Integrating immigrants in Canada: addressing skills diversity

Abstract

Canada takes pride in being a “country of immigration”; however the rates of labour market integration for immigrants are less impressive today than they have been in the past. The decentralised employment service means that NGOs play an important role in labour market integration but they are hampered by bureaucracy associated with their reliance on a number of different funding streams. While the three Canadian cities of Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg offer strong examples of innovative local practices, often based on partnerships with the private sector, there are concerns that current local interventions are too small scale to address the persisting reluctance by employers and trades organisations to accept qualifications and experience gained overseas.