Capitalizing on the employment of skilled immigrants - by Linda Ford

In recent years, The Brampton Board of Trade has taken a very active role in promoting to employers the benefits of hiring skilled immigrants and supporting related local initiatives, primarily through our award-winning "Skills Without Borders - Connecting employers and skilled immigrants" program. For details visit www.skillswithoutborders.com.

Our various levels of government should be commended for their growing commitment and investment toward the employment integration of immigrants. Many invaluable services and programs have been developed, that are being delivered to newcomers by various settlement and employment agencies in and around our community. However, while a tremendous amount of resources are being targeted to supporting immigrants for employment, relatively little attention has been paid to the second part of the equation, and that is supporting employers to hire immigrants. This is what motivated The Brampton Board of Trade to develop the Skills Without Borders program - focused on raising the awareness of employers to the benefits of hiring immigrants, providing information and resources to assist in hiring and retention, and enhancing employers' cultural diversity awareness.

In an increasingly diverse community like Brampton, that attracts a large and growing pool of skilled and talented immigrants, it is not only socially responsible that business welcome immigrants into its workforce, but for a number of reasons it makes good business and economic sense.

Across Canada and most of the developed world, employers are faced with the challenge of a shrinking labour pool. Baby boomers are retiring and birth rates are falling. Not enough skilled people are being trained to fill certain positions. The labour needs study that we conducted last year as part of our program indicated that businesses in our community are already experiencing skills shortages and having difficulty filling positions.

We are very fortunate that the immigrants arriving in Canada today are coming with the highest academic and professional credentials and experience than at any other time in our history. An interesting statistic is that immigrants are expected to account for all net labour force growth in Canada by 2011, and for all net population growth by 2031. This means that in the next decade business will be depending on immigrant labour in order to grow and prosper.

In an increasingly globalized economy, hiring skilled immigrants will be an asset to business in building international networks, whether with customers, suppliers or partners. When a business hires an immigrant, they not only gain the individual's hard skills and experience, they also gain the language skills and the intimate knowledge that the employee will have of their home country and its markets.

Businesses are also taking a closer look at the demographics of their consumer market. The Region of Peel is one of the most diverse regions in the world, and it is becoming even more diverse every day. Skilled immigrants are not only living and working here - they are consumers, buying homes, cars, and other commodities and services. They are a large pool of potential consumers that all businesses need to tap into. One of the best ways for a business to gain access to this market is to have its workforce understand it and mirror it.

I've only highlighted a few key reasons why The Brampton Board of Trade is actively promoting to business to bring skilled immigrants into their workplace. There is much more that I could add, but hopefully in Brampton the message is clear.

I encourage you all to join us at our After Business Networking event on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008, 3:30 p.m. at The Bramalea City Centre (The Bay Court), where in partnership with Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) we will be displaying the 20 Journeys Exhibit, and hearing from a number of key speakers. 20 Journeys features the stories of 20 successful immigrants, the programs that supported them and employers that shared in their success - showcasing the benefits of effectively including skilled immigrants in the workforce. This special photography exhibit has been on display at various venues in the GTA and will be on display at the Bramalea City Centre from Feb. 12 to 17.

Linda Ford is President of The Brampton Board of Trade and President of Access Career Solutions Inc., 2 County Court Blvd., Suite 302. Tel: 905-866-6616; email lindaford@accesscareers.com. The Brampton Board of Trade represents over 1,100 businesses, and has been "The Voice of Business" in Brampton since 1887.

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