|
Immigrant Skills Utilization in the Hospitality, Construction and Health Care Sectors
Editorial by Christian Saint Cyr
National Director / Canadian Job Development Network
.
According to new research, recent immigrants are often one-and-a half to two-times more likely to be over-qualified for the jobs they are working in. This is creating significant challenges for several sectors currently reporting significant labour shortages.
The research was conducted by Signal49 (formerly the Conference Board of Canada) and was conducted in partnership with the Future Skills Centre. It looks at whether workers have the skills required; levels of over-education; and the challenges this presents for local employers.
While we typically will look at one study in the Job Development Pulse, in this case Signal 49 has published three separate reports examining immigrant skills utilization as it pertains to the hospitality, construction and health care sectors.
In each case, the reports make recommendations for government and other policy makers about the future supports recent immigrants and employers will benefit from in achieving greater skills utilization.
Immigrant Skill Utilization in the Hospitality Sector
According to Signal 49, "almost half of Canada's tourism revenue (42 per cent) is generated by hospitality, representing $124 billion in 2023 alone. Accommodation accounts for 27 per cent of Canada's tourism GDP, with food and beverage services contributing another 15 per cent."
Hospitality employers report that Canada's Express Entry system makes it difficulty to retain entry-level workers because these TEER 4 and 5 positions don't earn immigrants enough points for permanent residency.
Recent cut-backs to temporary foreign workers and international students have severely curtailed employers' ability to recruit and retain workers in the hospitality sector.
Employers are still able to recruit permanent residents, but they are often far more educated or trained in alternative sectors.
Immigrants in the hospitality sector are 1.4 times more likely than their Canadian-born counterparts in the hospitality sector to be over-educated for the jobs they are working in.
Lack of English-language capability, as well as French, often limit an immigrant's ability to fully utilize their skills and education.
Low proficiency in Canada's official languages can overshadow immigrants' technical skills and competencies in hospitality roles. Some employers are addressing this by translating onboarding materials and incorporating hands-on skill demonstrations into their hiring process.
All too often, hospitality roles become a refuge for skilled immigrants hoping to get their credentials recognized, increase their language capability and complete Canadian educational programs.
Researchers believe that government and other other stakeholders need to adopt new measures to help facilitate this process.
Hospitality Sector Suggestions for Policy Makers
- Develop joint workforce plans to address regional labour market needs
- Leverage transferable skills and language diversity in the hospitality workforce by providing tailored training and career opportunities
- Prepare for the impact of immigration policy changes by strengthening recruitment and workforce integration for domestic workers and newcomers already in the country
Whether in the form of hiring international students or temporary workers, these options are becoming increasingly rare for employers. This research demonstrates the value of recent immigrants who are already in our community.
Immigrant Skill Utilization in the Construction Sector
"Statistics Canada reports that since 2016, the Canadian construction sector's ability to fill vacant positions has deteriorated faster than that of other sectors. In 2025, more construction businesses cited labour shortages as their primary barrier to growth than businesses in any other sector. Without action, Canada will be short 85,500 construction workers by 2033," Signal49's report on construction concluded.
In the construction industry, skills underutilization is not only far more common for recent immigrants, it also impacts the permanency of their work.
Being over-educated for one's job, working in temporary or involuntary part-time roles, or being unemployed - affects immigrants and Canadian-born citizens in construction differently.
Involuntary part-time work is the most pronounced form of underutilization for both groups, but immigrants experience this at 1.8 times or nearly twice as often as Canadian-born citizens.
In 2024, overeducation was a primary way immigrants' skills were underutilized in the construction sector. When researchers broke this down by educational attainment, they found that immigrants with bachelor's degrees have the highest overeducation rates in the sector.
While Canada is better at integrating foreign-trained tradespeople into our labour market, for recent immigrants attempting to obtain unskilled work, the challenges are much greater.
Trade certification processes (eg: Red Seal) and Canadian experience requirements take time and prevent skilled immigrants from accessing construction jobs that match their qualifications.
Language and communication skills are also a common employment barrier for immigrant construction workers.
Employers are attempting to modify their recruitment and onboarding strategies to better support recent immigrants. Some are using language-matching strategies -- pairing workers with shared language backgrounds and building crews from the same language communities -- to hire immigrant workers while managing construction site safety risks.
