Showing posts with label University of Saskatchewan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label University of Saskatchewan. Show all posts

Saskatoon outpaces all metro areas in Canada

Thorvaldson building located on the main campu...Image via WikipediaBY DAVID HUTTON, THE STARPHOENIX



Saskatoon is growing faster and aging more slowly than any other major Canadian city.
The latest population estimates released Thursday by Statistics Canada reveal the Saskatoon region was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in Canada for the one-year period ending in July 2010, surpassing Alberta's major centres in growth for the first time in decades.
The Saskatoon region is also the youngest in the country, bucking the pan-Canadian trend of a rapidly aging population.
But the changing demographics pose "huge challenges" for the city and raise difficult questions about the young aboriginal workforce, a prominent economist says.
"You have this young aboriginal population that on average is not very well off and on average not very well educated," said Eric Howe, a University of Saskatchewan economics professor. "If we do not do something about that, the wheels are going to fall off. The aboriginal population absolutely has to be brought into the economic mainstream."
Led by a booming aboriginal population and a major spike in international immigration driven by the province's expedited application program, the Saskatoon region, which includes bedroom communities such as Warman, Martensville, Dundurn and Dalmeny, has now passed the 265,000 population mark, a three per cent jump and a net increase of more than 7,200 people in one year.
Regina was third in the country in growth, behind Vancouver in second spot. The Regina region now has 215,000 people, an increase of close to 5,000 from the previous year.
The main reason for Saskatoon's rapid growth is an increase in international immigration, Statistics Canada reports.
More than 3,300 immigrants moved to Saskatoon during the year covered by the report, with the Philippines, China and Ukraine as the leading countries of origin. International immigration to Saskatoon is higher in sheer numbers than major Canadian cities such as Hamilton and Quebec City, which have historically attracted far more immigrants than all of Saskatchewan, Statistics Canada reports.
The immigration boom can be felt at the many drop-in programs run by the city's settlement agencies.
Petrio Dobushovskyy, 42, moved from Ukraine earlier this month with his wife, Oksana, and his two sons, Yaroslav, 16, and Ivan, 10, and is living in his brother's home until he finds work. On Thursday, he took part in an informal conversations session at Global Gathering Place, a non-profit drop-in centre downtown that was abuzz Thursday afternoon.
A computer programmer, Dobushovskyy is attempting to strengthen his English so he can boost his chances of landing a job. Otherwise, he says he may return to Ukraine. He's considering applying for labour work as an interim measure.
"I want my sons to learn English and go to university here," he said.
Many newcomers have been filling vacancies in entry-level jobs, primarily in the service sector, despite many having experience and credentials in medicine or engineering.
That's creating a dilemma for policy-makers because it's one of the main ways young aboriginal people can break into the labour market, Howe said.
"Many aboriginal people are coming off of three generations of welfare dependency and need entry-level jobs. If you give entrylevel jobs to someone else, they're not going to get them. Finding jobs for new immigrants is important, but it's also very important that we have entry-level jobs for young aboriginal people. That's where they're going to work if they're going to work, at least at first," he said.
The statistics on age revealed in the report are the most startling.
As the average age across Canada has jumped, Saskatoon's and Regina's average age has increased only slightly. High birth rates among the aboriginal population and the arrival of young families migrating from outside the country are cited as the main reasons Saskatchewan stayed young relative to the rest of Canada.
Saskatoon's average age is 35.6, Statistics Canada says, less than a year older than it was in 2001. The average age in Canada has increased 2.5 years to almost 40 since that time, while Saguenay, Que., has jumped more than 5.5 years to an average age of 45 and now ranks as the oldest metropolitan area in Canada.
The aboriginal population will make up 25 per cent of the 20 to 30 age group in Saskatoon in five years, Howe projects, and finding policies aimed at that group is the province's "defining problem," he said.
"There's nothing wrong in Saskatoon that can't be cured by what's right in Saskatoon," he said.
"But we'll have to work at it."
dhutton@thestarphoenix.com





Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/City+growing+quickly/4222880/story.html#ixzz1D35aYmKc
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Landing a job in Calgary

