Le Québec peine à retenir ses immigrants anglophones

2016/04/29 Leave a comment

More on Quebec’s challenge in retaining skilled immigrants who are more mobile, given language and skills, than refugees:

Près de la moitié des immigrants choisis par le Québec pour répondre aux besoins du marché du travail partent pour d’autres cieux si, à leur arrivée, ils parlent l’anglais mais pas le français.

C’est ce que révèle une analyse, datée de juin 2015, de la Direction de la planification, de la recherche et des statistiques du ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI).

Ainsi, dans la catégorie de l’immigration économique, c’est-à-dire les candidats sélectionnés en raison de leurs qualifications professionnelles, 46 % des immigrants admis entre 2004 à 2013 et qui ne parlaient que l’anglais (en plus, souvent, de leur langue maternelle) avaient quitté le Québec en 2015.

À des fins de comparaison, 84 % des immigrants qui connaissaient le français mais pas l’anglais à leur arrivée restent au Québec. Ce pourcentage baisse à 73 % pour les immigrants qui parlent à la fois le français et l’anglais, et à 68 % pour les nouveaux arrivants qui ne connaissent ni l’une ni l’autre de ces langues.

Connaissance du français

Si on se fie à ses données, miser sur des immigrants dont les qualifications professionnelles sont élevées, mais qui ne connaissent pas le français, comme le souhaite le milieu des affaires, n’est peut-être pas une stratégie gagnante. Lors des consultations sur le projet de loi 77 sur l’immigration en février, le Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ), la Chambre de commerce du Montréal métropolitain (CCMM) et l’Association des manufacturiers et exportateurs du Québec (AMEQ) ont tous plaidé pour un allégement des exigences en matière de connaissance du français pour privilégier l’adéquation entre les compétences professionnelles des candidats et les besoins du milieu du travail. Ainsi, l’AMEQ a demandé qu’on permette aux employeurs d’embaucher des travailleurs immigrants qui ne connaissent pas le français afin de contrer les pénuries de main-d’oeuvre.

L’importance du pays d’origine

D’une façon globale, le quart des 50 000 immigrants qu’accueille le Québec — ou 12 500 personnes — choisit de partir, le plus souvent pour s’installer dans les autres provinces canadiennes. Paradoxalement, ce sont les immigrants sélectionnés par le MIDI qui sont les plus susceptibles de quitter le Québec — près de 30 % d’entre eux s’en vont — même si ce sont les mieux outillés pour se trouver un emploi. Les réfugiés, qui ne sont pas sélectionnés en fonction de leurs compétences professionnelles, mais pour des motifs humanitaires, sont plus nombreux en proportion à rester : 80 % d’entre eux le font.

La provenance des immigrants importe. Les deux tiers des immigrants sélectionnés en provenance du Pakistan s’en sont allés, le même pourcentage ou presque que celui des immigrants de l’Inde. Seulement la moitié des immigrants en provenance de Chine et d’Iran choisissent de s’établir ici.

Selon Stephan Reichold, de la Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TCRI), deux raisons peuvent expliquer que des immigrants admis au Québec décident de s’installer ailleurs au Canada. Ils peuvent avoir dans d’autres provinces de la famille et des amis qui les invitent à les rejoindre. Ou encore ce sont les circonstances économiques — le chômage — qui les incitent à partir. M. Reichold a cité l’exemple de réfugiés du Bhoutan, installés dans la région de Joliette, qui s’en sont allés faute d’emplois. « Ils ne sont pas partis de gaieté de coeur. Ils aimaient la qualité de vie au Québec », a-t-il relaté.

Source: Le Québec peine à retenir ses immigrants anglophones | Le Devoir

Filed under Immigration Tagged with

The Daily — Study: Educational and labour market outcomes of childhood immigrants by admission class, 1980 to 2000

2016/04/28 Leave a comment

Interesting that refugees tend to do better than family class immigrants:

The educational attainment and earnings of immigrants who arrived in Canada before age 18 differ considerably by admission class.