Construction Sector Suggestions for Policy Makers:
- Expand certification programs focused on local and regional high-demand construction skills
- Form strategic partnerships to train immigrant construction talent so they can hone their transferable skills
- Develop sector-specific language and communication training
Employers in the construction sector seem more willing to modify their employment strategy to accommodate immigrant workers. It's extremely helpful to work with employers to not only identify the specific roles they hope to fill, but the specific tasks they need performed. This will allow you to tailor your marketing strategy but also better support job seekers with resume and interview preparation.
Immigrant Skill Utilization in the Healthcare Sector
While hospitality and construction form important sources of survival jobs for recent immigrants, healthcare remains a critical area of aspirational employment. This sector is the goal for many immigrants hoping to return to their primary occupation or obtain employment in an area related to their education and training.
While healthcare employers across Canada are facing major labour shortages, the data suggests much of this could be addressed through better integrating internationally-trained healthcare professionals.
Signal 49 cautions, "Canada's healthcare system is facing acute labour shortages, but the sector is failing to leverage many internationally training health care workers already in the country. In 2021, only 67 per cent of immigrant physicians worked in the healthcare sector, compared with 95 per cent of their Canadian-born counterparts. Even fewer immigrant healthcare professionals (58%) held any health-related occupations."
Whether in the form of credential recognition; working with professional colleges and other licensing bodies; or financial supports for skills development, senior levels of government have been working harder to integrate recent immigrants. Nevertheless, there is so much more that needs to be done.
Immigrant healthcare professionals are more than twice as likely to be overeducated for their jobs than their Canadian-born counterparts. This gap is widest for those with university education above the bachelors level.
The immigration system prioritizes high-skilled immigrants based on education and language proficiency, but it has a long way to go to ensure those credentials will be recognized in Canada.
Canada's fragmented licensing system across provinces and territories creates delays and costs that disproportionately affect internationally trained healthcare professionals, contributing to their skill underutilization.
Health Care Sector Suggestions for Policy-Makers
- Expand interprovincial licensure agreements gradually toward a coordinated, pan-Canadian licensure framework that makes healthcare credentials portable across the country
- Expand provisional licensure to all provinces and territories so that internationally trained healthcare workers can practice under supervision while completing full licensure
- Involve employers in targeted recruitment missions that assess internationally trained health professionals, match them to in-demand roles, and transition them directly into these positions on arrival in Canada
- Establish more bridging programs that offer early, hands-on training for international healthcare professionals across specializations
In presenting these three reports, we see the challenges recent immigrants experience in these three sectors, but also across the broader labour market.
I do believe there is room to be encouraged. When Canada began to ramp-up international student acceptance and the utilization of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in the past two decades, the goal almost ignored the fact that we already had immigrants, and other Canadians, struggling to find employment.
By stepping back from these two alternatives, employers and government will be left with the labour supply which remains. This will not only include recent immigrants but others who are struggling to find employment including young workers, those displaced later in life, Indigenous Canadians, those with disabilities and a whole host of individuals who are attempting to overcome personal and financial barriers to achieve sustainable employment.
My hope is that leaders and those who develop policy, recognize that every Canadian who wants to contribute to our labour market, should not only have that opportunity, but also be supported to make the best personal contribution they are capable of making.
We’ll be discussing the value of discovery in job development at our #MotivatingMondays meeting of the Canadian Job Development Network, Tuesday May 19th at 8:30am Pacific; 9:30am Mountain; 10:30am Central; 11:30am Eastern; 12:30pm Atlantic and at 1pm in Newfoundland.
.
On the morning of Tuesday May 19th 'Click this Link' to join the session.
..
Subscribe Now to Save 50%
THREE BRAND NEW LABOUR MARKET REPORTS
Discount for a limited time only
....
Alberta Labour Market Report
www.jobdevelopment.org/albertalmr
.
Prairie Labour Market Report
www.jobdevelopment.org/prairielmr
.
Atlantic Labour Market Report
www.jobdevelopment.org/atlanticlmr
..
To learn more, email Christian Saint Cyr, at: csaintcyr@labourmarketsolutions.ca
| 
