本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Leon Lee is one of the 6000 Chinese skilled workers who were attracted to Canada with faith that there are myriad opportunities awaiting them in 1998. He has every merit that immigration officers look for—well educated, young, having work experience and speaking fluent English.
It has been two years since this hopeful newcomer landed in his new home Canada. He was busy putting up Shanghai Bai Choi and other typical oriental vegetables onto the stacks in a supermarket in a sunny Sunday afternoon. With only two big oriental supermarkets in downtown Ottawa, the Chinese grocery store at the east end of Chinatown that Lee worked for was rather busy. In all the hustle and bustle, no one would bother to notice this humble young man.
Graduated with a master degree in electronic engineering from the University of Alberta last fall, Lee was lured to the silicon valley of Canada by the promising prospect in high-tech fields. Unfortunately, his arrival was followed by the beginning of rounds of layoffs in high-tech sectors in the capital city.
Unable to land a job after months of searching, Lee walked in the Chinese supermarket in east Somerset street and took up jobs from loading and unloading stuffs, cleaning kitchen to selling fish. “I am starting to enjoy the fun of doing these sheer physical labour work,” the 27-year-old man said, putting aside the double diploma he earned from two prestigious universities both in China and in Canada.
“People think I am wasting myself away but I don’t see that way,” Lee laughed off every compassionate words and kind encouragement he received from friends and acquaintances. Lee said he wouldn’t have had much time to meditate the meaning of life if he had started with a decent job and impressive paycheck.
“To be honest, I will have to really think about it if I am offered a better job now. I got more hours here,” Lee’s self-mocking humor is a hallmark of him and has helped him maintain his dignity and be able to enjoy his day. Lee said his personal value has never been under such close scrutiny in the past. “I think about the grand question about life a lot,” Lee said.
“Maybe I should be thankful for not given the opportunity because I lack Canadian experience,” he humor once again prevailed. Admitting that China might be a better arena for him to pursuing his career, Lee said he will go back to China when having enough fun of observing people of various hues coming to the store.
Lee is not alone to have compromised high hopes for daily bread. According to a research came out earlier this year, the skill under utilization among new immigrants is a persistent and pressing problem facing the Canadian society.
The study by Jeffrey Reitz, a professor in ethic and immigration study, found that the over emphasis on Canadian experience and the non-recognition of foreign credentials are the major hurdles stopping skilled immigrants to get a job in their profession. The research showed that the labour market value of foreign work experience in Canada is near zero. Canadian employers place very limited value on work experience of immigrants gained from abroad.
But the paradox is that the unwanted foreign experience is so highly played up by the immigration department. Canada’s immigration policy puts as much weight on work experience as on other important items such as knowledge of official languages when it comes to the evaluation of applicants under the skilled worker category.
Henry Fung, who is lecturing a job search workshop in Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre, believed that the government is not doing enough to facilitate a smooth transition for professional new immigrants.
Fung said he often heard of employers complaining about the lack of local experience and language proficiency among new immigrants. “But they themselves got to be a bit more culture sensitive too,” the Hong Kong origin said.
“It is unfair to put all the blames on the immigrants. They have already swallowed too much pressure and conducted endless self-examination after encountering major setbacks in a completely new culture. The government and employers should have done more to make their lives easier,” Fung said.
“More often than not, employers do not care to learn the customs and cultures of other countries. Asian people, for example Chinese people, they speak a totally different family of languages so distant from European languages. They are not talkative and expressive doesn’t lower their knowledge and technical skills,” Fung said, “if more employers are willing to spend time understanding this culture-based difference, it is them who eventually benefit.”
Fung believed Ottawa has a better chance to develop the first large mandarin-speaking community across Canada due to the fact that the majority of Chinese immigrants came to Ottawa in recent years are from mainland China.
The government-funded Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre, which now provides job search workshop for Chinese newcomers on a monthly basis, has became the first and must visit place for new chinese immigrants.
“Many newcomers underestimate the difficulties for locating a job before moving to Canada. This adds to their frustration when shutting out,” Fung said. He suggested would-be immigrants do more research before setting their foot on the new land.
Being a first generation immigrant himself, Fung admitted that immigration is a painful decision. Still not having the sense of belonging to the country, Fung said he never regretted of migrating with his whole family, although his grown-up daughter has decided to go back to Hong Kong in search of a better fortune.
As Canada is absorbing more skill workers, the call for better integrating them into our workforce becomes more urgent than ever before. According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, of all the 197,129 immigrants actually landed last year, 118,462 are skilled workers. 77.79% applicants and dependants intended to work. China continues to be the top immigration source country in the past three year, with 27,410 skill workers and their dependants came to Canada last year, almost doubling the number of 1998.
The figure shows that many more Chinese professionals are planning or packing to come to the other side of the Pacific Ocean, supposing they can realize their dreams and build up a better life for their children here. When they are pleased to access an open door to a more equal and democratic country, they are also faced by the daunting tasks of knocking open some other doors, which are well beyond their control.
