WATERLOO REGION

LOCAL IMMIGRATION PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL (LIPC)

EmploymentTask Group

SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS

1st & 2ndTask Group Meetings

(June & October, 2009

LIPC Lead Community Partners

LIPC Funder

Local Immigration Partnership Council (LIPC)

The purpose of this initiative is to enhance existing partnerships to establish a comprehensive Local Immigration Partnership Council in Waterloo Region. Through the coordination and work of this partnership, a collaborative strategy that includes solutions for successful settlement and integration of immigrants and refugees in Waterloo Region will be developed. There are six thematic task groups based on a variety of immigrant/refugee settlement and integration issues identified in the Community Strategy Sessions.

Each discussion summary of the six Task Groups will be revised and added to through additional meetings of each Task Group. The full results of each Task Group’s work, including strategic directions and suggested future actions, will then form the basis of a Discussion Paper which will be presented in a community forum to be held in January 2010.

FIRST ROUND task group meeting

Employment (WRIEN)

•WRIEN is a local partnership presently addressing skilled immigrants’ employment needs

•Explore employment issues for all immigrants/refugees

Existing Community Strengths

Existing partnerships and collaboration (e.g., WRIEN partnerships bridging among employers, agencies, funders; agencies have more interest in developing bridge training programs and sponsored projects are developing new partnerships; working group between LINC and other ESL providers; employment service providers come together often; growing trust across sectors)

Existing programs and resources (e.g., web portal well received by employers and immigrants; other programs serving immigrants/refugees are increasing)

Recognition of the issue by different levels of government (e.g., Region of Waterloo as champion; senior governments paying attention)

Increased awareness (e.g., issue appears to be on radar of increasing number of employers and some workplaces are changing; other communities see us as a model)

Needs/Gaps

A. Lack of support to employers (esp. small businesses) to hire immigrants

(information needs to be tailor made for different employers with differing needs; resources are needed for employers (legal help, risk assessment, understanding status issues) who do hire immigrants and resources are also need to support immigrants in the workplace – a gap in WRIEN’s work)

B. Language barriers

(there has been erosion of ESL resources at grass roots level; language benchmarks seen as artificial barrier; literacy, education and skill levels are often inadequate for workplace)

C. Increased immigrant unemployment and poverty

(increasing numbers of immigrants living in poverty; unemployment rates higher for newcomers; lack of awareness by general public; lack of strategies around lower skilled jobs and around supporting immigrants who get hired without going through service providers)

D. Lack of coordination and integration of services/programs

(no one-window operation; employers and immigrants do not know where they fit in the menu of service providers; fragmented approaches to employers by service providers)

E. Marketing and communication

(lack of resources hinder marketing to broader community about different services/employers available)

F. Service providers’ lack of understanding of employers’ needs

(gap between how employers actually hire and how service providers perceive the hiring process; may be confusing messages given to immigrants about employer expectations; even a gap between service providers and employers in how they perceive the issue(s))

G. Lack of advocacy

(critical mass of immigrants/refugees unorganized, unable to advocate their issues for themselves; no one appears to be advocating for realistic funding to match employment needs of immigrants/refugees; disconnect between various immigration policies and huge gap in implementation of existing policies – often under provincial and federal jurisdiction and beyond local communities’ control)

H. Discrimination in hiring

(downturn in economy has put greater pressure on immigrants and refugees in terms of opportunities for employment; government not looking at fair hiring and wage policies; policies and laws can be barrier to hiring new Canadians – e.g., professional association requirements; large employers, including government should be leaders)

Preliminary Solutions/sTRATEGIC DIRECTIONS

  • Integration is changing ourselves; changes are coming but in a small way
  • Holding events like the ALLIES conference
  • If you are eligible, only then you get comprehensive services, I would like to see comprehensive eligibility. Comprehension comes when I see change in a person’s life.
  • Province is more into integration approach than the Federal government; we need to work with the province
  • We need to differentiate but there are skilled immigrants who still need help
  • Identifying employer needs by sectors because needs may differ; need to have small sector-specific action plans for different employers
  • Financial support or assistance; I feel more integrated only when I have a job and the means to support myself and my family
  • We have a critical mass [of immigrants] in terms of numbers, the issue is to organize that critical mass
  • WRIEN still has some work to do (e.g. communication with employers)
  • Financial support in getting immigrants started/transitioning

