The labour market often feels paradoxical: Many employers experience skills shortage while many immigrants end up being unemployed or underemployed. This presentation examines the root causes of this mismatch: The way immigrants candidates look for work and the way employers select candidates do not match for cultural reasons. In addition, most recent immigrants come from countries that are significantly more hierarchical and collective than Canada; as a result, their approaches to manager – employee relationships and to teamwork may not match the expectations of their managers and team mates. By combining insightful diagrams, telling anecdotes and powerful analysis, this presentation helps employers understand the mindset of immigrants so that they can avoid eliminating good candidates for reasons that are not related to on-the-job performance.

Target Audience: STEM and larger companies (ideally those with an HR department)

About Our Experts:

Dr. Lionel Laroche

Over the past 20+ years, Lionel has facilitated cross-cultural training workshops for over 200,000 people in 20+ countries. Lionel has presented to the members of many chambers of commerce in several countries. His presentations are informative, thought-provoking and practical; they are built on his own experience doing business with people all over the world and the shared experiences of his clients.

Rudy Grewal

Rudy has earned his Honours Bachelor of Arts and Science in an Interdisciplinary Study of Human Nature from Lakehead University, specializing in psychology and sociology. Currently, Rudy is about to complete his Honours Bachelor of Social Work from Lakehead University and is doing his practicum at the Simcoe County Local Immigration Partnership. Both in school and out, Rudy is actively involved with human rights, equity, diversity, and inclusion research, initiatives, and training.