Common Challenges

New immigrants face a number of common employment challenges that BIPT and our partners are working to address in Burnaby: a lack of Canadian work experience, difficulty getting foreign qualifications and international experience recognized, language barriers, differences in workplace culture, lack of workplace integration and diversity programs, and discrimination.

Recognition of Educational and Professional Credentials

  • Nine out of 10 employers surveyed said they had never heard of the Foreign Credential Referral Office.
  • Only 10 per cent of immigrants are taking advantage of opportunities to have their credentials assessed before they arrive in Canada.
  • The employment gap between newcomers and people born in Canada is greatest among those with the highest credentials and educational backgrounds.
  • About 50% Canadian employers say their appetite for hiring foreign-trained workers is reduced because of difficulties assessing their abilities.
  • Firms reluctant to hire workers trained abroad: Vancouver Sun
  • Forward Perspectives on Canada’s Immigration System

Quality Employment Opportunities Are Needed

  • For newcomers, reports show that average wages are lower than wages earned by Canadian-born residents, while rates of involuntary part-time work, temporary employment and over-qualification are higher. (However, the indicators of quality of employment more closely resembled those of Canadian-born residents for immigrants who landed in Canada more than 10 years ago.)
  • Although immigrants and Canadian-born residents face the same labour market conditions, occupational concentrations differ. Immigrants are under-represented in resilient employment sectors such as public administration, educational services, and health care; they are over-represented in the manufacturing sector and occupations first-hit by market volatility.
  • Quality of employment in the Canadian immigrant labour market (2008)- Statistics Canada: Study

Tools for Intercultural Understanding

Interest in hiring foreign workers tends to be lower among small business owners and higher among larger companies. That said, employers with a diverse cultural workforce are more likely to have hiring and work place policies to recruit and retain people with international experience.


This project has been made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.