Industry
initiatives are finding jobs for new Canadians – and this proactivity is also
fixing the skilled labour shortage at the same time. Specifically, the program
Immigrants in Trades Training (ITT) has recently assisted Abinder Sharma to
re-establish his career in the trades. The ITT mandate is the initiative of the
Industry Training Authority (ITA).
According
to the B.C. Trade Occupations Outlook, the province can expect to experience a
skilled labour shortage of at least 160,000 by 2015. ITT is assisting skilled
new Canadians who already have technical skills from their home countries, but
need Canadian certification.
Sharma
was an experienced electrician and electrical engineer in India. In 2010, he
moved to British Columbia with his wife and two daughters to pursue better
opportunities for his family. However, Sharma was concerned that differences in
his certification, his culture and his age would stop him from doing the type
of skilled work here that he had done as an electrical engineer in India.
With
the help of the ITT program, Sharma received personalized support, mentorship,
and financial assistance to pay for the courses he needed in order to learn
about the Canadian Electrical Code and to challenge the Red Seal.
“It
was a tough decision to come to Canada and start over again. This program
helped me get my previous work experience recognized. Now I'm working at a
level similar to where I was in India,” he says.
In
early 2011, Sharma passed the Red Seal exam. As a Red Seal certified
electrician, the Surrey resident was able to secure a full-time position as a
construction manager with BC Hydro at its Mica Generating Station, north of
Revelstoke.
Bill
Hanson, an engineering team lead with BC Hydro, says Sharma reinforces the
value of both ITT and hiring a skilled new Canadian.
“When
we met Abinder, it was obvious he was qualified for the job,” says Hanson. “It
makes sense to hire a skilled immigrant who has work experience and just needs
Canadian certification.”
–
News Canada
