Notes
Location
Edmonton, Alberta; Winnipeg, Manitoba
Key recommendations
Provision of more funding and programs to make adjustments among Canadian-born employers and workplaces.
Key populations
Front-line employment counsellors, program managers, and executive directors of immigrant-serving oranizations
Key findings
This study scrutinizes the discourse of ’empowerment’ among settlement organizations who support skilled-immigrant professionals to find meaningful career-related employment in Canada. The results show that frontline service providers make sense of ’empowerment’ through the individualistic lens of building confidence, hope and improving personal capabilities. These notions are consistent with the neoliberal expectations on how newcomers should adjust to their employment situation. In terms of how service providers work with newcomers to help them build confidence, the efforts are aimed at improving individual “deficits” such as résumé preparations, workshops, and Canadian workplace training. The research participants did not question the existing structural factors and employer expectations that push newcomers to prepare for Canadian workplace.
Gaps identified
“rather than building a collective consciousness and public awareness that may lead to greater political engagement, many “empowerment” activities focus upon individual improvement. For example, the central goal of employment programs in both cities is the preparation of immigrants for the Canadian workplace, rather than ensuring the workplace or employers become more inclusive” (p. 174).
Community organizations
NA
Integration timeline
At what point during the integration process the study was conducted?
NA
ISBN: 0008-3496