The new study, “Educational and Labour Market Outcomes of Childhood Immigrants by Admission Class,” examines the university completion rates and annual earnings of childhood immigrants when they were aged 25 to 44 in 2011. These individuals immigrated to Canada between 1980 and 2000.

Childhood immigrants who were aged 25 to 44 at the moment of the survey and whose parents were in the business or skilled-worker class had the highest rates of university completion, with 59% of those from the business class and 50% of those from the skilled-worker class obtaining a university degree. The corresponding rate among individuals born in Canada to two Canadian-born parents was 24%.

Among childhood immigrants who were aged 25 to 44 in 2011 and who were from the family class, 21% had obtained a university degree, compared with 19% of those from the live-in caregiver class. In turn, university completion rates among childhood immigrants were 29% for those whose parents were government-assisted refugees and 32% for those whose parents were privately sponsored refugees.

Differences in university completion rates across admission classes were largely associated with differences in parental education and source region. These two factors accounted for one-third of the difference observed between childhood immigrants from the family class and those from the skilled-worker class. They also accounted for almost one-half of the difference observed between childhood immigrants from the live-in caregiver class and those from the skilled-worker class.

Annual earnings also varied considerably among childhood immigrants who were aged 25 to 44 in 2011. Those from the business class and skilled-worker class had average earnings of about $46,000 that year, similar to the earnings of individuals born in Canada to two Canadian-born parents. In turn, childhood immigrants from the family class had average earnings of $39,000, while those from the live-in caregiver class had average earnings of $34,000. Childhood immigrants whose parents were government-assisted refugees earned an average of $41,000, while those whose parents were privately sponsored refugees had average earnings of $44,000.

Differences in educational attainment and occupation accounted almost entirely for earnings differences among admission classes. Childhood immigrants in the skilled-worker and business classes were concentrated in high-paying occupations, including managerial, finance, natural science, and social science occupations.

Source: The Daily — Study: Educational and labour market outcomes of childhood immigrants by admission class, 1980 to 2000

Filed under Immigration, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

Quebec: Les cibles (levels) migratoires occultent les vrais enjeux, disent les experts

2016/04/15 Leave a comment

Quebec academics try to focus the immigration debate (over levels) to the more fundamental issues:

« Cette question de chiffres mise sur la table par le premier ministre, c’est plus pour lancer une polémique, insiste Michèle Vatz-Laaroussi, professeure titulaire à l’École du travail social à l’Université de Sherbrooke sous les murmures approbateurs de l’assistance. Parce que dans la réalité, ce seuil ne sort pas de nulle part, il est le résultat de nombreuses discussions et de rapports d’experts. Ça ne relève pas juste de la ministre. Mais c’est certain que ça fait image. »« C’est un débat vain, renchérit son collègue de l’Université de Sherbrooke, le professeur adjoint à la Faculté de droit Guillaume Rousseau sous les regards entendus de ses collègues. Quand vient le temps de parler d’immigration, le chiffre qui devrait attirer notre attention ne devrait pas être le seuil, mais plutôt le taux d’immigration. » En ce sens, le Québec n’a pas à rougir, soutient celui qui s’est souvent penché sur les questions identitaires. « Je vous assure que nous ne sommes pas fermés, bien au contraire. Même si on décidait de geler ces fameux seuils, le taux d’immigration du Québec demeurerait très élevé par rapport aux autres pays de l’OCDE [Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques]. »

Tout comme Guillaume Marois, M. Rousseau estime d’ailleurs que c’est dans la mise en oeuvre de la politique que le bât blesse. « La question ne devrait pas être : est-ce qu’on augmente le nombre d’immigrants admis ou non ? mais plutôt comment on le fait ? comment on peut bien le faire ? » À son sens, des investissements majeurs devront être faits rapidement pour faciliter l’emploi des nouveaux arrivants, leur francisation et leur régionalisation. « Est-ce qu’on a tendance à limiter le débat de l’immigration à la grande région de Montréal ? Oui, absolument ! Peut-être que la solution serait que le prochain ministre de l’Immigration vienne des régions », lance-t-il en riant, suscitant les applaudissements nourris de la foule.

