Tips: Resettling Refugees & Newcomers and Incorporating them into the Workforce
24 September 2024
In the context of a tight labor market and labor shortages, resettling refugees and newcomers can be a strategic approach for employers. This guide provides insights and strategies for employers to effectively integrate these individuals into the workforce.
Understanding the Context
Trend: More immigrants are opting to sell in small and mid-sized communities over large metropolitan areas in Canada.
Challenge: There is often a mismatch between the skills/qualifications of newcomers and the available jobs in these areas.
Step 1: Leverage Regional Economic Immigration Programs
Action: Utilize programs like the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) to bridge the gap between local industry needs and the skills of newcomers.
Benefit: These programs can align immigrant skills with regional job opportunities.
Step 2: Support Skills Development
Action: Invest in integration policies and a well-funded settlement sector to support skilled newcomers.
Focus: Ensure support extends to all cities, both large and small.
Step 3: Invest in Infrastructure
Action: Improve housing and healthcare capacity to support immigrant communities.
Goal: Alleviate pressure on heavily populated regions and provide better living conditions for newcomers.
Step 4: Develop Long-Term Solutions for Skilled Refugees
Action: Offer recruitment incentives and develop systems for recognizing foreign qualifications, especially when formal documentation is lost.
Strategy: Assist sponsoring employers in creating structures for community integration.
Step 5: Address Employment Barriers
Understanding: Recognize that barriers to newcomer success often stem from structural oppression and intercultural ignorance.
Solution: Position newcomers as reverse mentors to address these barriers and empower them.
Case Study: Australia’s SLAP (Pilot) Program
Objective: Integrate refugees as valuable economic resources to fill local labor shortages.
Mechanism: Labor agreements pre-negotiated between Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB) and the government.
Process: TBB acts as an intermediary, matching employers with refugees and displaced individuals overseas.
Employer Benefits in the SLAP Program
Occupational Diversity: Access to a wide range of occupations for sponsorship.
Waivers: Reduced requirements for work experience, skills assessment, and English test scores.
Age Flexibility: Higher age cut-off for applicants, accommodating older refugees.
Labor Market Testing Exemption: No need to prove exhaustion of local recruitment options.
Passport and Police Check Flexibility: Alternatives to standard documentation requirements.
Step 6: Implement Specific Approaches for Finding Disability Candidates
Actions: Include job restructuring, affirmative hiring policies, staff training, and partnerships with agencies.
Resources: Utilize platforms like Job Bank ( www.jobbank.gc.ca/hiring/persons-with-disabilities ), Jobs Ability (jobsability.ca), and others for recruitment.
Employers can play a crucial role in resettling refugees and newcomers, addressing labor shortages while fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce. By understanding the context, leveraging immigration programs, supporting skills development, and utilizing innovative approaches like the SLAP program, employers can effectively integrate these valuable individuals into their workforce.
