This document summarizes a presentation about engaging employers to hire skilled immigrants in Ottawa. It discusses the business case for hiring immigrants, demographics of immigrants in Ottawa, barriers employers face, and promising practices. These include initiatives by the federal government and Bank of America to provide internships and cultural competency training. Employers are encouraged to use tools and resources and work with local immigrant agencies to develop strategies like mentorship programs.

1. ALLIES 2010: From the Frontlines
of Employer Engagement
May 7, 2010
Kelly McGahey
kmcgahey@hireimmigrantsottawa.ca
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2. Introduction
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– Overview of Hire Immigrants Ottawa
– The Business Case and Demographics
– Engaging Employers
• Challenges and Success
• Tools and Resources
• Promising Practices

3. Hire Immigrants Ottawa
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Hire Immigrants Ottawa is a local initiative that
brings together employers, immigrant agencies
and stakeholders to develop solutions to systemic
barriers around the recruitment and retention of
skilled immigrants into the Ottawa labour force
using a three-pronged approach:
– An Employer Council of Champions
– The creation of four sector specific Working Groups in the health
care, information technology, finance and public sectors that aim to
address systemic barriers.
– A local awareness campaign to promote greater understanding of
the social and economic value that immigrants bring to Ottawa.

4. Engaging Employers
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– Make the case
– Convene the right stakeholders at the right times – not
too little, not too much – and only when necessary
– Facilitate, don’t dictate!
– Support them with tools and resources that they request
– and use their expertise in the development or sharing
process
– Repeat!

5. Business Case
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As the economic situation evolves, it is important that
employers prepare themselves for the inevitable talent
crunch
– To avoid succession and staffing crises, Canada's employers, now
more than ever, have to tap into groups traditionally under-
represented in the workplace.
– Immigrants, more than native-born Canadians, have credentials and
new perspectives that can help overcome the lag of innovation
recently noted by the Conference Board of Canada.

6. Demographics
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Immigration to Ottawa is increasing;
immigrants are working age
Over the next 10 years, Ottawa can anticipate receiving
between 6,000 and 8,000 immigrants per year
By 2014, labour demand is predicted to outstrip labour
supply*
By 2017, population will be 27% immigrants
Recent immigrants are most likely to be between the ages
of 25 and 44**
*Conference Board of Canada, 2007
**CLBC, Tapping the Potential, a statistical profile of Ottawa’s immigrant workforce, p. 4

7. Demographics
Ottawa’s shrinking labour 7
force Ottawa's Population Pyramid
– Last of the baby-boom Male 80 to 84
Female
generation are now age 43 70 to 74
Age Range (years)
60 to 64
– More than 10,000 Ottawa 50 to 54
workers could be retiring 40 to 44
annually (extrapolation of 30 to 34
known retirement rates) 20 to 24
10 to 14
– By the peak of the wave in 0 to 4
2013, 5,600 federal public 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
service employees will Population (000s)
S o urc e : Derived fro m data by Statistics Canada: Ottawa, Ontario . Co mmunity P ro files. 2006 Census. Catalo gueno .92-591-XWE.
retire annually
– Baby-boom ‘echo’ already in labour force
– Each generation smaller than the previous – includes immigrants and their
children

8. Education
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Ottawa receives a disproportionately high number of
very educated immigrants.
Highest share of immigrants with university degrees in Canada
82% of those aged 25-44 (arrived 1996 – 2001) had a post-secondary
diploma or degree, compared to 69% of Canadian-born**
Each year more immigrants with PhDs immigrate to Ottawa than are
graduated by both major universities combined*
They tend to be educated and experienced in the science and
technology fields***
*CLBC, Tapping the Potential, a statistical profile of Ottawa’s immigrant workforce, p. 7
** Faces of Ottawa, p. 18
***Recent Immigrants in Metropolitan Areas: Comparative Profiles based on the 2001 Census

9. Employer Barriers
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Employers encounter barriers that prevent successful
recruitment and hiring of skilled immigrants.
– Workplace Readiness
– Cultural Issues
– Language
– Qualifications and Work Experience
– Credential Recognition/Licensing
– Security Clearance

10. Employers in Action
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– Networking
– Recruiting
– Coaching
– Internship Programs
– Bridging Programs
– Mentoring
– Tracking
– Review Policies, Practices and/or Processes
– Educating / Informing
– Utilize Tools and Resources

11. Action Plan Template
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Objective:
To Increase Organizational Capacity to Hire and Retain Skilled Immigrants at Skills Appropriate
Levels
Action Item Activities Outcomes Resources Responsible Target Timeline Performance
Needed Measurement

12. Employer’s Guide
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Provides information about and insight into the most
common challenges faced by employers when recruiting
and integrating immigrants into the Workplace
Offers practical tips and suggestions to address these
challenges
Points employers to local resources

13. Cross Cultural Competency Training
Workshops for Employers
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– Introduction to Cultural Competency-Building
– Intercultural Problem-Solving Strategies and Understanding
Verbal and Non-Verbal Messages
– Effective Cultural Adaptation Strategies
– Cultural Inclusiveness Practices
– Creating the Workplace that Accommodates Effectively
– Teaching and Learning with Immigrant Staff

14. The Ottawa Job Match Network
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The Ottawa Job Match Network (OJMN) is a partnership of
immigrant serving agencies and programs that provides
one-stop-shopping for employers
The members of the network cooperate to provide
employers with candidates who best match their
requirements
They also identify clients to participate in events that link
employers with immigrants such as networking or coaching
events
HIO creates linkages between employers and the OJMN

15. Promising Practices
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Federal Government – HRSDC and CIC
– Innovative internship pilot to provide mid-level federal government career
experience to skilled immigrants launched in late summer 2008, and YNIP
program at CIC for refugee graduates of Cnd universities
– They used local agencies (the OJMN and SITO) to source qualified
candidates (WUSC for YNIP)
– Recruited senior departmental champions
– Matched incumbents with mentors
– Provided cultural competency training to both managers and incumbents
– Repeating the pilot in 2009/2010, working to expand the pilot across both
departments and regions (has been publicly announced and highlighted by
officials and Ministers Kenney and Finlay)
– Committed to sharing their learnings with other employers

16. Promising Practices
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Bank of America –
– Co-chair of the Finance Sector Working Group
– Host coaching events
– HR department has made diversity a top priority
– Participate in Cultural competency training
– Use the OJMN to source candidates
– Created affinity groups for employees from different backgrounds to
network and share experiences and plan events
– Have formed an in-house diversity panel
– Have shared their experiences and learning with other employers
and stakeholders as presenters and/or panelists

17. Next Steps
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We encourage employers to:
– Utilize the Action Plan template (available in the Employers in Action
document) and the HIO Employers Guide www.hireimmigrantsottawa.ca
– Work with managers to make action plans operational in their own
departments/units and measure results
– Make use of the excellent tools and resources available –
hireimmigrants.ca Roadmap and videos, TalentNet game, TASC Roadmap
– Develop strategies for, and participate in, large coordinated initiatives such
as mentorship and internship programs
– Participate in one-off coaching, networking or cross-cultural training events
– Make use of local immigrant-serving agencies and programs
Contact Hire Immigrants Ottawa for more information: Kelly McGahey 613-228-2502, kmcgahey@hireimmigrantsottawa.ca

18. Thank you
www.hireimmigrantsottawa.ca
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