Migrating During the Pandemic: Good Preparation Means Good Integration

Aïssatou Sonko is the manager of the Employability and Immigration Program at the Société économique de l’Ontario (SÉO), a non-profit organization (NPO) that celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. The SÉO, formerly RDÉE Ontario, supports economic development, entrepreneurship, employability and immigration for Francophones and bilingual individuals. The organization has three main offices located in Toronto, Sudbury and Ottawa, as well as several regional offices.

With her Ottawa-based team, Ms. Sonko pilots several types of interventions and specialized programs, all with a focus on employability. Their clientele is primarily made up of future, recent or already settled Francophone newcomers, and a small proportion of refugees who have received their official status and are able to communicate in French. Like everywhere else in the world, the pandemic over the past 23 months has complicated her team’s work: first, the number of newcomers dropped abruptly, both because of health and travel restrictions. This drop was most noticeable in 2020, with an almost 46% drop in the number of newcomers in Ontario.1 The situation improved in 2021, and although comprehensive statistical data for last year is not yet available, the number of arrivals by September (84,887 people) had already surpassed the number of arrivals for all of 2020 (82,981 people).2

This drop can be explained in large part by the fact that many immigration files were put on hold. As of mid-December 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) estimated that there were still 1.8 million files awaiting processing. A pledge of 85 million dollars in Canadian currency was made to hire more resources in order to process a larger volume of files and to upgrade the immigration system.3 In the meantime, the Employability and Immigration Program team assisting new and future immigrants has noted that many are taking the time to prepare for their arrival and are assessing all of their options prior to departing.

FACILITATING AN INCREASINGLY LENGTHY PROCESS

Ms. Sonko explains that for those who have immigrated with their families in the last two years, health restrictions have complicated their arrival on all levels. Pre-departure services, for those who have received permanent residence authorization from IRCC, aim to provide information on administrative procedures, housing, the Canadian labour market, orientation on choosing the right area to settle, etc. The SÉO, on the other hand, strives to provide relevant and complementary information with personalized orientation. It seems that the pandemic has also increased the desire to relocate across provinces and the team has been receiving requests from other Canadian provinces as well, not just from abroad. For each person who comes to the SÉO, an initial one on one consultation is held to develop a detailed plan. Ms. Sonko explains that, at this level, the desires of newcomers can vary. Some want to become professional and will seek a diploma, others need to go back to school or take exams to enter one of the many professional associations that govern the health, education, architectural or engineering occupations, for example. In some cases, immigration can also be an opportunity to pursue a career change. While the recognition of diplomas and skills is a common obstacle for newcomers, it is mitigated when they arrive well informed and prepared for this step, with the correct documents. While waiting for their departure, those interested can

1 Office of Economic Policy, March 2021, “Ontario Demographic Quarterly: highlights of fourth quarter 2020,” Ontario Ministry of Finance, Government of Ontario website, consulted on February 11, 2022: https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-demographic-quarterly-highlights-fourth-quarter-2020. 2 Office of Economic Policy, March 2021, “Ontario Demographic Quarterly: highlights of third quarter 2020,” Ontario Ministry of Finance, Government of Ontario website, consulted on February 11, 2022: https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-demographic-quarterly-highlights-third-quarter?_ga=2.205808531.1204547742.1644679512-386788270.1644679512. 3 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), January 3, 2022, “Modernizing Canada’s immigration system to support economic recovery and improve client experience,” a press release published on the IRCC’s website, consulted on February 11, 2022: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2022/01/modernizing-canadas-immigrationsystem-to-support-economic-recovery-and-improve-client-experience.html.

participate in employability workshops and training sessions that help them write resumes and bring them up to standard, offer simulated interviews, and provide targeted information on specific areas of work.

With this in mind, the Employability and Immigration Program recommends that future newcomers create a LinkedIn profile if they don’t already have one, and reach out to the community of people with similar profiles in Ontario. They can ask them for advice and learn from their experiences. SÉO also works with employers to support their search for qualified candidates, through networking and job fairs. For some time now, human resources departments have recognized the advantages of hiring Francophone newcomers.

IN SOME CASES, IMMIGRATION CAN ALSO BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE A CAREER CHANGE.

FOCUSING ON INNOVATION AND COMPLEMENTARITY

Aïssatou Sonko notes that the pandemic has pushed her team to innovate, diversify its themes and increase its online presence. The rapidly changing trends in the Canadian and Ontario labour markets have also made it imperative to be very responsive. For example, the tourism industry is not very active, while job offers related to technology, education and health have increased significantly. At the same time, the regulations for occupations in some of these sectors are changing. She mentions a pilot project with the Ontario College of Teachers which aims to facilitate the integration of French-speaking teachers from abroad and, in the health field, bridge training to help foreign-trained nurses prepare for the College’s certification exam.4

The SÉO also took advantage of the pandemic to strengthen its partnerships with other service providers in the field: cross referrals with the Point d’accueil francophone in Ottawa, and a visit up North to meet employers, organized with Réseau du Nord, the Association des francophones du Nord-Ouest de l'Ontario and the Centre de santé communautaire du Grand Sudbury. The complementarity of activities and services allows to offer access to all the workshops offered by the Francophone and Anglophone partners who support Francophone communities. The workshops are wide-ranging and do not focus only on employability: support upon arrival, social and cultural integration, access to health services in French, everything that can create shortcuts and help newcomers settle in northern communities.

The other type of activity that is now being done remotely but still remains popular is networking. Ms. Sonko explains that the SÉO is working on increasing networking opportunities. One of the formats she is testing is focused on employers, who are invited to talk about their corporate culture, hiring processes, and of course, available jobs. Following this presentation, a virtual space is made available to them to meet one-on-one with people who want to apply. These meetings can be much larger online and are now organized nationwide, sometimes in association with other provinces and territories and Canadian embassies.

In November 2021, the SÉO organized an international job fair that received 5,000 virtual visitors from France, Belgium, the Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa. This event was a success that will require several months of work to follow up on all these visits. Ms. Sonko would like to have more resources to quickly process all the requests received.

She also notes that shifting to remote activities comes with several inconveniences. It has become difficult to predict attendance to online activities, as participants don’t always show up. On the other hand, these online events reach many more people than if they were held in person. Ms. Sonko remains optimistic for the future because several projects have already had excellent results, particularly in northern communities.

BETTER PROMOTING NORTHERN ONTARIO

The idea of improving how Northern Ontario is promoted to newcomers is not new, according to Ms. Sonko, but the SÉO has changed its approach and is focusing on educating potential employers. A team from the SÉO recently visited eight ridings in Northern Ontario to meet with employers so as to learn about their needs and discuss incentives. A job fair, the first “Foire de l’emploi virtuelle francophone du Grand Sudbury,” was also held at the end of February in the Greater Sudbury area, with approximately 20 employers and almost 220 participants. It targeted multiple sectors of activity such as finance, administration, events, transportation, logistics, health, education, environment, marketing, construction, mining, etc. It gave participants the opportunity to make initial contact with Francophone or bilingual employers in the region. Other efforts will be made in the future to promote the attractiveness of northern communities in Ontario, and Ms. Sonko insists on the efforts being made to foster connections between employers and candidates. According to Ms. Sonko, labour market requirements have evolved in recent years and the profiles of Francophones ready to move to Canada are not necessarily well aligned with these requirements. However, given labour shortages in the province and with proper preparation, everyone should have a chance to successfully enter the labour market. ■