The Zieglers Blog

Ottawa should take some time to educate employers.

Mr.G — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:56:56 +0000

Denise, a reader of this blog, sent me the link to a Globe and Mail article that I had marked to read but was still procrastinating: Why new Canadians struggle to find jobs. Thank You Denise!

It’s an excellent article by Miles Corak, a professor of economics with the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. The article itself is based on an original post at his blog that you can read at milescorak.com: Immigrants face challenges in finding jobs that are not of their own making.

Today, I want to add my point of view to Mr. Corak’s thought and make my contribution.

In his article, Mr. Corak tries to raise awareness on one of the problems newcomers (and immigrants in general) must face: employers discrimination. He is based on a research made by Philip Oreopoulos, a labour economist at the University of Toronto, in a paper called “Why do skilled immigrants struggle in the labour market?“. In his investigation, Mr. Oreopoulos found considerable employer discrimination against applicants with ethnic names or with experience from foreign firms. And that takes me to my point: why not educating employers for once?

They are an interested part in all this, aren’t they? Many of them are the ones crying for help at every Statistics Canada survey about the lack of human resources in some fields. But, in the end, they just play a “picky” game where they think a Chinese, Indian or Pakistani is not good enough. I should also add the Latin Americans to the list. Being a “Lopez” sometimes is not such a good help.

That is an issue also that I guess must be faced by second or third generation Canadians from these countries. Why not thinking they could be affected by that same discrimination?

I am a father of three. My children are educated at school on the “we are all equal and deserve equal opportunities” basis. Ottawa must do the same with potential employers. They have great professionals out there waiting for a chance, desperate for offering what they consider is a very valuable experience abroad (and in many times it is!). They must be educated in the same concepts of ”we are all equal and deserve equal opportunities”, such as my kids and your kids.

Go and read Miles Corak’s post Immigrants face challenges in finding jobs that are not of their own making, it’s a great piece of work.

Then come back and do the following:

First, leave me a comment with your opinion on Miles Corak’s post

Second, let me know how would you address this issue if you had the power to change it.

Third, as you don;t have the power to change the employers but you do have the power to change you… What action would you take to overcome this issue effectively?

“How to be a successful immigrant” Lesson 1: The Basics (featuring Nick Noorani)

Mr.G — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:35:52 +0000

You want to be a successful immigrant and I want to help you. To achieve that, I will bring you the best successful stories out there.

Success is sometimes defined by how good we are at learning the lessons of our peers. And the lessons you will learn today come from the best teacher you can ask!

For today, I brought you a conversation with a very special guest: Nick Noorani.

Nick is an Entrepreneur and Motivational Speaker. He is the founder of Canadian Immigrant, author of “Arrival Survival Canada” (aff.link) and the “Seven Success Secrets” DVD.

Nick Noorani was also selected as one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants of 2011.

It was a great honour for me to have the chance to share this conversation with Nick.

Learning to be a successful immigrant with Nick Noorani

We talked for about half an hour and you will be able to learn about

His story and beginnings in Vancouver,
the state of immigration and the changes to come,
the top things a newcomer has to master before coming to Canada and be successful,
The challenges a newcomer has to face and how to overcome them and
in the meantime, he shared some of the seven success secrets.

You can listen the podcast by using the audio player right here

Right click this link to download the audio as an MP3 file to your computer

This is what I need you to do now

First, check Nick’s book “Arrival Survival Canada” (aff.link) It’s a great book, full of high quality information. It’s the guide you need to prepare your trip to Canada.

Then, leave me a comment and let me know how are you going to use this information to be a successful Canadian immigrant.

And last, let me know what you think of this podcast and what other conversations you’d like me to share with you.

Canadian Census 2011 Results: 5 keys that can define your Canadian Immigrant future.

Mr.G — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:28:51 +0000

I’ve been sharing most of this information in the social networks but it’s so much and so important that it deserves its own post.

Statistics Canada shared the results for the 2011 Census. Although the National Post has very good articles about it, I had extracted 5 key points that I think can have an impact on immigrants.