Source: Les cibles migratoires occultent les vrais enjeux, disent les experts | Le Devoir

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

More Public Debate on Immigration Needed: Knowles

2016/04/09 Leave a comment

Good interview with Valerie Knowles (author of one of the classic immigration texts):

“We’ve never had a wide-ranging public debate on what kind of immigrants we need in this country,” says Valerie Knowles, author of Strangers at our Gates: Canadian Immigration and Immigration Policy, 1540 to 2015. “It’s something that’s long overdue,” she adds.

Originally published in 1988, the fourth edition of Strangers at our Gates was recently released by Dundurn Press. Knowles explains that while researching the subject of immigration, it became obvious to her that successive governments have made announcements – for example on the number of immigrants that Canada would accept – without ever engaging the public in a discussion that is so critical to the very fabric of the nation.

“It’s an emotionally charged issue and a difficult portfolio for any [immigration] minister,” she responds, when asked why Canadian politicians and policymakers have shied away from such a public debate.

Leading source on immigration history

Knowles’ book, however, is not a critique of any one government’s immigration policy or practices. Nor does it deal with the stories of individual immigrants or refugees, fascinating as many of them are. Nevertheless, it is a highly readable book.

A wide-ranging survey of Canadian immigration history from a public policy perspective, it is a cross between an academic thesis and a popular narrative. Written in a reader-friendly, high-end journalistic style, its content is substantiated by an extensive bibliography, endnotes, and interviews with key policymakers and academics.

“It’s the standard reference tool and the textbook of choice on immigration,” says Mike Molloy, President of the Canadian Immigration Historical Society. Molloy notes that the book – unlike many others on the same subject – is remarkably free from bitter arguments over minute distinctions or moral judgements taken out of historical context.

Indeed, Knowles is as objective as possible on a subject that can be a political and emotional minefield, carefully avoiding direct criticism of any government’s policy or practices.

Originally published in 1988 in response to a publisher’s request for a ‘survey’ history of Canadian immigration in 200 pages, the latest edition, released in 2016, is intended to cover the years since 2006 under the Conservative government of Stephen Harper.

“I will give Jason Kenney credit for making a concerted effort to woo the ethnic community.”

Too early to assess Trudeau 

Knowles says that she failed to get an interview for the new edition with Jason Kenney, who was Immigration Minister from 2008 to 2013, despite sending him a copy of the earlier version of her book.

Questioned about her opinion on the differences between the Conservative government and the newly elected Liberal government’s approach to immigration, she says carefully: “It’s early days and too soon to form an opinion. I’d like to have a clearer picture before I make any judgement. However, restoring health benefits to refugee claimants is a positive move.”

“I will give Jason Kenney credit for making a concerted effort to woo the ethnic community,” she says. “Kenny embraced the portfolio with an enthusiasm that few immigration ministers ever did. It’s a difficult portfolio to fill.”

Source: More Public Debate on Immigration Needed: Author – New Canadian Media

Filed under Immigration Tagged with ,

L’anglais mieux que le français pour les immigrants

2016/04/08 Leave a comment

More on language and immigration in Quebec.

No surprise that in Montreal, where most settle, only speaking French is a disadvantage. But the difference is significant, and overall, Quebec immigrant economic integration is the weakest of the larger provinces:

Les nouveaux arrivants qui ne parlent que le français éprouvent plus de difficulté à se dénicher un emploi au Québec que ceux qui ne connaissent que l’anglais. Le taux de chômage de ces immigrants francophones est de 40 % supérieur à celui de ces nouveaux arrivants anglophones.

C’est ce qui ressort de la compilation, obtenue par Le Devoir, que le ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) a faite à partir de l’Enquête nationale auprès des ménages de Statistique Canada de 2011 et de 2006.
Ainsi, le taux de chômage des immigrants récents — ceux qui sont arrivés depuis cinq ans ou moins — qui ne parlent que l’anglais atteint 16 %, alors qu’il se gonfle à 23 % chez les mêmes immigrants récents qui ne parlent que le français, pour une différence d’un peu plus de 40 %.

