Pickering Welcome Centre Manager, Pam DeWilde, recently participated in a twitter chat facilitated by World Education Services (WES). The focus was on immigrant inclusion in Canada’s economic recovery.
Many participated in the chat and made the hashtag #ImmigrantsWork the number 2 trending twitter hashtag in Canada.
Following are some comments and suggestions that were shared by organizations and individuals:
Centre for Skills Development encourages employers to get to know local immigrant councils in their community.
Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) suggested that we can use ethnically diverse teams to contribute to innovation and productivity.
Institute for Canadian Citizenship has been advocating for companies to offer employees paid time off to attend their citizenship ceremony.
JVS Toronto suggests that newcomers would benefit from job shadowing to identify potential talent and skills needed for future roles.
Senator Ratna Omidvar reminds us of the crucial role that newcomers play in fueling the economy.
Jumpstart – Refugee Talent indicates that in order to rebuild and reshape our new economy, we could learn about perseverance, dedication and resiliency from immigrants who have overcome significant hardships .
The Centre for Education and Training (TCET) states that Immigrant entrepreneurs create new businesses and more jobs, contributing to economic prosperity in the country.
Sharon Nyangweso, CEO of QuakeLab notes that immigrants run socially responsible businesses in more than 25 languages, and hire and help other immigrants.
It was a lively and engaging national conversation. According to WES, immigrants comprise one quarter of Canada’s labour force and are among those most impacted by COVID19.
As we move forward, we need to consider how we can work collaboratively and inclusively to create a workforce for everyone.
Read Employment E-News – June 2020 – A New Labour Landscape
Image provided by www.1COMMUNITY1.ca
