Over the next decade, British Columbia will need to fill a million jobs and almost half of those workers will have to come from outside Canada. So it’s little wonder that governments are looking at ways to bring more people into the country, give them the opportunities they need and then keep them here.
But the path to success in Canada, B.C. and Greater Victoria isn’t always easy for immigrants. Even those who have expertise in the most in-demand fields often find themselves tangled in red tape for years before they can practise the very professions we are most desperately in need of.
The B.C. government is trying to do something about it. This summer, the International Credentials Recognition Act, which was approved last November, goes into effect. Its aim is to help 18 various regulatory bodies make it fairer, faster and easier for newcomers to work in B.C., no matter where they were trained. It affects 29 professions across numerous sectors, including engineers, veterinarians, social workers, nurses, accountants and teachers. At the same time, the federal government says it will welcome nearly 1.5 million newcomers by the end of 2026 under a new Immigration Levels Plan announced last November.
They can’t get here soon enough. According to the provincial government’s 2023 “Labour Market Outlook” report, there will be 998,000 job openings in the province by 2033 (65 per cent of them to replace exiting workers, and 35 per cent arising from economic growth). The government estimates that immigrants will fill 46 per cent of those jobs and another seven per cent will be filled by Canadians from other provinces.
In fact, by 2046, Greater Victoria alone could add 170,000 more people to today’s population of roughly 425,000. “Most will be immigrants,” says Luis Gutiérrez Aguirre, the executive director of the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society, adding: “The benefits brought by immigration enrich our community, economically, socially, culturally, gastronomically.”
Troubled Waters
In 2018, Jayanthi Rajkumar arrived in Victoria as an international student to study at Royal Roads University. Back home in India, Rajkumar, who has a bachelor of science degree, was the principal of a city school. But because her education and experience weren’t recognized in Canada, she worked as a pharmacy assistant and ESL supervisor, often holding more than one job at a time, just to pay the bills. She also began volunteering as a way to build that elusive “experience” employers continually requested.
By 2021, she was working at the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society, which serves about 4,000 people each year, 70 per cent of them immigrants and 30 per cent refugees. Now, as a settlement counsellor, she helps those who are following in her shoes. “We want to help them integrate into the community,” she says.
Rajkumar was lucky: She chose Victoria because she already had relatives living here and thought the city would give her son and daughter a more promising future. “I wanted to make a home away from home,” she recalls. Even so, she says, “Once here, you have to navigate the challenges, find an identity.”
Those challenges include setting up bank accounts, getting a SIN number, finding schools for children, resumé writing and other job preparations, and accessing health care, all of which is even harder if you don’t speak English. (Language remains the number one barrier to integration, and there are long wait-lists for English classes.) Some newcomers are also fleeing bad situations in their home countries and may be struggling with trauma and isolation. And then, of course, there’s housing. “Housing is still a challenge, working more than one job to pay the rent,” Rajkumar says. “The cost of living is too high.”
Some newcomers are also fleeing bad situations in their home countries and may be struggling with trauma and isolation.
Like VIRCS, the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria exists to help all newcomers to the area. Last year, it served almost 2,800 people. “We’re a full-service, holistic settlement agency,” says ICA’s CEO Shelly D’Mello, a newcomer from Toronto who assumed the role in January 2023.
D’Mello stresses that the ICA “works deeply” with individuals, be they refugees from Eritrea or Ukrainians fleeing war. “It’s to our detriment that immigrants have to start again,” she says, noting that the waste of training and abilities should not be ignored. “Can we find a way to tap into international talent?”
On the plus side, Rajkumar says, “Most employers are open to hiring newcomers.”
But the work that is available may be a mismatch for the employees’ abilities. It often includes janitorial, hotel housekeeping, retail, technology, fast food, delivery and ride-hailing services, what D’Mello calls “survival jobs,” adding, “They’re not palatable jobs for Canadian-born folks.”
“Many immigrants find work in gig economies, delivering food, parcels, driving Ubers,” says Aguirre, who notes that many newcomers are more than overqualified for jobs delivering sushi or ferrying tourists to a hotel. (D’Mello agrees: “It is true, there are engineers driving cabs.”)
“Their motivation comes from survival. If they don’t survive, they have to go back, so they’re more than willing to work harder. Some of us left homes and businesses in our home country. So, we don’t have the luxury of failing,” explains Aguirre, who is himself originally from Mexico. And, he notes, those workers can be thoughtful and committed, if they’re given the right opportunity. “They see the workplace as a place where they can work forever or work for years.”
Costly, Complicated Obstacles
Both ICA and VIRCS organize job fairs where employers such as BC Ferries and the provincial government are urged to hire newcomers. “We see our role as a conduit between international newcomers and employers. The long-term benefits of hiring highly motivated, competent people are worth the effort,” D’Mello says.
“The long-term benefits of hiring highly motivated, competent people are worth the effort.”
