Most of the employers across Atlantic Canada find it challenging to find qualified employees because there is a dearth of applicants who are skilled enough for the jobs. According to a report by the Harris Center at Memorial University in Newfoundland titled Employer Attitudes Towards Hiring Newcomers and International Students in the Atlantic Provinces, this is the truth of Atlantic Canada.
The report is a concise one that covers employers’ attitudes and perceptions about employment. Employers go through certain challenges associated with hiring newcomers and immigrants. It covers the different hurdles that oppose the integration of newcomers in the Canadian labor market.
Atlantic Canada includes the four easternmost provinces in Canada that are New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
According to the report, most of the Atlantic Canada employers who received applications from newcomers and immigrants accepted at least one of the immigrants and international students.
Additionally, almost 88 percent of employers who were part of the survey said that they had positive experiences with immigrant workers they hired. They had positive things to say because they found that international hires had more skill and expertise in the field they were employed in. they also found that immigrant workers had more reliability.
This report shows that employers in Atlantic Canada prefer hiring immigrant workers. However, the Canadian provinces find it difficult to retain immigrants in their respective regions. Therefore, immigrant workers do not find stable employment for the most part.
Low immigration rates in Atlantic Canada
Apart from the above challenge, there is a population crisis ongoing in Atlantic Canada. The region has an aging population with a declining fertility rate. On the other hand, the international students who come to study in the region leave it for better opportunities of employment. Employment seeking is the biggest reason for leaving the immigrant population. Therefore, Atlantic Canada lacks a young and dynamic employable population.
Such is the situation around the Atlantic Canada region that only 3 percent of the immi
