What happens after they arrive? How settlement ... · Resettled Refugees Sponsored Family Members...
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What happens after they arrive?
How settlement organizations are
essential to successful refugee
resettlement Lori Wilkinson, PhD
Department of Sociology
Metropolis North America, Washington D.C.
16 November 2017
Immigrants to Canada 2006-2015
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
All Other Immigrants
Refugee claimants
Resettled Refugees
Sponsored Family
Members
Economic immigrants
Source: IRCC, 2017
Facts and Figures
Refugees to Canada by Type, 2004-2015
On average, between 43% and 57% of refugee claimants are admitted to Canada on
humanitarian grounds.
Calculations from Immigration and Citizenship Canada. 2017. Facts and Figures
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Government Assisted Refugees Privately Assisted Refugees
Refugee Claimants
Asylum seekers
(refugee claimants)
Refugee Claimants Canada, 1999-2017
-
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
50,000
Figures for 2017 include Jan-August 2017 only
CIC Facts and Figures, 2008; CIC Facts and Figures 2015; IRCC Open Data, 2017
Age at Arrival, Refugees 2006-2015
20%
14%
50%
13%
3%
0 to 14 years of age
15 to 24 years of age
25 to 44 years of age
45 to 64 years of age
65 years of age or
more
Source: IRCC, 2017
Facts and Figures Another 9% are aged
25-29 years
Findings from Syrian Refugee Study 2017; Western Settlement Survey 2013
Top Initial Difficulties in Resettling
• Training to get a job
• Difficulty finding work
• Credential and experience
recognition
• Orientation to the Canadian
economy
• Links to employers
• Learning English or French
Wilkinson, et.al, 2017; Wilkinson et. al, 2013
Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images 2017
Wilkinson et al., 2017; Wilkinson et al., 2014
Language and settlement needs
Photo credit: University of Reading, 2017
Self-rated English Pre-arrival among refugees, 2015
Source: IRCC Monthly data release, May 2017
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
English Neither English Neither English Neither
GAR PSR BVOR
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Not attending English Class by Sex & Province
Findings from Syrian Refugee Study 2017
Wilkinson et al., 2017
25%
17%
13%
3% 3% 4%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba
Females Males
Why not attending language class?
Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba
Male Female Male Female Male Female
Currently on
wait list 5% 4% 1% 6% 0% 4%
Plan to attend
class 1% 10% 0% 8% 4% 9%
No plans to
attend 11% 11% 2% 3% 0% 0%
Attending 83% 75% 97% 83% 96% 87%
Findings from Syrian Refugee Study 2017
Wilkinson, et. al., 2017
What programs are available Language
• Canadian Language Benchmark online assessment tool
• Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC)
• Cours de langue pour les immigrants au Canada (CLIC)
• CLB programs offered by accredited agencies
• « Community » led English language and conversational
classes
• English language for professionals
• Some free courses, others fee-for-service
• Online English language training and exercises
• Some places offer childminding
Language affects settlement outcomes • Social integration, sense of well being, connections with community all
increase when newcomers can speak local language
• Family well-being is decreased when some members don’t learn the official
language
• Critical period hypothesis: learning a language after age 12 more difficult
• Average earnings 50% higher among those who can speak official
language
• Literacy test scores account for 2/3 of earnings disparities among
university-educated immigrants
• Language is the second most important determinant of occupational
success
• Ability to understand spoken English is more important to labour market
integration than speaking, writing and reading it
Skuderud 2012; Ferrer et al., 2006; Carnevale et al., 2001
Shields and Prince 2002
Employment and settlement needs
Images courtesy of hirearefugee.ca 2017; Peace by Chocolate 2017 and
Maclean’s Magazine, 2017
Used employment services by city
4%
53%
13%
35%
0%
35% 30%
13%
28%
46%
19%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Findings from Syrian Refugee Study 2017
Wilkinson, et al., 2017
Trouble finding work that matches qualifications
by province and class Western Settlement Survey 2013
Wilkinson, et. al, 2016
Occupational “mobility” of refugees
67%
53%
75%
66%
21%
12%
28%
9%
31%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
BC AB SK MB
Status decline Stayed same Status increase
Western Settlement Survey 2013
Wilkinson, et. al, 2016
What programs are available? • Resume and interview preparation, career counseling, computer
classes, some internship
• Credential recognition
– International Credential Assessment Services of Canada
– Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials
– Each province and each profession has its own regulations
– Office of the Fairness Commissioner (Ontario, Quebec, MB)
• Talent Beyond Boundaries
• Refugee Career Jumpstart Project
• English language on the job
• Danby Appliances, hirearefugee.ca, Syriana
Employment influences settlement
success
• Allow refugees to work as soon as possible (Canada & US)—have greater
employment rates than countries that prevent refugees from entering labour
market (Sweden & Switzerland)
• Speed up process of asylum hearings (Spain, Norway, Germany, Canada &
Sweden)
• Reintroduce “Matching Grant” programs in Canada and US that provide
employers with financial incentives to hire refugees
• Settle in areas where population is declining
• Access to language training as soon as possible
• Provide higher level language training to assist in gaining better employment
• Provide language training on-the-job
• Mentorship and internship possibilities increase linkages with potential employers
Hainmueller, Hangartner and Lawrence 2016; Smith 2015; Legrain 2017
Resettlement of Syrians in Western Canada
2017 Study thanks: • Brooks and County Immigration Services
• Calgary Catholic Immigration Societies
• Catholic Social Services (Edmonton)
• Catholic Social Services (Red Deer)
• Lethbridge Family Services-Immigrant Services
• Moose Jaw Multicultural Council
• Regina Open Door Society
• Saskatoon Open Door Society
• YWCA Prince Albert
• La Société franco-manitobaine/Accueil francophone (Saint-Boniface)
• Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council Inc. (Winnipeg)
• Westman Immigrant Services (Brandon)
Additional Thanks
• Joseph Garcea, University of Saskatchewan
• Pallabi Bhattacharyya, Jill Bucklaschuk, Abdul-Bari Abdul-Karim, Annette
Riziki, Janine Bramadat, Palak Dhiman, Kaitlyn Fraser University of
Manitoba; Marie Schnieders, University of Oldenburg (Germany)
• Jason Disano, Jessica McCutcheon, Martin Gaal and team at the Social Science
Research Laboratory, University of Saskatchewan
• Stephanie Kot and Milton Ortega, AAISA
• Bob Cram, SAISIA
• Vicki Sinclair, Teresa Burke and Bequie Lake, MANSO
• Donna Wall and John Biles, IRCC
• Funding: IRCC-Prairie Region & NHQ, MITACs Globalinks, University
of Manitoba Undergraduate Summer Internship Fund
Additional Findings, Reports and Information
Immigration Research West
92 Dysart Road
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB Canada R3T 3M5
Email: [email protected]
http://umanitoba.ca/about_IRW.html
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