By Wendy Luo
Photographed by David Lee更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
It has been two years since this hopeful newcomer landed in his new home Canada. He was busy putting up Shanghai Bai Choi and other typical oriental vegetables onto the stacks in a supermarket in a sunny Sunday afternoon. With only two big oriental supermarkets in downtown Ottawa, the Chinese grocery store at the east end of Chinatown that Lee worked for was rather busy. In all the hustle and bustle, no one would bother to notice this humble young man.
Graduated with a master degree in electronic engineering from the University of Alberta last fall, Lee was lured to the silicon valley of Canada by the promising prospect in high-tech fields. Unfortunately, his arrival was followed by the beginning of rounds of layoffs in high-tech sectors in the capital city.
Unable to land a job after months of searching, Lee walked in the Chinese supermarket in east Somerset street and took up jobs from loading and unloading stuffs, cleaning kitchen to selling fish. “I am starting to enjoy the fun of doing these sheer physical labour work,” the 27-year-old man said, putting aside the double diploma he earned from two prestigious universities both in China and in Canada.
“People think I am wasting myself away but I don’t see that way,” Lee laughed off every compassionate words and kind encouragement he received from friends and acquaintances. Lee said he wouldn’t have had much time to meditate the meaning of life if he had started with a decent job and impressive paycheck.
“To be honest, I will have to really think about it if I am offered a better job now. I got more hours here,” Lee’s self-mocking humor is a hallmark of him and has helped him maintain his dignity and be able to enjoy his day. Lee said his personal value has never been under such close scrutiny in the past. “I think about the grand question about life a lot,” Lee said.
“Maybe I should be thankful for not given the opportunity because I lack Canadian experience,” he humor once again prevailed. Admitting that China might be a better arena for him to pursuing his career, Lee said he will go back to China when having enough fun of observing people of various hues coming to the store.
Lee is not alone to have compromised high hopes for daily bread. According to a research came out earlier this year, the skill under utilization among new immigrants is a persistent and pressing problem facing the Canadian society.
The study by Jeffrey Reitz, a professor in ethic and immigration study, found that the over emphasis on Canadian experience and the non-recognition of foreign credentials are the major hurdles stopping skilled immigrants to get a job in their profession. The research showed that the labour market value of foreign work experience in Canada is near zero. Canadian employers place very limited value on work experience of immigrants gained from abroad.
But the paradox is that the unwanted foreign experience is so highly played up by the immigration department. Canada’s immigration policy puts as much weight on work experience as on other important items such as knowledge of official languages when it comes to the evaluation of applicants under the skilled worker category.
Henry Fung, who is lecturing a job search workshop in Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre, believed that the government is not doing enough to facilitate a smooth transition for professional new immigrants.
Fung said he often heard of employers complaining about the lack of local experience and language proficiency among new immigrants. “But they themselves got to be a bit more culture sensitive too,” the Hong Kong origin said.
“It is unfair to put all the blames on the immigrants. They have already swallowed too much pressure and conducted endless self-examination after encountering major setbacks in a completely new culture. The government and employers should have done more to make their lives easier,” Fung said.
“More often than not, employers do not care to learn the customs and cultures of other countries. Asian people, for example Chinese people, they speak a totally different family of languages so distant from European languages. They are not talkative and expressive doesn’t lower their knowledge and technical skills,” Fung said, “if more employers are willing to spend time understanding this culture-based difference, it is them who eventually benefit.”
Fung believed Ottawa has a better chance to develop the first large mandarin-speaking community across Canada due to the fact that the majority of Chinese immigrants came to Ottawa in recent years are from mainland China.
The government-funded Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre, which now provides job search workshop for Chinese newcomers on a monthly basis, has became the first and must visit place for new chinese immigrants.
“Many newcomers underestimate the difficulties for locating a job before moving to Canada. This adds to their frustration when shutting out,” Fung said. He suggested would-be immigrants do more research before setting their foot on the new land.
Being a first generation immigrant himself, Fung admitted that immigration is a painful decision. Still not having the sense of belonging to the country, Fung said he never regretted of migrating with his whole family, although his grown-up daughter has decided to go back to Hong Kong in search of a better fortune.
As Canada is absorbing more skill workers, the call for better integrating them into our workforce becomes more urgent than ever before. According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, of all the 197,129 immigrants actually landed last year, 118,462 are skilled workers. 77.79% applicants and dependants intended to work. China continues to be the top immigration source country in the past three year, with 27,410 skill workers and their dependants came to Canada last year, almost doubling the number of 1998.
The figure shows that many more Chinese professionals are planning or packing to come to the other side of the Pacific Ocean, supposing they can realize their dreams and build up a better life for their children here. When they are pleased to access an open door to a more equal and democratic country, they are also faced by the daunting tasks of knocking open some other doors, which are well beyond their control.
By Wendy Luo
Photographed by David Lee更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
