New Study Explores Employers Attitudes to Immigrants

A new survey has explored some of the attitudes of employers in Canada to recruiting immigrants. The study was carried out by Work Force Planning Hamilton and other organizations; it showed that while employers were open to hiring immigrants, they wouldn't seek them out specifically.

And when it came to employing immigrants, employers in Hamilton said there were often two reasons why they were chosen. First of all, an employer would choose an immigrant above other applicants if they were the person best qualified for the job. The second reason employers gave for employing immigrants was that it would add to the diversity of the workforce.

The study was carried out among employers in the Hamilton area. One quarter of employees said that they had employed at least ten immigrants in the past decade. The future for employment among the immigrant community also looked promising with 85% of the companies surveyed stating that they would employ immigrants in the near future if there was a vacancy to fill.

Employers in Hamilton also stated that they felt it was a good idea to employ immigrants as they had a second language; employers also felt that immigrants had a good work ethic. Employers also said that another reason why they would be inclined to hire immigrants for their workforce was because of their experience of living in another country; employers thought that this would enable them to make better connections with clients from a different cultural background.

Concerns

During the survey, employers also expressed some of their concerns over employing immigrants. The study showed that the biggest concern among potential employers was the possible language barrier and the potential communication problems. Same employers also had concerns that some immigrants might not understand some of the cultural  practices of the workplace. Others also highlighted concerns over lack of Canadian work experience and the fact that they might have to give additional training if they were to employ an immigrant.

Languages

Another factor the study highlighted was just how keen some companies in Hamilton are to hire immigrants because of their knowledge of languages. Most businesses trade globally these days so employers could see how having an employee who is bilingual could benefit their company.

Integration

The survey also found that immigrant employees integrated well with Canadian-born employees and that the companies who employed immigrants said that they were satisfied with their decision to recruit them, and the majority of employers stated that they were happy with the staff they had employed.