Tough times for immigrant job hunters
By JARED FERRIE
Metro Vancouver
A new Statistics Canada study found Vancouver is
the hardest city in Canada for new immigrants to find
jobs.
That doesn’t surprise Thomas Yeung, who heads
the training institute at Success, an immigrant services
organization. Yeung said there are less services in British Columbia
than in other provinces to help new immigrants gain
the necessary skills and knowledge to enter the
workforce.
In particular, Yeung said there should be more advanced
English language courses that deal specifically with the job world.
He would also like to see funding directed toward orientation,
internship and apprenticeship programs.
Calgary was the easiest city for new Canadians to
find jobs, according to the study, which looked at
106,000 new prime working-age immigrants between
2000 and 2001.
Yeung also noted that Vancouver is the destination
of choice for many Asian immigrants, making the job
market more competitive than some other cities.