Cabinet Makers
You are Time Magazine's Person of the Year. You are a digital citizen of the world. You are also an immigrant.
No, my coffee was not spiked this morning. You are an immigrant or the descendant of immigrants, unless your ancestors hail from the First Nations. Now being an immigrant or a descendant of one is nothing to be ashamed about. Everyone comes to Canada to find a better life for themselves. That's what makes this such a magnificent country.
So if we can agree on that, there isn't much difference between the man who arrived on the plane from Lagos last week or someone's great-great grandparents who arrived on a boat from London centuries ago. Why do I bring this up?
Recently, you may have noticed some advertising on television, print and outdoor media promoting the "hireimmigrants.ca" campaign of TRIEC, an initiative funded by the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario and The Maytree Foundation. The campaign is running from December until April and the creative was developed (pro-bono) by the folks at Ethos-JWT.
According to Ratna Omidvar, executive director of TRIEC and The Maytree Foundation, "The purpose of the ads are to raise public awareness facing skilled immigrants and encourage everyone to become an active part of the solution."
The tagline on the creative is self-explanatory. Someone applying for or working a minimum wage job and they are infinitely more qualified. As the tagline states, "If Canada is the land of opportunity, why is an MBA serving fast-food?"
If you think that is an exaggeration, the next time you are in a cab try a little litmus test. Ask the driver when they came to Canada and what was their profession before arriving.
Here are the answers the last three drivers gave me:
1 - Banking Officer
2 - Dentist
3 - Investment Advisor
My sister recently had cabinets installed and the gentleman installing them used to be a doctor in Bulgaria before coming to Canada. Don't get me wrong, home construction/decor is a booming industry but have you been to a hospital lately? Not enough funding or staff. Wait times are brutal. But at least we have enough cabinet makers!
Hospitals in small towns across Canada are being closed down. No one wants to work there. If you think people in e-commerce are getting headhunted like crazy, try the medical field. So I wonder if the aforementioned cabinet maker would mind working in a small town, if it meant he could practice medicine again? Hmm, I wonder what his answer would be...
And I suggest this for purely selfish reasons. If that cabinet-marker was a doctor, wouldn't he be at a higher income-tax bracket that would further help fund our social programs instead of him being potentially dependant on them?
Wouldn't you rather have that lady serving you fries at Burger King, working in a hospital where she might make the difference in the life/death of a loved one? Or be the creative genius behind your next award winning marketing campaign? Or advise how to break out successfully in that foreign market because no one on your team has a clue what to do?
Granted, educational and work experience here in North America is not always equal to other nations in the globe. However, if someone has experience why do we make it so difficult for people to qualify and move ahead?
Why should you as a potential employer hire an immigrant? Not because of charity but as noted on the website:
1.The Canadian-born workforce is shrinking and the demand for labour is growing.
2. Skilled immigrants can help Canadian companies do business with the world.
3. Skilled immigrants bring international expertise.
4. The local market is changing.
After the sponsorship scandal I became cynical about government initiatives but this one has merit. Good on them for bringing attention to the issue and doing it with a compelling campaign.
There are enough cabinet makers in Canada.
