new immigrants in Canada are:

1- Language Skills in either English or French.
2- Accreditation of foreign diplomas and recognition of international experience.
3- Lack of social and business networks.
4- Competing with established Canadian.
5- Lack of Canadian experience in their field.
6- Need a Canadian licence to work in a regulate occupation.

These barriers are just some reasons why skilled immigrants such as doctor, engineers, lawyers and teachers may start working as taxi drivers or fast food cashiers. In most cases these are temporary survival jobs. For instance, a new immigrant might consider improving his skills by taking language and computer classes or enrolling in college to prepare for certification in a professional field.

If you want to immigrate to Canada, you will need to have a plan. Remember if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I highly recommend these tips for success:

1- Learn, improve and practice the language.
2- Become computer literate.
3- Acreditate your credentials before coming to Canada.
4- Obtain an international driver’s licence.
5- Know the requirements of your occupation.
6- Understand the job market.
7- Email your resume to companies or online job board such as Monster.ca, Workopolis.com, nexus-jobs.com, etc.

Success will not come easy, but if you use the Canadian support system (government, businesses, online communities and settlement organizations), your chances for success will increase dramatically.