The Canadian Dream: Never Fulfilled

Hello,

I am a professional living in canada who got a good job after `qaid-e-ba-mushaqqat` of 1.5 years. Am now here for 5+ years. Technically, I have been put into the shoes of both conflicting parties. My father has lives in the US which provides me with an eye to compare the US job scene as well.

What this article says is partially true and what Rizvi says is also true from his angle.

The truth as it seems to me is that Canada does not have as fluent a job market as the US has. And this has nothing to do with immegration. This is a national trait which just happens to be like this. Here, if you get a job, the chances of getting fired are far less than the US but then, while hiring, they have all these checks to make sure that they get the right person.

Immegration as seen from the eyes of Canadian govt. would be something they always gain from. They would love immegrants like rizvi who have the talents to penetrate this job market by adapting themselves to whatever it takes. If other PhDs don`t have what it takes to find a job, Canada has nothing to lose. After all, those cabbies are not drug smugglers and usually raise children with very good education, hence benefitting the economy in the long run.

My brother who had an incomplete BBA from a mediocre rawalpindi university is doing the job he is supposed to be doing. Why? Because he has what it takes to find a job. And trust me, it has nothing to do with your qualifications. You have got to acquire the north american `geedher-singhi` for this.

#11 by Shah2 on January 4, 2007 1:48pm PT


Stop repeating lke a broken records and riding your hollier than thou high horse


How do you club ,Indian and Chinese with Pakistanis and Middle easterners..is beyond every ounce of economic and financial happeneings in this world. Some peolpe make cars..others blow them up. That is the only nexus here.

As far as the failure bit..this is because canada is still chasing the multi-culti misguidedness. It is a failed paradigm..like the UK and Europe.

#17 by Brother_Zamanov on January 4, 2007 3:39pm PT


does the canadian government have in recruiting foreign immigrants, giving them residency/citizenship


Probable causes:
1. Canuckistan is a socialist craphole and the gubmint isn`t exactly efficient at rooting out such problems.
2. The immigration lawyers probably make a killing on this.
3. Various ethnic groups will oppose any changes to the immigration laws.

mhrizvi, I have some questions about your experience in canada. Please contact me via email (zamanov at gmail dot com) or let me know how I can get in touch with you. Thanks.

If what Ms Shah has outlined in her piece is applicable across the board to highly qualified migrants then what incentive does the canadian government have in recruiting foreign immigrants, giving them residency/citizenship and within three years see them move away with their skills to other countries? You would think that after a few years they would do something about this loss of tax base and its related consequences....

Re #10,

``Canada has a test, pass it and you can be a doctor here..``

Unfortunately, it`s not as simple as that.

http://www.readersdigest.ca/mag/2004/08/doctors.html

``Why Is Canada Shutting Out Doctors?
While millions of Canadians can’t find a doctor, thousands of foreign physicians can’t get a licence to practise .......``

Re: # 13
Shah2

My apologies if I sounded condescending. That was not my intention. I make a lot of effort to coach and place friends from the subcontinent.
My reasoning for being blunt was to create awareness about the bitter truth.
And lastly you mention age and maturity and Baqol Ghalib “ borhapa” and “ buzurgee” is not synonymous as well
With respects

Re: # 12
Bhai Kulharee I respect your opinion but couldn`t disagree with you more. If you work in a corporate environment and you are the smartest cookie, for example a programmer in our industry but you can`t understand the requirements or you can`t explain the functionality of a program that is supposed to solve business problems. that is no good.
You can`t work in isolation in any industry! I would rather hire a well rounded individual than an genius programmer with no communication skills. There are excepstion to this rule, like if you are painter or a musician or doing some sort of research and your employer is willing to translate your findings from your native language.
this is my perspective. I don`t want to debate it with you but i think we should settle on agreeing to disagree.
regards

#10..mr Mrizvi there is always an exception to any rule...you seem to have been most recent youngest immigrant batch ......there are many stories of success of immigrants in north America but there are nightmares too and to brush them aside by your condescending reasons which are at best unreliable and not to say by your young age immature