Dans les premières années suivant leur arrivée, les unilingues francophones (comme leur langue maternelle n’est pas le français pour la plupart, ils sont en fait bilingues) sont affligés du même taux de chômage que les immigrants allophones qui ne connaissent ni le français ni l’anglais. En revanche, ces nouveaux arrivants allophones, souvent des femmes, participent peu au marché du travail.
De leur côté, les immigrants récents anglophones qui ne connaissent pas le français font aussi bien sur le marché du travail que les nouveaux arrivants qui connaissent les deux langues officielles du Canada.

Dans la région de Montréal, ces immigrants anglophones peuvent compter sur des entreprises prêtes à les accueillir. Vingt-huit pour cent des immigrants travaillent le plus souvent en anglais, note l’économiste Brahim Boudarbat, de l’Université de Montréal, un des auteurs avec Gilles Grenier, de l’Université d’Ottawa, du volumineux rapport remis au MIDI en novembre 2014 et intitulé L’impact de l’immigration sur la dynamique économique du Québec.

« Les immigrants qui ne parlent que le français n’ont accès qu’à 40 % des emplois » au Québec, relève Brahim Boudarbat.

Bilinguisme exigé

Une des raisons qui expliquent les difficultés dans le marché du travail des nouveaux arrivants francophones, c’est l’exigence généralisée du bilinguisme, surtout dans la région de Montréal. « C’est clair que c’est un problème », a signalé Michèle Vatz-Laaroussi, professeure en travail social à l’Université de Sherbrooke. « Les immigrants francophones qui arrivent n’ont pas cette qualification-là. » Les organismes en immigration réclament depuis longtemps des cours gratuits pour ces francophones, mentionne-t-elle.

Les employeurs ont souvent « la mauvaise habitude » d’exiger le bilinguisme « par automatisme », souligne Anait Aleksanian, directrice générale du Centre d’appui aux communautés immigrantes de Bordeaux-Cartierville (CACI). Il faut souvent « négocier » avec les employeurs afin qu’ils acceptent d’embaucher un immigrant qui ne parle pas anglais quand la connaissance de cette langue n’est pas nécessaire, relate-t-elle. L’organisme donne 43 classes de français par session et cinq classes d’anglais, toutes à temps partiel. Les cours de français sont gratuits, mais il y a des frais d’environ 100 $ par session pour les cours d’anglais.

Georgina Kokoun, coordonnatrice du Regroupement des organismes en francisation du Québec (ROFQ), constate que la plupart des offres d’emplois dans la région de Montréal mentionnent l’exigence du bilinguisme. « On voit rarement des postes où on demande juste le français. Il faut être bilingue. »

« J’ai une amie du Sénégal qui m’a dit : “L’immigration au Québec, c’est du dol, c’est comme une arnaque. On te dit que tu peux travailler au Québec en français comme tu le fais dans ton pays.” »

Discrimination

La discrimination est un autre facteur qui explique la situation. Dans une correspondance avec Le Devoir, le MIDI le reconnaît d’emblée.

Les immigrants francophones qui ne parlent pas anglais proviennent essentiellement du Maghreb ou de l’Afrique noire. « Ce sont des minorités visibles et on fait le lien entre Maghreb et musulmans, fait observer Michèle Vatz-Laaroussi. Il y a plusieurs études qui le démontrent : il y a vraiment un phénomène de discrimination [à l’endroit] de ces populations dans l’emploi. »

Source: L’anglais mieux que le français pour les immigrants | Le Devoir

Filed under Immigration Tagged with ,

The Issue With Malaysians Giving Up Their Citizenship, Here Are Their Real Stories

2016/04/08 Leave a comment

Some of the debates in Malaysia regarding expatriates:

The obvious reasons to migrate to another country includes better economic conditions abroad, specialised work opportunities as well as several social related reasons among many others, all of which is experienced by not just Malaysians but for people in other countries too.

