“We were able to see what it felt like to be the last person picked at school,” said Deborah Knopp, benefits administrator at Pacific Community Resources.
PCR’s staff consists of about 30% immigrants.
Knopp said lack of communication among staff members made some feel left out, and added that employees need to make an effort to include each other across language barriers to avoid resentment.
Knopp was one of 20 business professionals who attended the last two workshops hosted by the Surrey Board of Trade and Douglas College focused on hiring and retaining immigrant employees.
“A lot of us had the same communication a-has,” Knopp said.
The first three HR Solutions for Immigrant Talent Series workshops have been so popular the series is going to be repeated in October and perhaps again in January, said workshop leader John Harrison.
Employers are coming to Harrison with a range of issues, but he said hiring immigrants is all about breaking some of the old rules.
“Let go of what your perfect employee is and pick someone with a good foundation,” Harrison advised. “Then the employer has to put in the work.”
That work could include setting an employee up with English classes or investing time in teaching them about the Canadian market.
“It’s always worthwhile to put effort into anybody. You can get stuck on hiring just for the skills, but you want to hire on the potential,” he said.
Added Harrison, “The right attitude is the baseline of ability.”
The series was funded by the Immigrant Employment Council of BC to address unemployment and underemployment in immigrants, said Karen Zukas, IEC-BC’s communications manager.
“Our role is to help employers to connect with the supply,” Zukas said. “One of the supply sources is skilled immigrants.”
Surrey has the fastest-growing immigrant population in Metro Vancouver, according to Statistics Canada.
“Employers want to tap into that talent,” she said.
The Surrey Board of Trade’s HR training program on retaining immigrant employees was awarded gold at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s annual general meeting held at the end of September for its leadership in connecting with educators to address the skills gap. •
