Abstract and Disclaimer
This post highlights some strengths and
weaknesses of hiring a person with a foreign experience. It represents my own
opinion and does not try to cover all possible scenarios. It attempts to focus on advantages rather than disadvantages of having an employee
with no Canadian experience.
Canada has a straight forward policy on dealing with the aging population. It invites skilled immigrants to come and join the work force. The reason is clear – there is an increase in social spending after the retirement age, at the same time labor force that serves as a support for these social liabilities is decreasing. “In 2011 […] there were more people aged 55 to 64, typically the age group where people leave the labour force, than aged 15 to 24, typically the age group where people enter it.” (Statistics Canada)
At the same time, newcomers have a hard time with being actually hired (Policy on Removing the “Canadian experience” barrier). As a result, it creates additional uncertainty for those skilled immigrants who would like to come, but afraid they would not be able to find the job. It is bad for the country, for the current and future generation Canadians. “By
2051, about one in four Canadians is expected to be 65 or over.” (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada)
I believe that there is too much
emphasis on the requirement to have Canadian experience when employers look
for the “right” candidate for the job. It seems that only few employers aware of the benefits of having a team member with international experience.
SWOT analysis: Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats
Strengths
- Immigrants tend to work harder, due to the uncertainty they have in building a life in the new country
- They have strong self-motivation, and they are more optimistic when things go wrong (see the picture below). The desire to achieve higher goals – this is what brought them to Canada
- The international experience they gained in their home country. Knowledge of additional language
- Tolerance to other cultures, because of their experience of being in both roles – a citizen and an immigrant
Weaknesses
- Less understanding of business etiquette in Canada for the first 6 months at their first job
- Not always satisfactory knowledge of English language for the first 6 to 12 months
- Difficulties they encounter to build relations with some of colleagues due to differences in cultural background for the first 2 years
- In some industries there might be a concern regarding the relevance of the international experience1.
1However, this should not be a concern in Finance or IT because
the education providers all over the world often use US books and statistical
examples when teaching economics, corporate finance or software development.
Opportunities
- Diverse experience potentially helps to see the problem at different angles, which leads to better decisions
- Expand the business to emerging markets or strengthen the relations with international partners. It is easier to do with an employee, who know additional language and familiar with the work dynamic in their home country
- Savings on the salary:
v
Fewer opportunities for immigrants on the job market results in less salary expectations. As opposite to native-born who feels more secure - they tend to require higher remuneration for the same job responsibilities
v Immigrants seek for the balanced life. They do value
other factors like stability or warm relations with colleagues, which in turn
gives them a sense of being accepted by the society
- Smaller staff turnover ratio. Those with the work permit restricted to one employer – have less ability to switch employers. International students with the work permit more likely will stay with the same employer, because they need to satisfy work experience requirement in order to apply for the Permanent Residence status (this process may take up to 3-5 years)
Threats
- Most people are afraid of something they are not familiar with. For this reason, some people are afraid of different cultures or could be less tolerant to the language barrier under time-deadline conditions. For example, this could turn down some new clients. Although, there is a potential to bring some new clients who also have an international background similar to those of employees. (Not only language barrier and familiarity with culture is a temporary problem, but this is simply solved by keeping the balance in the mix of Canadian and international employees)
What does it do to the society in general?
- More skilled work force would come and add development to the country
- Enormous savings on education. Immigrants have education in their home country and Canadian government does not need to pay for that: "Funding from governments covers most costs for a public elementary and secondary education [...]" (Education Indicators in Canada, page 3)
- It is better to have balanced society in terms of age. This leads to balanced consumption pattern and supports local businesses that were established earlier and now having problems selling the product to a certain age groups. These problems could be partially explained by the structural changes in the consumer age profile that are happening in Canada. “[…] the roots of slower growth lie in our changing demographics” (See The Destiny of Demographic Change by Rafael Gomez and David Foot)
Conclusion
Hiring manager might feel a higher level of responsibility by considering an immigrant in the team. However, the likelihood of the success seems to outweigh the risk. After some time, the “right” candidate will have both Canadian and international experience, which will benefit the employer over time. After all, it is not only the government’s responsibility to care about the future of Canadians.
Sources used:
- Composition of the Canadian labour force, 2011 http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/research/2012-migrant/sec02.asp
- Human Resources and Skills Development Canada http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/.3ndic.1t.4r@-eng.jsp?iid=33
- Statistics Canada http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-311-x/98-311-x2011001-eng.cfm#a2
- Policy on Removing the “Canadian experience” barrier http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-removing-%E2%80%9Ccanadian-experience%E2%80%9D-barrier
- Picture. Entrepreneurial Spirit Among Migrants vs. the Native-Born http://www.travel-impact-newswire.com/2013/09/world-migration-report-immigrants-work-hard-create-new-businesses-remain-optimistic/#axzz2hlCSIcsO
- Education Indicators in Canada http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-599-x/81-599-x2011007-eng.pdf
- The Destiny of Demographic Change by Rafael Gomez and David Foot http://www.footwork.com/gomez_foot_policy_options.pdf
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