I couldn’t help but notice the number of foreign students (who are also university graduates) working in call centers across New Brunswick today. These foreign student employees get low wages, work long hours and sometimes even work in unimaginably horrible working conditions.

But before I go on any further, a little bit of background on international students here will make sense. On an average, an international student: (a) travels halfway around the world to come to NB (300 km is what Canadians travel), (b) pays an annual tuition of $11,233 ($5,859 is what Canadians pay), (c) spends approx. $21,000 - 25,000/year ($10,000 - $17,000 is what Canadians spend). Therefore, ten international students over a period of four years contribute approximately a million dollars into New Brunswick’s economy.

An important thing to keep in mind is that, like anything else in life, the call center industry also has different types of operations. On one hand, there are a few where working conditions, compensation and benefits are on par with individuals’ education, qualification and experience. These institutions have excellent career growth programs in place and heavily invest in their employees; work is also of a more challenging and rewarding nature, relatively speaking, but these operations are a rarity. On the other hand, there are operations that raise serious concerns vis-à-vis provincial regulations pertaining to workplace health & safety guidelines and other related issues. Most of the international student workforce is employed in call centers of the later type, due to constant demand and high turnover in these types of operations.

Another point to note is that more than half of these international students employed in call centers have had full-time professional work experience of 12-16 months through university’s co-operative education program or internships, in addition to earning Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degrees. In view of this, a question becomes apparent, why is this qualified and skilled pool of talent reduced to working in call centers? The answer to this mystery lies in two things, (a) the 90-day rule and (b) the Provincial Nominee program (PNP).

All foreign workers require work permit to legally work in Canada. The 90-day rule means that one must apply for a work permit within 90 days of graduation. Application for this work-permit can only be made if one has a job-offer. In the absence of a job-offer within 90 days upon graduation, international student is expected to leave Canada. Failure to do so results in changing of one’s status from legal to illegal! A catch-22 situation, won’t you agree?

The PNP is a joint federal-provincial initiative to retain skilled workforce in the province. It enables the provincial government to nominate skilled individuals (by evaluating their credentials, education and work experience) and fast-track their paperwork. The only necessity in order to get nominated is to secure full-time employment with ANY employer in New Brunswick. On average, it takes about nine to twelve months for the application to get finalized.

So, after spending four years (during which most people also give back to their communities socially, culturally and economically), spending approximately $92,000 (that’s how much four years of undergraduate degree cost!) and paying taxes, an international student is put under the pressure to secure employment in 90 days or else leave the country where he has lived for the last four years and has most likely come to love and admire. In the absence of a job-offer that suits foreign students’ education and experience, they are forced to find employment in call-centers where turnover is high and demand for employees is constant. That is the primary, and the key, reason why highly skilled, trained and qualified foreign students are forced to seek call center employment. This call center employment serves as a ‘buffer-time’, allowing them enough time to get the necessary paperwork done while scoping better employment opportunities. Though, in most cases, such nature of employment has resulted in disappointment and dejected individuals have given up looking for jobs.

To add insult to injury, some of these individuals worked as Public servants during their co-op/internship employment. During their employment, they were able to perform their duties and responsibilities in a very efficient manner (and were praised for it) using the language we call English. However, miraculously, those who choose to return to civil service upon graduation suddenly find their lack of bilingualism an impediment to their success in gaining employment with the Province. In face of such policies, it is not easy to attract talent to New Brunswick, let alone retain it. Also, we cannot ignore government’s Public Service Internship Program (PSIP) initiative. According to government’s website, “The New Brunswick Public Service Internship Program is looking to attract a new generation of leaders into the province’s public service.” It is indeed a great initiative but how about the pool of available talent (ex-civil servants) who have worked and proved themselves during co-ops and internships, but are unable to find gainful employment owing to language requirements that should be optional to start with. Why are we not putting our money on the tried and the tested?

Consequently, a few foreign students have opted to move to other provinces, many have moved back to their countries of origin and/or other attractive destinations, where Canadian education is still valued. Believe it or not, their Canadian education and Canadian experience guarantees excellent opportunities and compensation abroad without fail, except New Brunswick. New Brunswick education and experience of an international student is not good enough to gain entry into the pool of skilled workforce in New Brunswick!

The result of this emigration has grave consequences for our local economy and New Brunswick in general. Two major issues that can be immediately felt are brain-drain and negative population growth, a demographic trend that New Brunswick is desperately trying to reverse. Until and unless, the aforementioned issue are tackled promptly, an under-utilized workforce will keep causing loss of productivity and dissatisfaction which, in essence, will lead to emigration.

Spring is in the air and convocation is fast approaching. My congratulations go out to all graduating students and their families. I am sure many of those students have standing job offers as well. But I am also sure, as in the past, a big majority of international students did not even get a single interview call, let alone any job offers. Also, as in the past, many will skip attending the convocation because according to most, “what’s the point of celebrating your hard-earned diploma when you can’t put it to good use. Most importantly when there is no job offer to celebrate.”

This is indeed a collage of issues demanding immediate attention and prompt resolution. Specially, when you see public officials traveling to foreign lands to invite people to come, live and work in New Brunswick, while resources already present in the province are under-utilized.

Upon graduation, majority of foreign students leave New Brunswick. Those who choose to stay in New Brunswick are far and few. Current employment climate is not very conducive to attract international students and persuade graduates to stay back.

In the wake of 9/11 (difficulty to obtain US student visa) and exorbitant cost of education (UK), Canada has been the prime beneficiary that international students (all academic disciplines) have preferred for their higher-education needs. In this electronic age, the word of mouth travels fast and it is only a matter of time when the waves of foreign students coming into New Brunswick fizzles out and we start losing potential talent (and income) to other provinces and countries.

Is New Brunswick ready to let more of these qualified people emigrate?