Selective reporting of statistics often play up this lop-sided view of Malaysians abandoning their country. In March last year, it was widely reported that 93% of Malaysians would gladly leave the country if offered better job prospects and career advancement in a poll conducted by recruiting firm Hays.

What was not reported was that in the same poll, a whopping 97% of Singapore job seekers were willing to relocate overseas if job opportunities came along. According to the same poll, 96% of China’s citizens were willing to leave their country to work overseas while 94% of Hong Kong residents felt the same.

“The opportunity to gain highly valued international experience is the number one factor driving local talent overseas,” said Christine Wright, managing director of Hays in Asia commented on the poll results.

“These candidates want to gain a job overseas because employers increasingly value local talent with international experience and an international mindset.”

So instead of throwing around insults like ‘unpatriotic’ opportunists or our country treating some of its citizens unfairly, why not hear from our citizens who do end up spending probably most of their lifetime abroad.

Malaysian Digest approached several former Malaysians and also Malaysians currently living abroad to share with us their stories that go beyond stereotypical labels, discussing with us their experiences with maintaining Malaysian ties without being ‘technically’ Malaysian themselves.

Source: The Issue With Malaysians Giving Up Their Citizenship, Here Are Their Real Stories

Filed under Immigration Tagged with ,

ICYMI: Anxiety in Vancouver over Hong Kong’s future

2016/04/08 Leave a comment

A different angle on diaspora politics:

Vancouver has long been intimately tied to this kind of soul-searching about the future of Hong Kong.

Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong Chinese became Canadian citizens in the late 1980s and 1990s after the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing in 1989 and in the years leading up to 1997. But many later returned to work and live in Hong Kong as mainland China prospered economically.

At the same time, a generation of Chinese and non-Chinese Canadians from Vancouver also packed their bags and headed to Hong Kong seeking adventure, work and ties to their heritage as political fears gave way to the lure of interesting opportunities — often, again, tied to the rise of mainland China.

As such, both groups, especially those with more established business interests, are generally more constrained to speak up publicly for Hong Kong’s interests, though many will privately sigh.

“Concerns for Hong Kong go hand-in-hand with needing to also consider their beneficial relationship with China,” observes Helen Hok-Sze Leung, associate professor at Simon Fraser University, who grew up in Hong Kong.

Lam and others, however, are part of a younger generation in Vancouver who relate with peers in Hong Kong who have become more strident in identifying themselves as being part of a Hong Kong that is culturally separate from mainland China.

“It’s the city where I grew up so I have stronger ties and I naturally feel bad” about what is happening, says Lam.

“I go onto Twitter and Weibo and see Hong Kong young people writing (in the local dialect) of Cantonese and declaring themselves as Hong Kongers first,” says Leung. “This is a generation that was born under (mainland) Chinese rule and yet their sense of local (Hong Kong) identity and asserting that culture seems stronger than in my generation, and this percolates to migrants (who move to Vancouver).”

Lee, the lecturer, recently spoke about independent film Ten Years, which became an unexpected hit in Hong Kong when it was released in mid-December. The film consists of five ominous short stories hypothesizing what Hong Kong will be like 10 years from now. In one, cab drivers who speak Cantonese instead of Mandarin have their livelihoods clipped when they are prohibited from picking up certain passengers. In another, books are censored and banned ones are pulled off shelves.

According to Reuters, the film broke box office records in Hong Kong for attendance, but around a month later, after mainland Chinese state-controlled publication “denounced Ten Years in a January editorial,” the filmmakers were told by cinemas in Hong Kong they couldn’t continue showing it because of scheduling issues.

Source: Anxiety in Vancouver over Hong Kong’s future

Filed under Immigration, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

Citizenship workshop @ImmigrationCBoC: Points of interest

2016/04/07 Leave a comment

Good workshop panel, with Charlie Foran and Arghavan Gerami joining me, with each of us covering different aspects.