Re: # 10

Rizvi Sahib, don’t know what schools you have attended, but being a cabbie or a restaurant worker requires finer communication skills than e.g., working in a lab as a pharmacologist. So this stuff about Desis not possessing better communication skills is nonsense. Canadian job market sucks. There are not enough jobs to go around. A PhD Physicist doesn’t need a degree in English to be able to find a job. And Bio-Data is the same as a resume, only a different term. The poorly constructed resumes that you get at your job is no indication of an applicant’s ability to perform at work. One could pay someone 500 bucks to have a resume professionally done, while not even knowing how to wipe his ass.

#6#5#4
Stop repeating lke a broken records and riding your hollier than thou high horse..

I disagree. I am graduate from Karachi, Pakistan (FAST ICS and IBA), moved to Canada July 2nd 2003, started my job Aug 11th , 2003. I think I have been very fortunate to find a job of my liking in such a short time and I do not question the element of luck in this. What I disagree with is the attitude of whining and complaining. I am in position where I hire a lot of people and being in IT, I deal with a lot of people from different countries and cultures. All the statistics that you have mentioned are most likely true. However, from my perspective the reasons are as follows: (I am no being cruel. I am sensitive to their needs as I am an immigrant myself. What I am criticizing is the whining and complaining without a justified reason).

1. Lack of communication skills (not necessarily English speaking skill). The job market in North America is very competitive. You should able to present yourself professionally and sell yourself. I see this as a very rare trait in immigrants from the sub continent. I have met people who can’t speak one sentence of English. I have met people who can speak English but can’t present themselves professionally. I have seen resumes titled bio-data, with a picture on it, passport number, wedding date, number of kids, etc. It is unfortunate but I don’t think these people ever found a job, went back to their countries and told people Canada sucks.
2. Lack of awareness about an invention called Deodorant. ( honest to God, I have interviewed and worked with people who have nasty body odor)
3. I also know a doctor who is driving cab in Toronto. He was a doctor in Karachi but I think he should have been driving a cab in Karachi as well. I know how he graduated with his political party workers threatening the professors in SMC. Canada has a test, pass it and you can be a doctor here. Don’t complain…suck it up!

Honestly, I think if you are smart enough and have sharp communication skills, no one can stop you. It is tough in the beginning but you need to understand the differences between sub continent’s and North American corporate culture. A lot of this responsibility falls on the immigrants like myself who are settled and should take some time out to guide the new comers in basic communication skills and everything else will fall in place.

Regards

the job category immigration to the us is dependent upon an employer wanting the person. for canada its some kinda grading system where a bogus degree gets you the immigration whether the employer wants you not.

A very realistic portrayal of the way things are in Canada. The canadians are looing for skilled technicians and not highly qualified professionals. Essentially a doctor who works as a lab technician or an engineer who works as a mechanic is fine, but trying to get a job as a skilled professional can be a nightmare.

Saima,

You surely must be talking BS. Romair had been convincing all of us about the multiple benefits of canadian society. Of course, he never directly discussed the Job sector but still the general impression he gave is so far from your version. And surely he cant be wrong!!

Rgds,
Avkrishna

hahahahGlobal demographics show that it is the era of the foreigner from Asia. The indisputable fact is that the most motivated and mobile people on this planet are from India, China, Pakistan and Middle East et al`` hahaha

How do you club ,Indian and Chinese with Pakistanis and Middle easterners..is beyond every ounce of economic and financial happeneings in this world. Some peolpe make cars..others blow them up. That is the only nexus here.

As far as the failure bit..this is because canada is still chasing the multi-culti misguidedness. It is a failed paradigm..like the UK and Europe.

The problem is obviously canuckistan and not the immigrants qualifications...anyone who`s done business in the IT sector canada knows that there`s very little of it...and yet the canuckistanis continue to give out their equivalent of the green card for IT workers....