Retaining foreign grads is key to filling job gap

FCH

[MP3]http://www.voiceprintcanada.com/audio/67011.mp3[/MP3]


Retaining foreign grads is key to filling job gap
B.C. tries hard to convince students to stay in province
Wency LeungVancouver Sun

Monday, November 20, 2006


Taiwan companies would go to great lengths to hire someone like Sandy Huang.
The Malaspina University-College graduate from Taiwan speaks English fluently and has a highly desired Western education in business and marketing.

Even before she finished her undergraduate degree in Nanaimo four years ago, several Taiwan companies were interviewing her for well-paid jobs, enticing her to return to her home country once she finished school.

Huang did return--for a while.

But, after two years in Taiwan, she came back to Malaspina to earn her international masters degree in business administration, and now the 28-year-old wants to stay.
"The longer I stay here, the more I like it here," she said, voicing what the B.C. government hopes to hear more often from foreign graduates.

B.C. is expected to need 1 million people over the next 10 years to fill all the jobs expected to be created in the province, while, during that same period, only 650,000 people will be graduating from the province's high schools.

To help fill that gap, the government is aiming to attract more foreign students to study in B.C., and to encourage them to immigrate after they finish school.

In a speech last week in Vancouver, Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen told Chinese-Canadian business representatives that the province is urging the federal government to relax visa restrictions, so B.C. can retain foreign graduates who have studied here.

Nearly 27,000 international students, most of whom come from Asia, are studying at B.C.'s public post-secondary schools.

Not only will the retention of these students increase the supply of highly-educated and highly-trained workers to the province once they graduate, Hansen said. They will also help B.C. build trade, investment and cultural links with their native countries, contributing to the province's development as North America's "Asia-Pacific gateway."
Currently, international graduates are allowed to work for one year in Vancouver or two years in the rest of B.C. once they're finished school.

Hansen said he is calling on the federal government to extend that to two years for the entire province.

He also said more must be done to help post-secondary institutions bring foreign
students into the province in the first place.

Citizen and Immigration Canada will not issue visas to prospective international
students if they indicate they don't want to return to their country of origin, Hansen said. Yet those allowed to come here to study are encouraged to stay.

According to some, a big advantage of having foreign graduates immigrate here is that, by the time they've completed their studies, they have a good understanding of the language and culture, and can easily adapt to Canadian
society.

Take Huang, for example. She said she barely spoke English when she first came to B.C. in 1996.

While she studied English and worked on her bachelor degree, she stayed with a Canadian home-stay family, who helped her adjust to North American life.

For Huang, her reasons for wanting to immigrate to B.C. have more to do with the lifestyle here than employment opportunities.

When she returned to Taiwan between finishing her bachelor degree and starting her masters, she worked for a company selling machinery, spare parts and chemicals in the semi-conductor industry.

It was a good job and paid well, she said.

"But the working environment is just so different. Right here, people are nice to you. It's so friendly here," Huang said. "In Taiwan, it's very competitive. If you're not good enough, you might as well go."

While Huang said it's difficult to compare wages, she estimated that a job in Taiwan would give her about the same spending power as if she worked and lived here.
As well, she said it would be much easier to find work in Taiwan, since companies there aggressively seek those who have a Western education.

"Most co-workers of my old company in Taiwan came from the States, Australia, or Canada," she said, noting that Western universities and colleges tend to teach students to become critical thinkers, whereas in Taiwan, "you listen to what the teacher says."
Even though B.C. companies in every sector are looking for workers, Huang and other foreign graduates said it's not that easy for them to find jobs and immigrate here.
"Most [B.C.] companies don't really want to use us or hire us," Huang said. "First of all, they don't really know the process of applying for work permits or any immigration issues."

That means, for many small to mid-size companies, hiring a foreign graduate who has not yet gone through the immigration process can be a hassle.
Besides, Huang added, it usually takes several months for a foreign graduate to receive all the necessary paperwork to work here.

"Most companies don't want to wait that long," she said.

Huang herself is on a temporary two-year visa and is working as an international marketing associate for Malaspina University-College. She hopes to continue at the same job, and expects to receive her permanent resident status in another three to six months.

She started applying to immigrate here in November 2005.

Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell said the province is trying to get foreign students working faster, however.

B.C.'s Provincial Nominee Program, under which Huang applied, fast-tracks the immigration process for highly-qualified skilled workers.
Coell noted that foreign graduates can benefit from that program.

As well, the province signed an agreement earlier this year with the federal government to allow international students to apply for off-campus work permits. Previously, international students were only allowed to work on-campus while they went to school.

Coell added that Premier Gordon Campbell would promote B.C. as an education destination during his current trip to Japan, Hong Kong and mainland China.
"Obviously with the skill shortage . . . we're going to have to look to encourage people to come get an education and stay," Coell said.

He added he was confident the province and local universities and colleges are getting the message out.

"I think it's widely known that we have a skill shortage here and plenty of places [for foreign graduates to work]," he said. "It's a good time for international students to come to B.C."

FCH

After reading/listening this article, you may interested in the followings:

1, British Columbia's Provincial Nominee Program

http://www.ecdev.gov.bc.ca/ProgramsAndServices/PNP/index.htm

2, BC will need 1 million workers in 10 years and there is a shortage in man power supply

3, Graduates with local edu. can easily find job in their home country