Canadian Immigration
By Dave Lympany, Thu Dec 8th
One of the most disheartening things I hear about CanadianImmigration is the stories of families who return to theiroriginal country after unsuccessfully attempting to settle inCanada. One of the main reasons for the failures, it seems, isthat the principal member of the household that normallysupports everyone financially is unable to gain meaningfulemployment in their chosen profession or trade. Many of these stories state that once in Canada it is quicklydiscovered that the foreign qualifications do not meet Canadianstandards and so they cannot find employment without extensiveretraining. Most of these cases may have been avoidable if theprospective employment requirements had been thoroughlyresearched well in advance of landing. Canada has an extremelyhigh standard of education and many other systems simply don'tmeasure up against theirs - a degree program is 4 years forinstance. So the chances are you will have to retrain, recertifyor normally as a minimum, start again at the bottom. This mayseem crazy but it's the way it is - at least once yourexperience is apparent you may well soon find yourself rising upthe ranks. When my wife and I moved to Canada I believe we had exceptionalluck, but we had also spent two years thoroughly researching ourrespective occupations in the Province of our intendeddestination. When I realized that my qualifications would notsuffice I had to make alternative plans and so set about workingtowards qualifications that would be attractive to any employer- not just my "niche".
A first aid at work course run by the St Johns ambulance willonly cost 2 days of your time and around $150.00 and willinstantly make you slightly more attractive to any employer -most Provinces have Laws requiring employers to train theirstaff. Being computer literate with a variety of applications isalmost imperative. Anything that makes you stand out and willreduce the cost and time needed to train you, will be a massiveboost to your Resume. Also, employers are the same the worldover - everyone prefers people who are keen
to self improve andmake themselves more employable. The first step is to decide which Province you wish to settle inas each has its own educational assessment agencies andoccupational regulators. The Federal application for skilledtrades bases your trade on the National OccupationClassification (NOC) list. However, some "Red Seal" trades areregulated in such ways that they transfer between Provinces, butthe majority of trades and professions do not, which meansrecertification if you ever move. Once you have an idea whereabouts in Canada you want to settle,contact the agency that will carryout your educationalassessment and follow their instructions. Once you know whatyour qualifications equate to you will have a good point fromwhich to start. Then using the PROVINCIAL regulators find outexactly where you stand with regards your intended field ofexpertise. The International Credential Assessment Service(ICAS) in Ontario provides a service that evaluates educationaldocuments to provide a Canadian equivalent that can be used foremployment, or further education. ICAS also hasinformation and advisory services for all types and levels ofeducation - elementary, secondary, postsecondary and technical.I would definitely recommend contacting them well in advance forsome professional advice. You can find the contact details onour website "Job search" and "Ontario assistance"pages on our site. If you only need to complete a few exams or courses to changeover to the Canadian system then great, if not, make plans sothat you can support yourselves during the time it takes torecertify. Also, try to make sure that there will be a goodchance of employment available once you've qualified. Definitely have a back up career chosen or identify anything youcould easily cross over into as things rarely work out as youintend. If you read the "Our Story" page on our CanadianImmigration information website, you'll see that eventstranspired that meant my Plan A and Plan B both went wrong.Luckily some earlier research paid off and I managed to "theright job" within 6 weeks. To close this article, DO NOT rely on your settling funds tolast - I would thoroughly recommend working anywhere to startwith - our budget gave us 6 months without work but in realitywe'd have been in trouble in 4!!!! A servers or Bar job can bevery lucrative but even $1,000 a month means that your moneywill last longer or help with retraining costs. My wife, Andie,worked in the local movie store almost straight away and apartfrom the money it means you meet people and start makingcontacts. As the saying goes "it's not what you know it's whoyou know". Whatever you decide about your Canadian adventure,please ensure you fully research your employability -Onestopimmigration-canada.com is packed full of great FREEinformation about Canadian and if it's not on thesite, there'll be a link to the relevant authority. GOOD LUCK Dave Lympany About the author:The author immigrated to Canada in 2003 and has constructed afree information websitehttp://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com about CanadianImmigration based on his family's experiences. This everexpanding resource covers all aspects of settlement and life inCanada. |