Two points of interest for me that arose in the questions and discussion:

  • The impact of the physical presence requirement on internationally mobile professionals and business people. One CEO made the persuasive case that this requirement precluded citizenship for those based in Canada but whose frequent travel abroad meant they were not able to meet the minimum number of days in Canada requirement; and,
  • A former citizenship judge picking up on this point, noted the reduced role of judges in decision-making meant that the lack of days could not be balanced against the overall contribution such individuals made. The lack of discretion, introduced to provide greater consistency in decision-making (a valid policy and program objective), had consequences for this small but significant group.

Physical presence was introduced to address those who only had a legal residence or presence in Canada but who lived abroad, with the main examples being from Hong Kong and the Gulf countries.

Some early consultations and discussion on residency requirements suggested that making it four out of six years (being changed to three out of five years in C-6) would provide reasonable flexibility for those whose work took them outside Canada (e.g., truckers, pilots and a number of professions), while balancing the need to have the meaningful experience of Canada that came from living here.

I suspect that additional consultations and analysis would provide better data on how many people are affected, or potentially affected, with consequent reflection on whether policy and program adjustments are required.

Given the nature of the Conference Board audience, many of the plenary sessions focussed, directly or indirectly, on questions of business or investor immigration. Most of these speakers were advocates, given the nature of their organization or business, and largely ignored the body of evidence that previous programs had not generated significant economic returns.

One panelist even praised the Quebec model, despite the common knowledge that many if not most business investors in Quebec left, with Chinese investors in particular largely ending up in British Columbia, and who also advocated for a citizenship investor program similar to Malta and Cyprus.

Will be interesting to see if these comments on citizenship and business and investor immigration make it into the Conference Board’s immigration action plan and, if so, the precise nature of the recommendations.

Filed under Citizenship, Immigration Tagged with , ,

Dans les coulisses de la francisation: Language and integration

2016/04/07 Leave a comment

Quebec debates over the francisation of immigrants and the number leaving Quebec (without asking why):

«Québec peine à franciser ses immigrants », apprenait-on il y a quelques mois. Le genre de manchettes qui donne froid dans le dos, vu l’importance de la chose pour l’avenir du Québec. Quand le français se porte mal, tout le monde se retrouve un peu amoché, car la langue est, jusqu’à nouvel ordre, notre seul projet de société. En même temps, la loi 101 n’a jamais été une baguette magique. La francisation est-elle vraiment plus difficile aujourd’hui ?

À en croire une femme qui en fait son pain et son beurre depuis sept ans, le diagnostic n’est pas du tout exagéré. « Tout a changé », dit-elle, se référant à la fois au nouveau programme du ministère (MIDI) et aux immigrants à qui elle enseigne. Cette femme — qui ne veut pas être identifiée « tellement tout est politique » — en a long à dire sur les coupes, mais aussi sur la nouvelle composition des classes. Depuis plus d’un an, 50 % des élèves sont iraniens, du jamais vu pour ce qui est d’une telle communauté.« On dépense une fortune pour des gens qui ont peu d’intérêt à apprendre le français », dit mon interlocutrice.

Les ressortissants iraniens, ainsi que chinois et indiens, sont les moins susceptibles de rester au Québec. Un sur deux quitte la province pour une autre quelques années après son arrivée. Le Québec a pourtant accueilli 6000 Iraniens en 2014, et plus de 3000 dans les neuf premiers mois de 2015, en première et deuxième position du palmarès des groupes reçus. Selon le MIDI, ce sont des immigrants qui auraient été refusés ailleurs au Canada après un changement de critères de sélection. Mais pourquoi accepterait-on des gens devenus inadmissibles au fédéral et qui sont, de plus, de moins bons candidats à la francisation ? « Les Latinos savent très bien où ils débarquent en arrivant ici, dit Mme F (pour francisation). Les Brésiliens et les Colombiens sont ceux qui semblent s’intégrer le mieux ; ils sont toujours une valeur ajoutée dans une classe. »