Downtown Calgary seen from Edworthy ParkImage via WikipediaSource: http://www.ffwdweekly.com

Calgarians are changing.
Not so long ago, Calgary was known as a city of Caucasians wearing cowboy hats and shit-kickers. Slowly, gradually, it is developing into a multicultural metropolis.
But for the thousands of immigrants who increasingly call Calgary home, moving to Canada and planting roots is hard work. The hard work starts with the application process to get permission to move to Canada, which can take years; the trials and tribulations continue when immigrants arrive on Canadian soil. Doctors, engineers and other professionals often have an incredibly difficult time obtaining certificates, training and experience recognized by Canadian companies and government. Along with the stresses of adapting to a foreign environment, many immigrants are forced to take minimum-wage jobs, often part-time, to make ends meet. And too often immigrants get frustrated with jumping through bureaucratic hoops and obstacles; of the many immigrants who apply to come to Canada, few truly comprehend the arduous journey ahead.
For Pramod Kumar, it has taken seven years, two cities, hundreds of job applications and plenty of personal struggles to find success in his adoptive city of Calgary.
Born in central India, Kumar studied agriculture and received a master’s degree in plant breeding and genetics. For two years, he worked at the Indian Agriculture Research Institute. Given the opportunity to continue his education in his chosen field, Kumar came to Canada to attend the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
When he left school, he quickly realized that landing an agricultural job wasn’t going to be easy.
“After graduating I was trying to get a good job. I started working for a small consulting firm and then because of a shortage of work I was laid off,” he says. “Then I kept applying for several jobs, but because I didn’t have farm experience here in Canada I couldn’t get a job in my field.”
Two years ago Kumar moved to Calgary, hoping that a bigger city and a more developed business community would help his employment situation.
“I have applied for 300 jobs and got maybe two interview calls,” he says.
Refusing to give up on agriculture, Kumar started his own business, AgriClaim Canada Inc. He enrolled in a self-employment program through Meyers Norris Penny, which provides a wide range of business advisory services, and received startup funding from the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.
“My main business is farm consulting but I also specialize in plant breeding, so I thought of offering some unique services. One of them is intellectual property protection, which is plant breeders’ rights,” says Kumar.
With a handful of clients and a lot of potential, Kumar’s company is slowly growing; he has hired a full-time employee and recently received a grant from the federal government to further develop a portal that allows farmers, plant breeders and consultants to easily communicate and exchange information.
Kumar’s wife, Sonika, moved from India to Canada in 2005, and now, with a daughter, Anya, in kindergarten and a newborn baby girl, Prisha, the future looks brighter for the couple.
“Calgary is a very business-friendly city. I found it much better than Saskatoon because it is a larger business community. There are all kinds of company headquarters here which may help in the future,” he says. “Some of the people have started recognizing my services or my name at least.”
PLENTY HELP FOR IMMIGRANTS
According to Statistics Canada, in 1997 about 4,000 immigrants moved to Calgary. In 2007 that number had jumped to more than 14,000, and last year more than 18,000 immigrants came to Calgary. Fariborz Birjandian, executive director of the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, points out that Calgary receives almost twice as many immigrants as Edmonton, and there are more temporary workers per capita in Calgary than any other city in Canada. “Calgary has become a city of choice,” he says.
A 2009 report by Calgary Economic Development called The Changing Profile of Calgary’s Workforce says that immigrants represent 25.3 per cent of Calgary’s labour force. “This large segment grew by 41.9 per cent from 2001 to 2006,” the report states. “The group [was] comprised of 178,700 workers in 2006, an increase of over 52,800 workers from 2001.”
There are two main reasons for immigrants to move to Calgary, says Mae Chun, an employment bridging officer with Immigrant Services Calgary (ISC). “One is if they have friends and family here — if they have that, it is usually the deciding factor,” she says. “In absence of that, it will be for economic reasons because a lot of immigrants, in my opinion… whether they come from South America, China or Indonesia, they come here with a lot of oil and gas experience, which makes Calgary the logical place for them to begin.”
Born and raised in India, Vijay Panchmatia moved to Calgary in August 2009, mainly to land a job. With a background in transportation and freight, he had worked in Dubai in the freight industry, shipping goods and equipment for many oil conglomerates.
