Anglais

Employment gap narrows between university-educated immigrants and Canadian-born counterparts

Published

6 années ago

janvier 19, 2019

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The unemployment gap between university-educated immigrants and their Canadian counterparts in the GTA has significantly narrowed over the last two decades, but employers’ demand for Canadian job experience remains a key barrier for newcomers, a new study has found.

In 2001, newcomers with at least a Bachelor’s degree had an unemployment rate that was 3.85 times higher than their Canadian-born peers, but by 2016, this had dropped to only 2.4 times, said the report commissioned by the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC).

Eishita Alam, a banker from Bangladesh, enrolled in a job readiness program for newcomers within weeks of her arrival in Toronto last July. She says the lack of Canadian job experience is still a barrier in her job search. (Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star)

“This does indeed suggest that the circumstances of newcomers are improving,” said the report titled State of Immigrant Inclusion in GTA Labour Market. “The gap persists, but it is getting smaller.”

While newcomers with a Canadian degree in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics/IT) subject are doing nearly as well as their Canadian-born counterparts, the report said immigrant women with a degree from outside Canada in a non-STEM subject fare the worst.

Based on census data between 2001 and 2016, the report tracked the makeup of the GTA labour market and immigrants’ job prospects since TRIEC was established in 2003 to address Canada’s doctors-driving-cabs immigrant conundrum.

In 2001, university-educated immigrants had an unemployment rate of 13.1 per cent, almost four times higher than the 3.4 per cent rate for Canadians with the same level of education. While the jobless rate for those immigrants still hovered at around 12.5 per cent, the rate among Canada-born degree-holders shot up to 5.2 per cent.

One possible contributing factor for the narrowing gap, the report said, was the higher number of newcomers who now possess Canadian education credentials.

In 2006, only 8 per cent of newcomers to the GTA had earned a degree in Canada, but by 2011, it had more than doubled, to 18 per cent. It was at 17 per cent in 2016.

The data also showed newcomers who arrived in Ontario with university degrees before 1990 ultimately worked in a job that requires a university degree at the same rate as their Canadian counterparts — roughly 70 per cent. However, only 54 per cent of degree-holding newcomers who arrived in the last decade are at a comparable job.

“It is taking too long for immigrants to catch up with their Canadian-born counterparts,” said the report. “Unemployment at the start of an immigrant’s working life in Canada can have a long-lasting impact.”

Mexican immigrant Miguel Abascal is a testament to that struggle.

With a Master’s degree in finance, the former CEO of a coffee production and distribution company moved to Canada in 2010 and found his first Canadian job at a Tim Hortons in Burlington. He sent out hundreds of resumés without yielding a single interview.

After a year, he enrolled in a government-funded job search program and got a job as a bankruptcy processer, then selling insurance door-to-door and going back to Tim Hortons before landing a job as a teller with help from a TD branch manager he met at a networking event in 2013.

“For four years, I was living my Canadian nightmare,” said Abascal, 35, who was quickly promoted through the ranks and is now a project manager at the bank. “I’m finally living my Canadian dream, but four, five years were too long. We want newcomers to realize their dream and full potential in five weeks.”

Miguel Abascal, who is now a project manager at the TD Bank, came to Canada from Mexico in 2010 with a Master's degree in finance. He says landing his first good job here proved a challenge. — Miguel Abascal, who is now a project manager at the TD Bank, came to Canada from Mexico in 2010 with a Master’s degree in finance. He says landing his first good job here proved a challenge. (Picasa)

Abascal said there are more organizations offering mentoring and networking programs these days than when he first came. He has seen more recent newcomers joining the bank at entry level jobs in his five years there.

The “Canadian dream is powered by networking. It’s all about connections and referrals,” said Abascal. “At the end of the day, it’s about an employer’s trust in you.”

The study also surveyed employers and immigrant employment service providers and found credential recognition, the need for Canadian experience, perceptions about language and communication skills, bias and discrimination have remained the main employment barriers for newcomers.

Iren Koltermann, who co-authored the study with Denise McLean, said Canada must scale up mentorship and career-bridging programs that have been proven effective for the integration of newcomers and strive to make a “Canadian experience requirement” a thing of the past.

“What is Canadian experience? It’s a lexicon no one can define,” said Koltermann. “We can’t use a blanket term and reduce it to cliché. Is it about not being educated in health and safety? We need to unpack and explain it.”

KPMG Canada has for years had a formal strategy to attract and retain global talent and promote inclusion and diversity. It measures and sets annual goals for the organization’s gender and visible minority representation. Last year, 20 per cent of those who were promoted to become partners were people of colour, 5 per cent higher than four years ago.

“Because of the nature of the firm in tax and audit, we do require technical knowledge, but it should not be a barrier,” said Kristine Remedios, KPMG Canada’s national leader in inclusion and diversity. “They are internationally trained and we can offer support for some of that education within the firm.”

The changing labour market landscape does help recent skilled immigrants hit the ground running faster.

Unlike Abascal, Eishita Alam, a banker from Bangladesh, enrolled in a job readiness program for newcomers within weeks of her arrival in Toronto last July. In September, she was matched with a professional mentor through TRIEC.

The 37-year-old woman has garnered five job interviews through her nascent professional network, but is still without a job.

“I didn’t have high school friends or former colleagues in my network and must start from zero here,” said Alam, who has an MBA and held a director position in credit analysis with Standard Chartered, a British bank, in Dhaka.

“The barrier for us is the lack of Canadian experience. There’s still a lack of recognition of our international experience.”

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration. Follow him on Twitter: @nkeung

Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

Published

3 années ago

août 10, 2021

admin

Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline.

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors.

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity.

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement.

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level.

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet.

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

admin

In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

admin

MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.