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A Newcomer’s Introduction to Canada
Finding a Job, Building a Future
![line](/web/20061026001116im_/http://www.cic.gc.ca/images/common/rule.gif)
In Canada, full-time jobs are common.
However, a growing number of people have
part-time or short-term jobs. Women make
up a large portion of the work force and
many have important, senior positions.
Canadians may change jobs and careers
several times. This is often a personal choice.
Sometimes people must change jobs because
the economy changes. For these, and other
reasons, getting a job is not easy. Many
people are looking for work.
Newcomers to Canada rarely enter the job
market quickly and often must start with jobs
below the skill level they worked at in their
home country. Once they have Canadian job
experience and their ability in English or
French improves, so do their job prospects.
International educational
assessment services in Canada
Even if you have many years of experience,
you do not automatically have the right to
practise your trade or profession in Canada.
In most cases, you will need to have your
credentials assessed to see whether you need
more training, education or Canadian work
experience before being qualified to practise.
You may wish to get your credentials
evaluated before you leave for Canada. The
following organizations can tell you how to
get your credentials assessed.
The Canadian Information Centre for
International Credentials Web site
(www.cicic.ca) has information on academic
and occupational credentials for all of
Canada and lists nearly 200 professions and
trades, in alphabetical order. When you click
on your profession or trade, you will find a
link to the address and telephone number of
the professional or trade association, the
addresses and telephone numbers of
provincial evaluation services and regulatory
agencies, and labour market information (for
example, whether there is a demand for
people with your particular trade or
profession). You will also be able to find out
whether your profession or trade is regulated.
The Centre does not grant equivalencies or
assess credentials. It gives advice and refers
newcomers to sources of help. To contact the
Centre by mail, write to:
Canadian Information Centre for
International Credentials
95 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 1106
Toronto, Ontario M4V 1N6
Tel.: (416) 962-9725
Fax: (416) 962-2800
E-mail: info@cicic.ca
URL: www.cicic.ca
Provincial credential assessment
services
Provincial assessment services assess
academic credentials for a fee. The assessment
will tell you how your education compares
with educational standards in the province
where you are planning to settle. You can
give your assessment to any employer in
Canada. It may help you in your job search.
Alberta
International Qualifications Assessment
Service (IQAS)
Alberta Advanced Education
9th Floor, Sterling Place
9942 - 108 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J5
Canada
Tel.: (780) 427-2655
Toll-free in Alberta: 310-0000, ask for 427-2655
Fax: (780) 422-9734
Web site: http://www.advancededucation.gov.ab.ca/iqas/iqas.asp
British Columbia
International Credential Evaluation
Service (ICES)
3700 Willingdon Avenue
Burnaby, British Columbia V5G 3H2
Canada
Tel.: (604) 432-8800
Toll-free within North America: 1 866 434-9197
Fax: (604) 435-7033
E-mail: icesinfo@bcit.ca
Web site: http://www.bcit.ca/ices/
Manitoba
Academic Credentials Assessment Service – Manitoba (ACAS)
Manitoba Labour and Immigration
Settlement and Labour Market Services Branch
5th Floor, 213 Notre-Dame Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 1N3
Canada
Tel.: (204) 945-6300
Fax: (204) 948-2148
E-mail: glloyd@gov.mb.ca
Web site: http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/immigrate/
newcomerservices/7a.html
Northwest Territories*
International Qualifications Assessment
Service
Alberta Advanced Education
9th Floor, Sterling Place
9942 - 108 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J5
Canada
Tel.: 1 866 692-7057 (toll-free within the
Northwest Territories) or (780) 427-2655
Web site: http://www.advancededucation.gov.ab.ca/iqas/iqas.asp
* The Government of the Northwest Territories provides this
service through an interprovincial agreement with the
Government of Alberta.
Ontario
World Education Services Canada (WES
Canada)
45 Charles Street East, Suite 700
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1S2
Canada
Tel.: (416) 972-0070
Fax: (416) 972-9004
Toll-free: 1 866 343-0070 (from outside the
416 area code)
E-mail: ontario@wes.org
Web site: http://www.wes.org/ca/
Quebec
Service des évaluations comparatives
d’études (SECE)
Centre de reconnaissance des formations et
des compétences
Ministère de l’Immigration et des
Communautés culturelles (MICC)
255, boulevard Crémazie Est, 8e étage
Montréal (Québec) H2M 1M2
Canada
Tel.: (514) 864-9191 or
1 877 264-6164
Fax: (514) 873-8701
E-mail: equivalences@micc.gouv.qc.ca
Web site: http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/
anglais/education/educational-report.html
Saskatchewan*
International Qualifications Assessment
Service
Alberta Advanced Education
9th Floor, Sterling Place
9942 - 108 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J5
Canada
Tel.: 1 800 999-3965 (toll-free within
Saskatchewan) or (780) 427-2655
Web site: http://www.advancededucation.gov.ab.ca/iqas/iqas.asp
* The Government of Saskatchewan provides this service
through an interprovincial agreement with the Government of
Alberta.
Other provinces and territories
For credential evaluation services in New
Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador,
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut
or Yukon, you can contact any of the services
listed on this page.
Employment in regulated professions and trades
In Canada, about 20 percent of jobs are
regulated by the government to protect
public health and safety. For example, nurses,
doctors, engineers, teachers and electricians
all work in regulated professions. People who
want to work in regulated jobs need to get a
licence from the regulatory body in the
province in which they live. If you want to
know more about how to enter a particular
profession or trade in a particular province, you should contact the provincial regulatory
body for that job. The professions are selfregulating
and they administer the provincial
laws that apply to their profession. Rules for
entering professions also differ from province
to province. (For more information, visit
www.cicic.ca.)
