Why Immigrant Skills Are Still Underused in Canada

Immigrant Skills in Canada: Are We Using Talent Well?

Imagine spending years becoming a doctor, engineer, HR professional, accountant, skilled tradesperson or other specialist and then arriving in Canada only to find yourself working far below your qualifications. For many newcomers, this isn't simply a temporary inconvenience. It can become a long period of underemployment, frustration and lost opportunity. Canada attracts immigrants partly because of their education, skills and experience. But attracting skilled people is only one part of the equation.

The bigger question is: are we actually using the skills they already have?

The Problem Is Bigger Than Finding a Job

For someone arriving in Canada, getting the first job can feel like the biggest hurdle. And understandably, many newcomers are willing to take almost any reasonable opportunity to establish themselves, earn an income and gain local experience. The problem begins when the temporary starting point becomes a permanent destination.

A highly educated newcomer might accept an entry-level position while working toward credential recognition. Someone with years of professional experience may take survival employment while improving their language skills. A trained tradesperson may face certification requirements before being able to work at their previous level. There is nothing wrong with starting again.

The concern is when starting again becomes the end of the journey.

Research highlighted in the source material points to significant skills underutilization among recent immigrants across sectors including hospitality, construction and healthcare.

Hospitality: An Important Starting Point, But Not Always the Destination

Hospitality provides employment opportunities for many newcomers. Restaurants, hotels, food services and other businesses can offer an accessible entry point into the Canadian labour market. But many immigrants working in hospitality have education or professional experience in completely different fields. The supplied research notes that immigrants in hospitality are more likely than Canadian-born workers in the sector to be over-educated for their roles.

Language can also become an additional barrier. Someone may have excellent technical knowledge but struggle to demonstrate it in an interview or workplace because they are still developing confidence in Canada's official languages. This creates a difficult situation: the person's capability may be much greater than what their current job allows them to demonstrate.

Construction Has Opportunities but Barriers Remain

Canada needs construction workers, and the sector continues to face significant labour shortages. That should create opportunities for newcomers. Yet the path isn't always straightforward.

Certification requirements, Canadian experience expectations, language and communication requirements, and other barriers can prevent internationally trained workers from immediately moving into roles that match their abilities.

For some workers, the challenge isn't finding a construction job. It's finding a pathway from an entry-level position to a skilled occupation where their earning potential, stability and expertise can grow. That distinction matters.

Healthcare: When Qualification Meets a Wall

Perhaps nowhere is the issue more visible than healthcare. Canada can face shortages of healthcare professionals while internationally trained professionals already living here struggle to enter occupations related to their education. The supplied research highlights significant differences between immigrant and Canadian-born healthcare workers in terms of whether they work in healthcare occupations. It also identifies credential recognition and Canada's fragmented licensing system as important barriers.

This creates a frustrating contradiction. A country can say it needs more healthcare professionals while a qualified professional is already here, working in an unrelated occupation because the pathway into their profession is too difficult, expensive or slow. That isn't simply an immigration issue, it is a workforce-planning issue.

The Newcomer Experience Is More Than "Canadian Experience"

"Canadian experience" is often discussed as though it is a single qualification, but what exactly does it mean?

Does someone with ten years of international experience suddenly lose their ability to lead, manage, analyze, communicate or solve problems simply because they crossed a border?

Of course not.

What changes is the context. Workplaces have different expectations. Communication styles differ. Regulations differ. Professional networks change. Industry terminology can be unfamiliar. Those are real gaps but many can be addressed through orientation, mentoring, bridging programs, targeted training and opportunities to demonstrate competence. The answer doesn't have to be choosing between international experience and Canadian experience. The better approach is learning how to connect the two.

What Employers Can Do Differently

Employers have an important role to play here. Instead of looking only at familiar career paths, hiring teams can ask a more useful question:

What can this person actually do?

Transferable skills can sometimes be hidden behind unfamiliar job titles, organizations or credentials. A candidate who worked as a manager overseas may not have held the exact Canadian job title, but they may have managed teams, budgets, projects, customers and performance.

That experience deserves examination rather than automatic rejection. Employers can also strengthen onboarding, provide mentorship, use skills-based assessments and create clearer pathways for internationally trained workers to demonstrate what they can do.

What Newcomers Can Do

There is also an important personal lesson here, newcomers shouldn't wait for the system to solve everything. If you're working below your previous level, ask yourself:

What is my next rung?

• Maybe it is a certification.
• Maybe it is a stronger professional network.
• Maybe it is improving communication skills.
• Maybe it is a Canadian project that demonstrates your expertise.
• Maybe it is moving laterally into an occupation where your existing skills are more transferable.

The first Canadian job can be important, but it should ideally be viewed as a starting point in a career strategy, not the definition of your career. 

From Survival Employment to Sustainable Employment

This is where I believe the conversation needs to change. Getting someone into a job is important, but employment outcomes shouldn't be measured only by whether someone received a job offer. We should also ask:

• Is this job sustainable?
• Does it provide opportunities to learn?
• Can the person build relevant experience?
• Is there room to progress?
• Does the role make use of their abilities?
• Can they eventually move toward work that matches their potential?

A job can solve today's financial problem, career pathway can change someone's future.

My Perspective as an HR Professional

Having worked in HR across different organizations and countries, I've seen how much context matters when evaluating people. A resume is never the complete story, behind every job title is a collection of skills, decisions, challenges, achievements and experiences.

For newcomers, some of those experiences may be difficult for a Canadian employer to immediately understand. That doesn't make them less valuable, it means both sides may need to work harder to translate them and perhaps that is the opportunity.

Instead of asking newcomers to erase their previous experience and start from zero, we should find better ways to connect what they already know with what Canada's labour market needs. 

Final Thoughts

Canada doesn't simply need more workers, it needs to make better use of the people already here.

For newcomers, the goal shouldn't necessarily be to recreate their previous career exactly as it was. Sometimes a new country requires adaptation, additional learning and even a temporary step backward, but stepping back should ideally lead somewhere. For employers, governments and career professionals, the challenge is to create pathways that help people move from survival employment toward sustainable employment.

And for newcomers, perhaps the most important question isn't:

"How do I get any job?"

It is:

"What job can become the next step in the career I want to build?"

Your first Canadian job may open the door.

What you do with that opportunity determines where the door leads.

What has your experience been with having your education or professional experience recognized in Canada? Have you ever had to start below your previous career level? Share your experience in the comments, it may help another newcomer who is going through the same journey.

Disclaimer

This article is based on publicly available research, professional observations and personal experience. It is intended for general informational purposes and should not be considered personalized immigration, legal, employment or career advice.

Source & Copyright Note

This article is an original commentary and analysis written for TheNaveedShah.com. It was developed after reviewing the supplied editorial by Christian Saint Cyr and the research it discusses. The source material has been used for understanding and commentary, not reproduced or rewritten. The supplied source identifies research from Signal49 (formerly the Conference Board of Canada) in partnership with the Future Skills Centre.