Working to GET a job: barriers to employment among postirpa GARs

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Working to GET a job barriers to employment
among post-irpa GARs

• Kathy Sherrell, UBC Geography

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Post-IRPA GARs

• Policy and Procedural Changes
• Immigrant and Refugee Protection Act (2002)
• From ability to settle to need for protection
• New source regions and protracted refugee
  situations
• Changing profile
• Multi-barriered or high-needs GARs
• New service or program needs?

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Project

• MITACS-Metropolis BC internship
• Immigration Partnerships and Initiatives Branch,
  Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market
  Development (ALMD)
• Employment and employability among post-IRPA GARs
• Review of existing employment programs and
  services
• 14 key informant interviews (16 individuals)

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Changing profile of GARs

• GARs arriving in 2007 were more likely than
  previous cohorts
• to arrive from protracted refugee situations,
• to report speaking neither official language upon
  arrival, and
• to have lower levels of (formal) education

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GARs Level of Education
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Previous research findings

• High un(der)employment and reliance on government
  transfers
• Refugees stated their willingness and desire to
  obtain employment
• Respondents view language and employment as
  interrelated issues that cannot be addressed
  individually and
• There is a need for programs linked to employment
  that enable respondents to continue language
  training.
• (McLean et al. 2006 Cubie 2006 Sherrell 2008)

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Results Key types of support and action

• 1) The introduction of case management and
  structured support from shortly after arrival
• 2) The provision of programs and services that
  seek to develop life skills and job-training to
  assist people in obtaining employment

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Results Key types of support and action

• 3) Action to educate employers, and wider
  society, about the difficulties faced by refugees
  and establish opportunities to assist GARs in
  obtaining Canadian workplace experience and
• 4) The continued provision of support to clients
  after they have obtained employment to ensure
  they develop necessary job maintenance skills.

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Initial contact with GARs
Liaise with Employers and Increased Public
Education
Case management
Information
Targeted Assistance or Multi-disciplinary
Assessment
Intensive English Classes
Intensive Life Skills
Continuum of Employment Programs
Follow up and monitoring to develop job
maintenance skills
Vocational / Job Skills Training Programs
Job search employment programs
Volunteer, job placement, mentoring
Obtain employment and achieve financial
self-sufficiency
Obtain increased self-sufficiency
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Concluding comments

• Profile of GARs significantly different than
  previous cohorts
• Necessitate a range of flexible and supported
  programs to support diverse clientele
• Facilitating integration requires collaborative
  approach involving all stakeholders
• Disconnect between needs and services?
• Service landscape beginning to change

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Thanks to .

• Immigration Partnerships and Initiatives Branch,
  Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market
  Development
• Dr. Dan Hiebert, Academic Supervisor
• MITACS-Metropolis BC Internship