Selling to Canada's new immigrants

By Kim Hart MacNeill  | December 05, 2011

The face of Canada is changing so fast that business is struggling to keep up. In 2010, Canada accepted 281,000 immigrants—the most in one year in almost a century. These new arrivals accounted for 65% of total population growth, a proportion that’s headed even higher. With our low birth rate and aging population, immigrant customers are a market far too big to ignore.

There’s a huge opening for any company that is among the few to do well at courting Canadians born abroad. Sharifa Khan, a specialist in multi-ethnic marketing, says one of the biggest mistakes she sees is companies simply translating their ads and placing them in media that speak to their target immigrant customers in their own languages. Khan, president and CEO of Toronto-based Balmoral Marketing, says just because newcomers must prove fluency in English or French to be admitted into Canada doesn’t mean they’ll understand idiomatic language in your marketing messages or connect with images that work in traditional North American advertising. To ensure that your message resonates in a given community, work with a multicultural marketing agency or people in your own company who are part of that community.

As well, urges Khan, “You literally need to talk to people in the communities you want to reach. I ask my clients, ‘When was the last time you picked up the phone and called someone from China?’”

Building trust is essential to connecting with immigrant groups. By sponsoring events within the community you’re targeting, you’ll position your brand as a supporter of that community and gain a chance to talk to people first-hand about their needs and how you can meet them.

As well as the vast potential to sell “mainstream” products to newcomers, opportunities abound to meet needs specific to immigrants. For instance, demand for culturally appropriate elder care exceeds supply across Canada, especially in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto, says Thomas Tam, CEO of Vancouver-based SUCCESS, a settlement-assistance service for immigrants.

Elderly immigrants often lack proficiency in English or French, leaving them isolated if they move to a long-term care facility. Tam says offering them caregivers who speak their mother tongue, foods from their native country and respect for their customs is good for their mental and physical health, and will earn goodwill (and positive word of mouth) from families and patients alike. Language education is another sector that Khan identifies as having major potential. Although new immigrants are eligible for government-funded language training, classes fill up quickly, especially higher-level courses in major urban areas. Private education providers can target economic immigrants—such as entrepreneurs, skilled workers and professionals—by including the vocabulary they’ll need in the workplace and by catering to their work schedules.

Local Service Canada office to expand

By JENNIFER HAMILTON-McCHARLES The Nugget

Posted 14 hours ago

Service Canada in North Bay is preparing to expand its workforce.

Human Resources Development Canada will close 100 offices across Canada over the next three years. The remaining 20 offices, including North Bay, will expand to become Employment Insurance processing centres.

Scott Mannering, constituency manager at Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Jay Aspin's office, said the city will see a significant number of jobs added to the local office because of this consolidation.

He said he couldn't give an exact number, but estimated it could mean 50 jobs.

"It's a good kick for us," Mannering said Monday.

He said job vacancies will be offered first to those employees working in offices slated for closure and are willing to relocate.

The North Bay office will handle employment insurance inquires from people living across Northeastern and Eastern Ontario from Timmins to Kingston.

Service Canada will remain at its Shirreff Avenue location for now, Mannering said.

"We probably have space for another 20 people in the existing facility," he said. "But long-term we will have to take another look."

The official announcement was made last summer.

Valerie Fargey, national vice-president for the Ontario Region of Canada Employment and Immigration Union, said the 20 processing centres will need additional property to handle the added work.

"The backlog is already so huge," she said, adding claims are supposed to be processed in three weeks, but people looking for work are waiting as long as five to eight weeks.

Fargey said she fears there will be a ripple effect.

"I just hope those communities don't lose their front-end services at Service Canada."

The Sturgeon Falls office was among the first to fall on the chopping block. Its doors closed Jan. 1.

Employees were offered employment at the North Bay office, while the district will be served by a mobile office two days a week.

The union was told the move is a result of a lack of rental space in the community. The lease on the property at 186 Main St. ran out and there wasn't suitable space available.

jhamilton-mcharles@nugget.ca

New Changes suggested for Canada Immigration Regulations

by Grace - January 15, 2012 

Some new changes have been suggested by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada for improving various procedures that waves the path for hereby leading immigrants to stay and work in the country.

Areas of Change:

The authorities are mostly looking for a change in rules and regulations dealing with Temporary Foreign Workers, Skilled or Professional Workers and also will look into the matters concerning permanent immigration under the Family class category. The change in these rules is expected to bring in more efficacies in the immigration system of the country.

Suggested Changes for Foreign Temporary Workers:

Lately some cases have been reported bringing out the exploitations faced by the overseas temporary workers. Hence to check such incidents have been introduced to protect and maintain the rights these immigrants. This will also ensure they are paid proper remuneration and incase some employers do not comply with rules strict action could be taken against him.