— Shelly D’Mello, ICA CEO
The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, offers programs like the New to Canada Fund (which includes free GVCC membership to newcomers who start a business) and has embraced DEI initiatives. “We can’t keep up with the demand for jobs. And newcomers are landing in all sectors of the economy,” says Bruce Williams, the chamber’s CEO.
Still, for newcomers with advanced credentials, especially in professions like nursing and veterinary medicine, the process to get recognition is complicated and costly. They must complete additional examinations, training and residencies, which are expensive, time-consuming and seldom offered. It’s these very roadblocks that B.C.’s new International Credentials Recognition Act is designed to overcome.
One sector where there are plenty of jobs is nursing, be it registered, practical or psychiatric. “We need a lot of nurses, more than 5,000,” says Adriane Gear, president of the BC Nurses’ Union. “The demands are insatiable.”
In addition to retirements and a growing population that needs expanded care, the province and the BCNU recently signed an agreement to implement a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio, which will mean more nurses for fewer patients. The phased-in agreement starts this fall (2024) on medical-surgical units, Gear says. So even more nurses will be required.
“Internationally educated nurses could help us improve our staff levels. We definitely need to welcome people to our province from outside Canada,” says Gear, a registered nurse with over 30 years of nursing experience. The province is working to address barriers for international nurses, such as the cost to write tests and upgrade. But the spots available for upgrading are limited and some new arrivals require more training than others, Gear says. As well, international nurses can feel isolated and lonely, particularly if working in smaller locations. “How do we help people integrate?” Gear asks.
The BCNU also follows a policy of ethical recruitment, which means not poaching nurses from countries that need the professional caregivers. The U.K., U.S. and western Europe are acceptable countries to source nurses. And the Philippines is desirable because the country has a dual-training stream: One group is trained to work as domestic nurses while the second is destined to be export nurses, Gear says.
Another consideration is working conditions, which if dangerous or unpleasant mean nurses will come from other countries but not stay. Also factored in is the region’s high cost of living. Earlier this year, in the midst of a severe nursing shortage, Camosun College had vacant seats for its nursing program, perhaps related to accommodation. “Even if you can afford it, can you find it?” Gear asks.
A Need for Housing — and Builders
Rory Kulmala is aware of the housing shortage. As the CEO of the Vancouver Island Construction Association, he’s been banging the build-more-housing drum for several years. The shortage is, in fact, old news. Ottawa’s recently announced plan for 3.87 million new homes by 2031, which means 550,000 per year, double the record of 270,000 in 2021, may be difficult to achieve. Almost eight per cent of Canada’s workforce is already employed in construction, the highest percentage since 1946. Kulmala wonders how government goals can align with capacity.
“There’s been very little dialogue with industry to strategize how it’s getting it done,” Kulmala says. “But we need skilled people now.” The BC Construction Association estimates that 6,600 skilled workers will be required in B.C. by 2033.
Contributing to the paradox is that the newcomers building homes, need homes. While not a silver bullet, immigration is vital to hit housing targets. “We need new and eager workers. We need to bring in people who can serve our construction sector. Generalists are fine, but we should be attracting skilled workers,” Kulmala says. Tile-setters, masons, finishing carpenters and even equipment operators would be a start.
As for language being a detriment, Kulmala doesn’t think it’s a hurdle. Employers may have existing employees who can translate and VICA and BCCA have programs to integrate newcomers. “We work with employers to connect immigrants with companies,” Kulmala says.
As does the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association.
Its Foreign Worker Program (FWP) has been an impressive success. “We’ve brought about 2,500 skilled, foreign workers, mostly kitchen staff, mostly to Vancouver and Victoria,” says BCRFA CEO Ian Tostenson. His industry employs about 185,000 workers, but 25,000 more are needed because for every three workers who retire, only two are replaced.
To feed its need, the BCRFA’s FWP has partnered with a Vancouver-based consultant for the program. Many newcomers are from South Asia, Philippines, South/Central America or the Middle East or were working on cruise ships, but left, seeking stability.
When they arrive in B.C., they are met at the airport, taken to Service Canada, given a cellphone and assisted with housing and other needs. “They’re not just coming here, wandering around,” Tostenson says. “When you bring someone here on a hope and a promise, you have to treat them well.”
Newcomers arrive with the intention of becoming a Canadian citizen, which takes two to three years. One snag is that the provincial government requires employers with foreign workers to register, but due to extreme demand, it takes a lengthy period for the paperwork to be finalized. “It’s double the time in B.C., compared to Alberta,” Tostenson says. So, before federal approval can be granted, the province has to provide the OK. Increasingly, workers who initially arrive in B.C. are heading to Alberta because they get permanent residency status sooner. Coupled with the high cost of living, once those workers leave, they don’t usually return, Tostenson says.
But those who stay are valued. “They’re unbelievably loyal, productive and have different expectations,” Tostenson says. “They’re so proud to be in Canada.”
