“Beginnings have a perplexing beauty.” This is how Eid Mohammad Sultanzoy, a 43-year-old Afghan refugee, describes his experience of arriving in Canada in the summer of 2021. He and his family were forced to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban entered the capital city of Kabul, took control of the country, and imposed severe restrictions on […]
Newcomers — including immigrants, refugees, refugee claimants, international students, work permit holders, and undocumented persons — contribute significantly to Ontario’s economic, social, and cultural prosperity. The province hosts close to 50 percent of all newcomers to Canada. Newcomers bring work experience and skills, new perspectives, and ethnic and linguistic diversity. Despite barriers to entering the […]
Communities across Canada are struggling to find the talent they need. With the labour force expected to be close to 100 percent dependent on immigration to fuel growth, the communities’ need for immigrant talent has never been greater. In response to the ongoing Canadian labour crisis, WES launched #ImmigrantsWork to work with community partners in […]
Immigrant Youth and the Canadian Labour Market Expanding access to work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities is essential to improving post-pandemic employment outcomes for immigrant youth and helping to ensure their long-term success. When coupled with academic pursuits, early participation in the workforce strongly increases the likelihood of sustained labour force inclusion in occupations related to a […]
The socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have created a unique climate for youth navigating the Canadian labour market. These impacts have also shed light on long-standing trends wherein high rates of educational success may not translate to commensurate employment outcomes for emerging talent; including immigrant youth. To better understand why this breakdown occurs, and […]
In 2022, the job vacancy rate surged to a new record – one million jobs went unfilled. Meanwhile our population continues to age, and the workforce is shrinking. Labour and skills shortages are growing more acute in every sector. Policymakers are looking to increase immigration intake levels alongside streamlined measures to get more newcomers into […]
The Global Talent Leadership Network (GTLN) of WES Global Talent Bridge is teaming up with JVS Toronto to connect internationally trained immigrants and refugees with mentors who share the same occupation. In communities across the United States, the GTLN Group Mentoring Program will build on a proven model that leverages the networking power of immigrant- […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented pressures on health systems globally: the WHO is estimating a projected shortfall of 18 million health workers by 2030. Health authorities in Canada are anticipating a continuation of serious shortages of health care professionals in medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, and respiratory therapy, to name just a few. Public concern […]
Although youth (ages 17-30) in Canada make up only 12 percent of the nation’s labour force, in the early days of the pandemic they accounted for a quarter of the country’s job losses. With immigrant youth already facing other barriers to employment, World Education Services (WES) and the Canadian Council for Youth Prosperity (CCYP) have […]
A new cohort of youth has entered the workforce since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Graduating into a turbulent and uncertain labour market rocked by large-scale layoffs, this cohort includes immigrant youth—immigrants, refugees, and international students—in significant numbers. Immigrant youth face compounded challenges: the current economic climate as well as their backgrounds and cultures […]
As Canada’s labour market adapts to challenges associated with COVID-19 and to changes in public health measures, there is a spike in demand for talent, especially in sectors that were already facing worker shortages. According to Statistics Canada, 130,000 people left the workforce after the onset of the pandemic and are no longer seeking employment. While there were 731,900 jobs in the second quarter of 2021 that needed to be filled, some experts project that vacancies will continue […]
Youth are the leaders and changemakers of tomorrow, the foundation of any country’s future workforce. Yet Canada’s youth—especially immigrant youth and young people of colour—face persistent barriers to employment. COVID-19 restrictions have only exacerbated this problem, causing youth unemployment rates to rise. Early in the pandemic, jobs lost by young people accounted for about a […]