Some changes proposed and implemented during early months of the year 2011 have complied with government objective of fair and exploitation free rules towards the temporary workers in the country. According to it the government took some following strict steps, as per that before higher a temporary worker the employer has to comply with the rules proving that the employment option is for temporary employee only and one should not be exploited. From now on the employers will also be required to maintain and when asked should all their records concerning the overseas employees hired by the business. The business employer is expected to provide all single detail of their organization, their hiring process for foreign workers etc, to the authorities of Citizenship and Immigration department of the country.

If in any of the case employer is not found complying with the rules and regulations or found exploiting the foreign workers in such case employer may have to face a ban of two years and consequently would not be able employ any overseas temporary worker.

Changes Suggested for Skilled or Professional Workers:

Under this category the government has also suggested some changes that were focused to maintain the respect and dignity of the immigration system as well as the professionals coming to work in the country. According to these new rules the Citizenship and Immigration Canada authorities have suggested firstly to raise the minimum standards knowledge of a particular language required to know by the aspirant. The raise suggested aspirant should now obtain 20 points rather than previously required 16 points. They have also proposed to raise the level of education and work experience required for any particular kind of trade or business.

Such changes have been proposed for effective immigration system as well as to achieve economic development of the country.

CICA Granted Federal Funding to Help Immigrant Accountants Become CAs

WRITTEN BY HEATHER WILLIAMS

The Canadian Institute for Chartered Accountants (CICA) now has a helping hand from the federal government to help accountants immigrating to Canada become CAs.  According to the January/February 2012 issue of CA Magazine, the federal government granted the CICA $1.4 million to create a uniform and easy to follow process for internationally educated professionals (IEPs) to join the profession.

This is CICA’s second grant, following their first in September 2009 through their Foreign Credential Recognition Program.

“Skilled professionals are vital for Canada’s future,” said Kevin Dancey, CICA president and CEO. “We welcome the federal government’s commitment to helping internationally trained accountants contribute to their full potential as quickly as possible.”

To better understand what IEP accountants go through to become a CA, focus groups were conducted to determine what needs have to be met in order to create a national, harmonized online application process. An inter-provincial team was created to develop the process.

Also, a new website has been created; http://www.becomeacaincanada.ca/. This specialized website provides information for employers hiring IEPs as well as information for the IEPs themselves.

For more information on this news item, please visit the original article.

Immigrants struggle to land quality jobs in Canadian cities

BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM, DAILY NEWS JANUARY 11, 2012

 

 

Ping Hui was an established environmental engineer with more than 25 years experience when she came to Canada from her home in China.

She expected a smooth transition into a career in Nanaimo, where her daughter studies criminology, but Hui has been at a loss to find even an entry-level job.

She teaches calligraphy at the Nanaimo Chinese Language and Arts Centre and picks up the occasional seasonal work folding clothes at department stores, but can't seem to find a permanent job. She's been looking for two years.

"They wanted me to pass an ESL test and get training and certification in Canada (for environmental engineering) and for that I have to go back to school," she said. "For me, that isn't an option."

Hui is not the only immigrant struggling to find work.

Canada attracts skilled foreign workers seeking for a lifestyle change or the chance to be closer to family. But when they get here, they face barriers to getting a job in their related fields because foreign education, training and accreditation is often not recognized. Some people remain unemployed while others pick up jobs they're overqualified for or minimum wage "survival" work, said Nanette Leather, director for the Nanaimo Immigration Centre.

"Engineers have to get a new license, become a part of the professional association, complete accreditation assessments and testing - and with all that work some decide it's better to just be a technician," she said.

A job shortage doesn't make the process of settling into a new community any easier. Although unemployment rates improved to 7.5% in December from a high of 16% last spring, experts say the job market is still limited and immigrants are hardest hit.

"It's unfortunate but when there are lots of unfilled positions, employers are willing to overlook or deal with challenges around language or culture," Leather said. "At the moment that's not happening."

The Immigration Centre saw more than 200 people between March 2010 and March 2011 access employment programs and services hoping to find work; with the majority of people coming from China and the Philippines.

Cedrik Ignacio, 35, immigrated to Canada from the Philippines nine months ago where he worked as a physiotherapist and ambulance attendant. It was his "dream to move to North America and establish a career," but was told when he arrived his credentials didn't apply. He would have to re-train.

"It was difficult to hear I'd have to go back to scratch," he said. "That could take a long time."

Ignacio found seasonal work for the holidays and now plans to train as a care attendant.

Helena Eskiltsen of Denmark moved to Nanaimo eight months ago with her Canadian husband to be closer to his family. She can afford to search for the right job because her husband works, but says the search is harder than she expected. She has a master's equivalent to business marketing and tourism.

"It's hard for everyone, but for immigrants you lack a network and your references are not always understood," she said.

"I haven't had any interviews yet, but I am not giving up."

TCunningham@nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4230

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