Realizing similarities between Calgary and Dubai, Panchmatia decided to move here after visiting a few Canadian cities.
After applying for 46 jobs, which produced only two phone interviews, Panchmatia realized he needed help. He was applying for positions he felt he was far more than qualified for, yet he was alarmed that he wasn’t getting work. So, he tapped into services and programs offered by the various governments.
“It’s been very interesting, but the biggest thing I like to say is that the government support for immigrants is massive, it is so huge. There are so many different agencies for support,” he says. “I know of more than 32 agencies in this city alone.”
One simple initiative is liveinecalgary.com, a Calgary Economic Development website that provides basic information for immigrants starting out in Calgary. Another program, Momentum, teaches new Calgarians to use computers, and helps them with financing (borrowing and repaying business loans) and to secure meaningful employment. Other groups help with coping skills, interview skills and pair new immigrants with mentors in their chosen business fields.
Tapping into an ISC program, Panchmatia was partnered with a mentor who regularly coached him and advised him which companies he should send job applications to.
He ended up applying for a position as a shift manager with FedEx — a job he thought he was overqualifed for, but his mentor told him to apply anyway. The advice paid off, as Panchmatia ended up getting a higher, better-paid position — services manager — that was not publicly advertised, but FedEx officials recognized his skills and experience. Now that Panchmatia has settled into a job, he plans to bring his wife from India to Calgary.
NOT ALL MILK AND HONEY
The hardships and challenges faced by so many immigrants coming to Calgary start long before they leave their birth countries.
It often takes years for a foreigner to go through the tedious bureaucratic process to get the proper papers to migrate to Canada. The recent recession and rise in unemployment hasn’t helped much.
“The downturn came very quickly,” says Chun. “It was a sharp drop. It took a lot of people by surprise.”
For many recent immigrants, it has been a shock to arrive in Calgary and discover the economy isn’t as robust as they were originally led to believe.
“The first group that is impacted are the most recent arrivals,” says Birjandian, adding many come with education and job experience, but they end up working for minimum wage in the retail, food and hospitality industries.
One problem that causes major confusion and frustration is misinformation about employment opportunities. Prior to leaving their birth counties, many immigrants are told their job experience and certification will be recognized in Canada.
“When you come here, all your past education and experience is discounted,” says Panchmatia, who learned the hard way. “And for that you’re not prepared. This is where the support system in Canada is trying to bridge that gap. If this information is freely available to the people [immigrants], they can prepare for it.”
This has been a sticking point for years — something Alberta government officials say they are trying to fix.
“We want immigration composed of immigrants who are linked to the workforce,” says Alberta Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk.
The government recognizes that immigration is necessary for the province, but Alberta wants to attract skilled, experienced workers, says Lukaszuk. Government officials, he says, are working on making it easier for immigrants to have their certifications recognized, particularly in the medical, dental and engineering professions.
“Usually they talk in very general terms,” Chun says of governments, “but in practise they are only fast-tracking certain professions and for the majority, it’s still the same long process. As far as I am concerned, it is not changing fast enough.”
Lukaszuk agrees with Chun. “A great deal of headway has been made, but we have a long way to go,” he says.
So, for now, some of the best and brightest immigrants will continue to hit stumbling blocks in getting their foreign experience and education recognized.
“You need to be above-average in your field of industry,” says Panchmatia. “Every immigrant is above-average in their field in their country or else they do not qualify. The people that come here are the crème de la crème.”
It often takes years for newly landed immigrants to develop the Canadian skills and experience they need to secure jobs in their chosen fields. Until that point, many have to take jobs — any jobs — to survive and pay the bills.
The key to success, says Kumar, is to have an open mind.
“My advice is to make use of all the resources because there are resources available everywhere,” he says. “If you need specific training, there is training available. Focus on what you want to do and get appropriate training and maybe some work experience.”
 


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