MBiz

BIZ 'peg MAY 2014 | 15 success skills centre M any immigrants who come to Manitoba are highly- skilled professionals with years of experience. Discovering they can't get a job in their fi eld can be devastating, and they're sometimes surprised to learn they must be recertifi ed to work in professions such as medicine. "They don't know they will need to go back to study, but eventually they realize that they cannot be in their profession until they can get their certifi cation," says Nubia Duran, labour marketing specialist at Success Skills Centre. "We recommend which association to approach. We provide information, but we don't tell them what to do." Not everyone has the luxury of being able to work toward recertifi cation before earning an income. That's why many doctors, lawyers and other professionals end up working in jobs that require little training. "If they need to fi nd a job right away to feed their family, they take a survivor job so the process will take longer for them. But if people work really, really hard, they will get (their certifi cation)," Duran says. "These people come from all over the world, and they're really well educated. Most have their master's degrees." Working in partnership with federal and provincial agencies and the City of Winnipeg, Success Skills Centre helps bridge the gap between new immigrants and employers of all kinds. It keeps a database to help match employers with skilled workers, and it offers work experience programs, assistance with resumes and cover letters, job interview preparation and mentorship. Cultural differences often prove to be a barrier to employment. For example, Canadian employers want concise, punchy resumes, but a typical resume might run to six or seven pages in a worker's home country. "They include pictures and personal information, such as whether or not they're married or have children," Duran says. "It's really hard to go from that to fi tting all their experience into two pages." Rany Jeyaratnam, labour marketing specialist and program coordinator, says a lot of time at the centre is spent working on resumes, as many people simply turn to templates they fi nd on the Internet. "It may be a good resume, but that's not you — that's not your resume. Anyone can put 'team player' on their resume, but are they really? We make sure their resume is the right resume for them." The centre also focuses on helping immigrants sharpen the soft skills they need to succeed in the Canadian job market. "A lot of employers want to know whether or not an employee can fi t within their company," Jeyaratnam says. "Cultural differences are a big thing. An immigrant's view of things is very different. They have to learn how to sell themselves to employers." The centre helps clients with self marketing, and it can provide direct introductions to mentors and employers. "Expectations are high for professionals who come here, and I'm not sure we have that much work for professionals," Jeyaratnam says. "Some of them need a mentor and we will fi nd them one." Every client has unique skills, education, and experience. And once they get their foot in the door, they usually land jobs. Duran says the main challenge for immigrants is knowing how to approach potential employers. And she encourages business owners to give them a chance to succeed. "Most of the time they get hired after their work experience," she says. "We hope to fi nd more employers to be hosts for these work experiences. This way, immigrants can show companies that they have skills." STARTING OVER SKILLED IMMIGRANTS OVERCOME HURDLES IN THE JOB MARKET by Holli Moncrieff MBiz_spring2014.indd Sec2:o MBiz_spring2014.indd Sec2:o 5/14/14 8:26:52 AM 5/14/14 8:26:52 AM

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