Second Round Task Group Meeting

The second meeting of the task group was held to prioritize the identified needs/gaps. It was explained during the meeting that there might be overlaps among task groups’ priorities. As we go to strategic directions, these needs/gaps or priorities will be collapsed. It was also discussed that realistically, we cannot develop plans for each identified need or gap. Therefore, we have to prioritize these needs/gaps. However, other needs/gaps will not be forgotten and will remain on the list. Participants were encouraged to visit CCBR website to learn about proceedings of other task groups.

Prioritizing Identified NEEDS/Gaps

Participants were provided an opportunity to seek clarification about the gaps/needs identified during the first meeting of this task group. Certain changes/additions were made which are reflected in the table below. Participants prioritized these identified gaps/needs through a ranking exercise. Each participant was provided with a ‘ranking sheet’ with the list of identified needs/gaps and were asked to rank only five of them in order of priority on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the most important). Based on this ranking, the most important needs/gaps or priorities that participants believed this strategy should initially seek to address are highlighted in the table below. It was discussed that realistically the plan would not be able to address all the identified priorities (25 in total, 5 per task group) and each task group and/or LIP Council may want to further narrow down these priority gaps/needs, if needed.

Needs/Gaps / Ranking / Total Score
5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Lack of support to employers (esp. small businesses) to hire immigrants: (information needs to be tailor made for different employers with differing needs; resources are needed for employers (legal help, risk assessment, understanding status issues) who do hire immigrants and resources are also need to support immigrants in the workplace – a gap in WRIEN’s work) / 10 / 0 / 3 / 2 / 1 / 16
Language barriers: (there has been erosion of ESL resources at grass roots level; language benchmarks seen as artificial barrier; literacy, education and skill levels are often inadequate for workplace) / 15 / 12 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 30
Increased immigrant unemployment/poverty: (increasing numbers of immigrants living in poverty; lack of strategies around lower skilled jobs) / 5 / 8 / 9 / 0 / 2 / 24
Lack of coordination and integration of services/programs: (no one-window operation; employers and immigrants do not know where they fit in the menu of service providers; fragmented approaches to employers by service providers, barriers to communication amongst service providers and funders) / 25 / 12 / 12 / 2 / 0 / 51
Lack of knowledge about available services by employers, immigrants, services providers and general public: (lack of effective implementation of communication/marketing strategies) / 0 / 8 / 3 / 10 / 1 / 22
Service providers’ lack of understanding of employers’ needs: (gap between how employers actually hire and how service providers perceive the hiring process; may be confusing messages given to immigrants about employer expectations; even a gap between service providers and employers in how they perceive the issue(s)) / 0 / 4 / 3 / 6 / 0 / 13
Lack of advocacy: (critical mass of immigrants/refugees unorganized, unable to advocate their issues for themselves; no one appears to be advocating for realistic funding to match employment needs of immigrants/refugees; disconnect between various immigration policies and huge gap in implementation of existing policies – often under provincial and federal jurisdiction and beyond local communities’ control) / 0 / 0 / 3 / 0 / 1 / 4
Discrimination in hiring: (downturn in economy has put greater pressure on immigrants and refugees in terms of opportunities for employment; government not looking at fair hiring and wage policies; policies and laws can be barrier to hiring new Canadians – e.g., professional association requirements; large employers, including government should be leaders) / 10 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 3 / 15
Service providers’ lack of understanding of users’ needs (inadequate explanation) / 5 / 0 / 3 / 0 / 1 / 9
Lack of support by the service providers: (lack of support for immigrants who get hired without going through service providers) / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Lack of foreign credentials recognition and/or acceptance (by employers, employees, general public) / 0 / 8 / 3 / 2 / 3 / 16

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