Projects Funded Through 2014 National Call for Proposals


Theme: Pre-arrival Services

Pre-arrival Strategies of Settlement and Integration of Filipinos in Alberta: Bridging Gaps in Immigrant Services in Canada

Research Team: Glenda Bonafacio, University of Lethbridge

The proposed study will rely on interviews and focus groups to examine the use of pre-arrival services. Questions will focus on the information strategies employed by Filipinos destined to Alberta; their use of pre-arrival services; the relative value of those services for meeting the challenges posed by migration; and whether pre-arrival interventions mitigate the need for post-arrival services. The study will help determine how pre-arrival and post-arrival services might be better integrated.

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Orienting Live-in Caregivers

Research Team: Denise L. Spitzer, University of Ottawa; Sara Torres, University of Montreal; and Aimee Beboso, Filipino Community, Ottawa

The research will employ focus groups in the Philippines and in Ottawa-Gatineau to examine the perceived pre-arrival needs of current and former Live-In Caregiver Program workers over the course of their trajectory from temporary to permanent status. Workers will be asked what they learned pre-departure, what would currently be useful to them, and what preferences they have for program delivery and content. Comparisons will be made between perceived needs and the content of pre-departure orientation programs. Recommendations for policy and orientation services will draw on analysis and suggestions by focus group participants.

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Theme: International Students as Future Citizens

The Study-Migration Pathway: Understanding the Factors that Influence the Employment and Retention of International Students as Regulated Health Professionals in Canada

Research Team: Ivy Bourgeault, Christine Covell and Elena Neiterman, University of Ottawa

The project will draw on existing data and will conduct focus groups and interviews with international students and stakeholders in order to explore the study-migration pathways taken by students in regulated health professional education programs in Canada. Important questions centre on the attributes that predict labour market success, the factors that drive student retention and settlement, and the programs and services that are available to provide assistance.

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Theme: The Role of Employers and the Private Sector in Supporting the Integration of Immigrants in Canada

Role of Employers and the Private Sector in Supporting the Integration of Immigrants in Canada 

Research Team: Cathy Woodbeck, Thunder Bay Multicultural Association; Aaron MacMillan, Thunder Bay Multicultural Association; and Brent Kelso, Research Associate.

The study will examine the hiring and integration of newcomers in the Thunder Bay region. Surveys and focus groups will be used to explore the perceptions and behaviours of employers and human resource departments in regard to the hiring of immigrants and foreign trained workers. The study will also investigate how employers envision integrating newcomers into their workforce, what barriers interfere with newcomer hiring, and what workplace training and integration supports are available. In a follow-up phase, employers who have employed newcomers will be asked to assess the social and economic impact this has had on their organization and the community at large.

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Fostering Immigrant Employee Retention Within Companies: An Exploratory Study of the Impacts of Innovative Practices in the Quebec City and Sherbrooke Regions and the Development of a Platform for Promoting Inter-Company Transfer of These Practices

Research Team: Annick Lenoir, University of Sherbrooke; Hélène Cardu, Laval University; Mohamed Soulami, AIDE, Sherbrooke; and Frédérick Proteau, SOIIT, Quebec City

Many private sector firms and employment organizations in Quebec and Sherbrooke employ innovative programs to retain newcomers. Unfortunately, few studies exist assessing promising retention practices in regions characterized by low immigration. The research study will use a literature review and a small number of employer interviews, conducted in Quebec City and Sherbrooke, to establish a typology of promising practices and to assess their potential impact and possible pitfalls. The analysis will contribute to the development of an evaluative instrument for assessing the value of promising practices on newcomer retention by SMEs in cities such as Quebec and Sherbrooke. A further goal of the project is to develop an analytic platform for the transfer of successful practices between SMEs and larger businesses.

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