British Columbia builds a regional, multi-sectoral alliance to address immigrant employment issues

To find and implement local solutions for addressing the immigrants’ employment issues in metro Vancouver area of British Columbia (B.C.), a new Employment Council has been created.

The B.C. Immigrant Employment Council will carry out a coordinated action strategy for creating a longer-term and sustainable vision on immigrant employment issues that help break down the barriers immigrants face when looking for work in the region. Employers also face challenges dealing with applicants or new employees from other countries or cultures, including language barriers, adaptation to North American workplace culture and integration of immigrants into work teams.

To achieve this goal, the Council will focus on three objectives: (a) Increase access to and availability of services that help immigrants gain access to the labor market more efficiently and effectively; (b) Change the way stakeholders value and work with skilled immigrants; and (c) Change the way governments relate to one another in planning and programming around this issue.

The Council will engage employers and other stakeholders to come up with solution-based actions, champion the labor market integration of immigrants, and influence related government policy and program development. The Board of Directors of the Council will be composed of 10 to 12 leaders from business, labor, service providers, post-secondary institutions and regulators.

The Provincial Government, along with a start-up grant from the Maytree Foundation, will support the work of the B.C. Immigrant Employment Council toward finding and implementing local, practical solutions on immigrant employment issues, which will ultimately contribute to city’s economy and prosperity in the long run.

Instead of delivering direct service to immigrants, the B.C. Immigrant Employment Council will develop various programs in partnership with key organizations, agencies and corporate partners. It will create new opportunities to match the skills, knowledge and experience of immigrants with the demands of the Vancouver region labor market. Through the development of a range of new initiatives, design and champion by its members, the Council will offer a unique and exciting opportunity to build the capacity of stakeholders to work more effectively individually and collaboratively to integrate immigrants into the labor force.

The genesis of the Council began in October 2008 with the Leaders Summit, a conference of leaders representing the various sectors and communities of the region, held at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. The one-day Summit was held to assess the Vancouver region's strengths and challenges, and shape future directions by identifying strategies to form a regional, multi-sectoral alliance.

The Leaders Summit was convened by the Vancouver Mayor's Task Force on Immigration and Vancouver Foundation, with support from the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education and Labor Market Development. Participants include leaders from employers, labor, education, government and service providers.