The 5 Keys from the 2011 Census

What can you do with this information

IMHO, this information not only shows what had happened in the past 5 years, but also show what will be happening in the near future. As a High Performing Immigrant, if I were in my country planning my immigration this is what I’d do with all this

I’d deeply analyze the Quebec information. Is this really the place to be in the next 5 to 10 years? I do need to analyze in the long term because once established in a city it could be very difficult to move.
I’d take a thorough look Job Market information for Alberta and Saskatchewan (and may be BC). The “Working In Canada” tool and this collection of job search engines in Canada could be of good help for that.
If you want to live in Toronto, pay more attention to the GTA instead the city of Toronto itself. Use a map and research on what’;s going on there: local newspapers, local websites, blogs from people already living there, companies in the GTA and so on. Google, Google, Google!

It’s your turn now.

I’d like to hear from you now and how are you planning to use this information

Leave us a comment with

What was the result that called your attention the most
What did you learn reading this data
How do you plan to use this information in your advantage.

Apartment Finders in Canada

Mr.G — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:00:49 +0000

It will be soon 7 years since we arrived to Canada. I still remember our first place: a two bedroom apartment in Hull, QC that I had the chance to rent with the help of some fellows Argentinian guys that were moving out. Nevertheless, before that it had been a real pain in the back to know where and what to rent.

It happened what always happen: you have more questions than answers and as more questions get answered, more questions appear. What should I rent? Where in particular? What is a good price? Would it be a good neighborhood or not? You end up having answers, but more of the time you want to have them sooner than later.

Today I bring you the links to five very useful websites you will want to have in your bookmarks. They can really help you have the answers as soon as you want them. Take good advantage of them.

And keep this post handy for the day you start looking for a place to stay in Canada.

PadMapper

PadMapper is simply awesome. It not only makes great use of Google Maps, it also adds some layers and filters so you can really focus on what you are looking for in a rental: proximity to various places, price, pictures, if pets are allowed or not, etc. For some cities, it lets you know the crime level for an area.

Take a look at the video for a better idea of all it can do for you:

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you want to try the tool, click here to go to PadMapper, enter the city you are interested in and then apply the filters you want.

Links: PadMapper.com, Blog

Craiglist

It may be obvious, but it’s a must have in a list like this. Athough it’s stronger in the US than in Canada, Craiglist still has relevant information for those coming north of the north. Remember to be cautious with what you read and who you contact. You never know who is on the other side of the monitor.

Also in French.

Kijiji

This is the number one choice in Canada. Whatever Craiglist did in US, Kijiji replicates it in our Country. And is the ultimate site for all your second used items. Of course, the same owrds of caution used for Craiglist are applied here. Always be careful.

Also available “en Francais”.

RentCanada

Although the site has a very ugly look, the information inside seems to be really good and useful. Take a look at it and decide by yourself.

EasyRoommate

If you come here on your own and want to share expenses, this can be the site to go. EasyRoommate.com helps you find apartments and rooms to share all along the country.

They also have a blog and a twitter account.

Nos this is your turn:

Let me know in your comments

What would you add to the list
How did you find you apartment or first place to rent in Canada
Some word of advice you may have for those looking for a place to rent in your city

Thanks!

About the changes coming to immigration in Canada

Mr.G — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:24:03 +0000

I posted about this yesterday in our facebook page and also emailed it to a few readers that participated in our webinar a few days ago.

I feel it should be shared with you also today.

This is the thing: this past Monday it was the beginning of a new parliamentary session in Canada. Our Prime Minister Harper and his majority at Parliament Hill in Ottawa will strive to transform the country into an economic powerhouse in the shortest possible time. And knowing Harper a little bit, I can bet he will really push to get what he wants.

One of the biggest changes will be to the immigration policy. According to this article posted in a newspaper today, Minister Jason Kenney plans to raise the bar even more and will want to target skilled immigrants who can speak English or French and whose credentials are acceptable to Canadian professional and labour organizations.

Is that a bad thing? Not at all. It also has a logic behind it: no language, no work, o integration, no good for Canada. Easy, eh? Nevertheless, there will be people whining about the changes, as Nick Noorani pointed out yesterday in one of his posts.

Is this going to happen any time soon? It will happen this year, I’m sure. Tories are just pitching the changes to see how the media reacts.

What can you do now? My advice for you is: “Be ready for changes!”. Read, ask, research. Think, process what you read and make conclusions. A prepared, informed person always makes the best decisions.

So, what do you think about this changes proposal? Do they make sense for you?