Les problèmes en francisation ne se limitent pas à la motivation de certains élèves. Le nouveau programme du MIDI fait aussi grincer des dents. D’abord, les établissements de francisation — des universités ou des cégeps très souvent — ne sont plus vus comme des « partenaires », mais plutôt des « mandataires », un peu comme nous ne sommes plus des « patients », mais des « clients » aux yeux du ministère de la Santé. Ensuite, les professeurs n’ont plus de pouvoir d’évaluation. Finis, les tests de classement et les notes en cours de route. À la manière Barrette, c’est le ministère qui décide désormais des niveaux de compétence (il y en a trois) et de l’évaluation finale. Résultats ? « On se retrouve avec des classes à deux, trois vitesses, et plus personne ne reprend une classe. Après le troisième niveau, ils sont souvent à peine capables de conjuguer un verbe », dit Mme F.

Source: Dans les coulisses de la francisation | Le Devoir

Filed under Immigration, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

Express Entry: Food talent a hot commodity for immigration to Canada in 2015

2016/04/06 Leave a comment

The first report on Express Entry.

From a diversity and inclusion perspective, interesting that the mix has changed towards more ‘anglosphere’ immigrant countries (USA, UK, Ireland) among the top six, while Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Egypt were out of the top ten (Australia’s change to a comparable system resulted in a similar change, which may have been an unwritten objective):

Canada’s new economic immigration selection system has lived up to its “just-in-time” billing by processing most applications from start to finish within the government’s target of six months.

According to the one-year report card on the Express Entry system, 80 per cent of cases were processed within that time frame — from the day a complete application was received until a final decision was made by an immigration officer.

“Over 31,000 invitations to apply to permanent residence have been issued to a diverse range of highly skilled immigrants and almost 10,000 individuals (principal applicants and their family) have already landed in Canada as permanent residents,” said the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada review.

“Key findings indicate that professors were in the top 10 occupations list and that many international students fare well in Express Entry.”

Some 2,356 applicants invited to immigrate last year were “food service supervisors,” followed by 2,295 cooks. Together the two occupations accounted for 16 per cent of those who got a pass for permanent resident status in Canada.

Information systems analysts, software engineers, computer programmers and interactive media developers, university professors and lecturers, retail sales supervisors, graphic designers and illustrators, financial auditors and accountants, and financial investment analysts rounded up the top ten.

Under the Express Entry system, implemented in January 2015, each applicant completes a profile that is then added to a pool of candidates, where they are ranked against one another based on points awarded for personal attributes such as education, language skills and work experience.

A positive labour market impact assessment — a government certification that shows a candidate’s skills are in short supply in Canada — automatically boosts an applicant’s score by 600 points.

There were a total of 23 draws, each with a different cutoff ranging from a low of 450 points to a high of 886. As of this January, there were 60,042 profiles in the pool, with 22.5 per cent of them having a score between 400 and 449, and 36.4 per cent of a score between 350 and 399.

In 2015, 191,279 profiles were created in the pool, but 88,048 of them were removed because the applicant did not meet the criteria for any of the four economic immigration classes: provincial nominees, federal skilled workers, federal skilled trades and Canadian experience class.

Of the remaining candidates, only 31,000, or 30 per cent, received an invitation to immigrate here. Their top three destination provinces were Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia. Only eight cases were headed to Nunavut.

More than 78 per cent, or 22,111, of the successful candidates were already living in Canada when they applied — a sign of the advantage the new system awards those already working here, who have a positive labour market impact assessment in their line of work, or have graduated from a post-secondary program in Canada.

However, the number of French-speaking applicants is still small, representing just 1 per cent of all profiles in the pool and just 2 per cent of those invited to become permanent residents.

As in 2014, India, China and the Philippines remained the top three immigrant source countries, accounting for 41 per cent of successful candidates.

However, in 2015, people from the United Kingdom (5.8%), Ireland (4.3%) and United States (3.4%) also made the top six, while Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Egypt were bumped out of the top 10.

Source: Food talent a hot commodity for immigration to Canada in 2015 | Toronto Star

Filed under Immigration Tagged with

← Older posts

Newer posts →