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Employer’s roadmap to hiring and retaining internationally trained workers

Section 2: Why should I hire internationally trained workers?

In this section you will find information on:

2.1 The benefits of hiring internationally trained workers
2.2 International qualifications and experience
2.3 Language and communicating effectively
2.4 Cultural differences
2.5 Other considerations for successful integration
2.6 Related resources

2.1 The benefits of hiring internationally trained workers

Do you need to hire new staff? Do you need a special set of skills and experience? Are you having trouble finding enough workers? Do you want your business to become more competitive? Do you want your business to develop new markets, at home and internationally?

Have you considered hiring internationally trained workers? These are people who received their education and training in other countries and whose work experience was gained outside of Canada. Internationally trained workers may be immigrants, refugees, foreign students living in Canada, citizens of other countries willing and able to work in Canada, or Canadians who trained or worked outside of the country.

Many employers do not know there are internationally trained workers ready and willing to work in Canada. They are unaware of the skills and talents of internationally trained workers and do not know if and how international skills and experience are transferable to the Canadian workplace. Employers may not know how to go about recruiting these workers, or they may anticipate difficulties in integration.

There are many good reasons to hire internationally trained workers. They can:

Help meet your labour needs. With the retirement of baby boomers and a declining proportion of young workers, immigrants will continue to play an increasingly significant role in Canada’s labour force growth over the coming years.
Increase your competitiveness. Many internationally trained workers have high levels of skills and talents that enable them to compete for jobs in the global labour market. Many have also developed unique and comparable skills and experience they can bring to help your organization compete nationally and internationally.
Help develop new markets, locally and globally. Internationally trained workers may speak languages other than English and French and have knowledge of business practices in other cultures and countries that can be useful in developing other markets nationally and internationally.
Make your organization more effective. With their different training and cultural experiences, internationally trained workers bring fresh perspectives on work processes, management styles and human relationships that can make your organization more effective or stimulate new thinking and ways of doing business.
Connect you to other internationally trained workers and other organizations that may be valuable to your business. If the employment experience is successful, your internationally trained workers may be able to link you to others who can be potential candidates for future job openings in your organization. They may also be able to connect your business to other helpful national or international organizations.
Succeed. Internationally trained workers are highly motivated to succeed in Canada. This often translates into a strong ethic for hard work and dedication to their job.

Hiring and retaining internationally trained workers shows your organization’s connection to your community.

Canadian society is increasingly diverse, and the labour market is increasingly multicultural. Integrating internationally trained workers into your work force acknowledges the context in which your organization operates and enhances the society in which you live.

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2.2 International qualifications and experience

As an employer, you may wonder whether or not an internationally trained candidate has the required qualifications and work experience. How can you verify the candidate’s education, training and job experience obtained in another country? How do these credentials compare to Canadian standards?

Assessing international credentials easily and accurately is one of the biggest challenges in hiring internationally trained workers. Fortunately, there are now many organizations and resources to help you assess and verify international credentials and compare them against Canadian standards. Some of these resources are specific to a sector or an occupation; others are more general.

Be clear about what you are looking for in a candidate for a position in your organization.

Are you trying to find out if:

The worker has the skills to do the job?
The worker has had exposure to a variety of different situations and challenges in performing the job?
The worker is familiar with Canadian workplace norms and practices?

You can measure what you are looking for against other criteria, such as:

The number of years of experience in a specific field or a specific job, or in performing specific tasks
Demonstration of skills through verbal descriptions or practical tests
Demonstration of knowledge through written exams

More information about assessing credentials and work experience is provided in Section 4.

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2.3 Language and communicating effectively

As an employer, you may be concerned that internationally trained workers are not proficient enough in either English or French to communicate effectively in the workplace.

When you are assessing a candidate’s language skills, consider the following:

Which language skills are really needed for the job? Some jobs may not require a high level of language proficiency, while others may need specific job-related language abilities.
Some positions require minimal communication skills. Consider staffing those positions with candidates who are still learning how to speak fluent English or French.
Some internationally trained workers may be very proficient in English or French but speak with an accent, use different vocabulary or express themselves differently. Don’t attach too much importance to superficial aspects of communication.
Weakness in language skills can be overcome through language training or on-the-job experience.

More information about language skills is provided in Section 4 and Section 5.

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2.4 Cultural differences

Will the internationally trained worker’s different cultural background make it difficult to “fit in” with other employees in your organization? Will the worker’s cultural background influence his or her ability to do the job? You may also be concerned about how other employees will react to and interact with internationally trained workers.

Remember

Your assessment and selection process should be designed to help you determine if the worker can do the job, regardless of their cultural background.
You can provide training in cross-cultural communications to all your employees, including internationally trained workers.
Cultural differences can be bridged. Exposure to different cultures can be enriching.
An inclusive workplace benefits everyone.

Section 4 of the roadmap provides more information about assessment and cultural differences.

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2.5 Other considerations for successful integration

You may have questions about how ready your workplace is to accept internationally trained workers, including:

How will other employees react?
Will you have to make adjustments in the workplace to receive an internationally trained worker?
How can you ease the transition for both the newly recruited internationally trained worker and others in the workplace?

Section 5 of the roadmap provides information that will help you effectively integrate internationally trained workers into your organization.

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