Immigrant fluent in 3 languages continues search

Una historia no muy alentadora, pero querra avisada no mata soldado.
Saludos.
Más detalles. http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=2a6badef-dd25-40b0-831b-597ca3dae8d4

Right credentials not enough to land a job
Immigrant fluent in 3 languages. Armed with a master’s degree, 29-year-old woman continues search

IRWIN BLOCK
The Gazette
Monday, November 08, 2004

She came from Albania via France as an immigrant two years ago with all the right credentials:

Enkeleda Zekaj is fluent in French, English, and Italian, has a master’s degree in food processing management and at 29 is at the right age to adapt to a new culture.

Although officials at the Maison du Quebec said she should have no trouble finding suitable employment, it hasn’t happened.

She sent out about 60 applications but only got two jobs outside her field – first as an accounts inspector with the National Bank and then in payroll for a trucking firm.

Now, Zekaj is unemployed and wondering why nobody gives her a break to get the Canadian experience they all say she lacks in her area of expertise.

«Some people will say, that’s a funny name, and they pronounce it in a funny way, but I never felt any racism,» Zekaj said last week as she discussed her jobless situation.

«They all say they want two or three years experience in the field,» she said.

«I have two years experience in France, but they want experience here.

«If no employer is ready to take the risk with immigrants, we’ll never be able to do the work we were trained for.»

Zekaj’s case dovetails with results of a survey of employers made public last week by Ottawa-based Public Policy Forum.

Economist Yves Poisson, the forum’s director of special project, noted that in the context of expected labour shortages, employers across Canada, especially those here, give low priority to hiring recent immigrants with foreign training.

This is a «disconnect,» Poisson said, possibly related to employers concerns language, communication, and lack of «so-called Canadian work experience.»

The Environics Research Group survey found Quebec and Montreal employers were more reluctant to hire immigrants trained abroad than in Ontario.

It’s still considered unusual in Montreal to deal with applicants trained overseas, Poisson said.

«Employers in Toronto are more accustomed to receiving applications from immigrants than those in Montreal and more are employed in companies in Toronto than in Montreal.»

One possible explanation for the difference is that the Toronto economy is more dynamic than Montreal’s.

«Montreal employers are not prejudiced toward hiring immigrants,» Poisson asserted.

How does he know?

«They told us,» Poisson replied, referring to the survey finding that 87 per cent of Montreal employers say immigrants have an easy time integrating into corporate cultures.

Diane Bellemare, vice-president for research of the Conseil du Patronat, stressed that Quebec more than the rest of Canada will need immigrant workers by 2011, especially those with skills.

«In Quebec it takes much longer for an immigrant to find work today than 20 years ago. Yet the immigrants to Quebec are also better educated than 20 years ago.

«For sure there’s a contradiction here» and it’s a matter of concern for Quebec’s largest employer group, she said.

While language is sometimes a problem, it did not appear to be the case when it comes to Zekaj, she added.