TIP > Regulated occupations in Canada
usually require many years of education,
training and practical experience, and the
successful completion of a technical
examination. Technical examinations to
enter a trade or profession can be very
expensive. |
Language skills
It is important to learn English or French as
quickly as possible. Many newcomers begin
life in Canada by looking for a job that will
allow them to learn or improve their English
or French. The Language Instruction for
Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program gives
eligible adult immigrants the chance to take
basic English or French classes at no charge.
People with foreign credentials need a Test of
English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score
to enter Canadian colleges and universities.
Colleges and universities offering courses in
French use various French language tests.
TIP >
Look into taking English classes through the LINC Program. |
Job opportunities
- Service Canada Centres: Counsellors at
these centres can give you free advice and
information about job and language
training and work creation programs for
newcomers. They can help you plan an
effective job search and prepare a résumé
of your education and experience. Each
centre also has listings of available jobs on
computer or on bulletin boards.
- Classified advertisements: Every daily
newspaper in Canada has a classified
advertisements section where you will find
a variety of jobs listed. In many areas,
there are also weekly or monthly
employment papers that advertise jobs.
- Local help: To help newcomers prepare to
enter the Canadian work force or to gain
access to their profession or trade in
Canada, immigrant-serving organizations
have a variety of programs. Some give
workshops on job search skills, where
participants get an overview of the job
market where they live. Participants learn,
among other things, how to write a good
résumé and how to behave in an
interview. In some areas, there are job-finding
clubs, mentoring programs,
programs to help you get volunteer work
experience, and wage subsidy programs.
- Your personal “network”: One of the
best ways to learn about jobs is to talk to
people. They can be people you know
well, or people you have just met. Even if
they cannot lead you directly to a job,
they can provide you with information,
ideas and names of other people who
might be able to help and encourage you.
- The Internet: Many Web sites have
information on job opportunities. You can
search for a job on-line in any part of
Canada. Some sites also give practical
advice on how to plan your job search.
Others allow you to apply for a job
directly on the Internet, or to post your
résumé (in English or French). When you
do this, your résumé goes into a database
that can be searched by employers. Try
visiting the following Web sites, run by the
federal government.
- www.directioncanada.gc.ca: The Going
to Canada Immigration Portal is an
important resource that provides on-line
information and services from a variety of
government and non-government sources
to help you make informed decisions
about coming to Canada.
- www.hrsdc.gc.ca: This is the national
Web site of Human Resources and Social
Development Canada, a federal
department.
- www.jobsetc.ca: This site will take you
through all the steps needed to choose a
career and to carry out an effective work
search.
- www.workinfonet.ca: This is a national
site for career and labour market
information. It will link you to job
information for each province and
territory. It also includes information on
self-employment, education and training.
- www.SkillNet.ca: This is a large network
of job and career information Web sites. It
can link you to full-time and part-time job
opportunities.
- www.canadait.com: This site is a gateway
to job opportunities in the information
technology and communications sector. It
has links to company directories and
associations that will help you find
potential employers.
- www.jobs.gc.ca: This site posts federal
government jobs available across the
country and accepts on-line applications.
TIP > When you arrive in Canada, refer to the
pamphlet called “Finding Help in Your
Community” in the booklet Welcome to
Canada: What You Should Know for a list
of the immigrant-serving organizations
across Canada. Contact an agency in your
area and ask about job search programs for
newcomers. |
Employment laws
Federal and provincial laws protect workers
and employers by setting minimum wage
levels, health and safety standards, and hours
of work. They provide for maternity leave,
annual paid vacation and protection of
children who are working. There are also
human rights laws that protect employees
from unfair treatment by employers based on
sex, age, race, religion or disability.
Discrimination
There are laws to protect workers from
discrimination. For example, an employer
must hire employees on the basis of their
qualifications. Employers cannot refuse to
hire you because they don’t like your skin
colour or your religion. This is discrimination.
It is also discrimination if you are refused a
job because of your age, sex, marital status,
disability or sexual orientation.
Deductions and Taxable Benefits
Whether you are a Canadian citizen or a
permanent resident, when you are hired,
your employer will deduct money from your
pay cheque to pay for the following.
Income tax
All Canadian residents who are old enough
to work must file an income tax return each
year, whether they earned any money or not.
That is the law. If you are working for an
employer, a percentage of your pay cheque
will be deducted and sent to the federal
government to cover the income tax that
you owe. If too much is deducted, you will
get a refund. If you paid too little, you will
have to pay more. This money helps pay the
cost of government services.
Canada Pension Plan
A small part of your pay cheque goes into
this plan. When you retire, you will receive a
monthly pension from the federal
government. The amount will vary according
to how many years you worked in Canada
before retiring and what your salary was.
Residents of Quebec pay into the Quebec
Pension Plan, which works the same way as
the federal plan. These plans also include
survivor’s pensions for the spouses of
deceased pensioners, disability pensions and
death benefits.
Employment Insurance
When you are working, a small percentage of
your pay cheque will be deducted each
month to go into the Employment Insurance
Account. Your employer contributes to the
account as well. Employment insurance gives
money to eligible, unemployed Canadian
residents for a short time, while they look for
a new job or take some training to learn
new skills.
Taxable benefits
Your employer may provide some benefits
(for example, life insurance, special medical
care, a dental plan or a private pension plan)
that are taxable.
Union dues
If you are in a union, and the union has an
agreement with your employer, some money
will be deducted to pay for the union dues.
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