Working in their field of study or not

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• Proportion working in their field of study or in equivalent occupations
• Province and overall education-job match rates
• Credentials and overall education-job match rates
• Period of landing and overall education-job match rates
• Occupation-specific credentials and specific education-job match rates
• Sex, age and overall education-job match rates
• Country of education and overall education-job match rates
• Full-time, full-year earnings and education-job match rates
• Summary

Unlike the waves of immigrants who arrived in the 1950s and 1960s, those arriving in Canada since the 1970s have possessed relatively high educational levels. This is a result, in part, of the introduction of a points-based immigrant selection system which places weight on "human capital" criteria, including education, work experience and knowledge of at least one official language. The selection of immigrants through such a system is based on the presumption that the application of such criteria in the selection process will increase employability and ease the transition of new immigrants into the Canadian labour market (Reitz 2007).

Boudarbat and Chernoff (2009) observed that, if one of the main functions of education, obtained either inside or outside the country, is to provide skills that will be used in subsequent employment, then it would be an inefficient use of resources, for both individuals and for society as a whole, not to use their education in their jobs.

This section examines the proportion and characteristics of internationally-educated immigrants working in their field of study or in occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels compared to immigrants who completed similar credentials in Canada and the Canadian-born with a postsecondary education. As shown in the previous box, the methodology used in this report to determine if an individual is working in his/her field of study is not limited to a match between a given instructional program and the best corresponding occupation, but also includes a larger range of occupations requiring similar or higher educational skill levels (for example, individuals with a college-level credential working in an occupation either requiring that level of education or a higher level). Only those who reported not attending school in 2006 are analysed since their outcomes in terms of the type and quality of work are likely to differ from those of individuals who were attending school.

In 2006, slightly more than 1.0 million internationally-educated immigrants aged 25 to 64 reported a postsecondary credential in a field of study that would normally lead to work in one of the targeted occupations as identified by the FCR at HRSDC. Of these, about 87% (or 881,600) reported not attending school in 2006; this share is similar to that of immigrants educated in Canada (85%) and of the Canadian-born with a postsecondary education (90%).

New policy measures to improve the integration of internationally-educated workers from selected occupations into the Canadian labour market are currently being developed by the federal government and concerned stakeholders. Given this, the following section focuses on the education-job match rates of individuals from instructional programs that would normally lead to work in one of the occupations identified in the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

The Framework describes the commitment by provincial and territorial governments and the Government of Canada to work together to create positive change for immigrants in Canada. As part of this commitment, immigrants looking to enter regulated occupations in Canada will receive clear information as early as possible in the immigration process, fair treatment during the assessment process and prompt communication of recognition decisions. Supports will also be extended to both individuals and employers to help enable immigrants' participation in the workforce (FLMM 2009).

According to the Framework, by the end of 2010, individuals in eight occupational groups — architects, engineers, financial auditors and accountants, medical laboratory technologists, occupational therapists¹, pharmacists, physiotherapists and registered nurses — will know within one year² whether their qualifications will be recognized, be informed of the additional requirements necessary for registration or be directed toward related occupations commensurate with their skills and experience. By the end of 2012, six more groups — dentists, engineering technicians, licensed practical nurses, medical radiation technologists, physicians and teachers (K-12) — will also be included.

Proportion working in their field of study or in equivalent occupations

Results from the Census show that less than one in five internationally-educated immigrants aged 25 to 64 reported working in their field of study in 2006. In fact, among the 881,600 internationally-educated immigrants not attending school in 2006 who reported a postsecondary credential in a field of study that would normally lead to work in one of the targeted occupations identified by the FCR Program at HRSDC, about 17% (or 147,600) reported working in the best corresponding occupation (for example, individuals with highest level of education in engineering working as engineers). This proportion increased to 41% when considering occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels (for example, individuals whose highest level of education was in engineering working as architects or in a management occupation) (Table 14).

Results from the 2006 Census showed that Canada-educated immigrants and the Canadian-born with a postsecondary education were more likely than immigrants educated abroad to report working in the best corresponding occupation or in an occupation requiring similar or higher skill levels; slightly less than 30% reported working in the best corresponding occupation and this proportion increased to slightly more than 60% when considering occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels (Table 14).

Table 14 Job status of individuals aged 25 to 64 by immigrant status, period of landing and location of study, Canada, 2006

A considerably high proportion of internationally-educated immigrants (43%) reported working in occupations for which they were over-qualified, while another 16% were simply not working. Slightly more than half (53%) of these over-qualified internationally-educated immigrants were female and about 60% reported being in the prime-working age group of 35 to 54. Slightly less than half (47%) reported being in the country for more than ten years, 33% for five years or less and 21% from six to ten years. Provincially, the highest proportions of over-qualified internationally-educated immigrants were found in Manitoba (64%), Quebec (60%), British Columbia (60%), Ontario (58%), Alberta (56%) and Saskatchewan (53%). The Atlantic Provinces and the Territories showed the lowest proportions of over-qualified internationally-educated immigrants, at 49% and 46%, respectively.

Galarneau and Morissette (2008) observed that "the proportion of long-term immigrants with a university degree found in jobs with low educational requirements, such as clerks, truck drivers, salespeople, cashiers and taxi drivers, rose steadily between 1991 and 2006." Analysis of the 2006 Census data in this report shows similar findings.

As shown in Table 15, independent of their foreign credentials, more than half (54%) of these over-qualified internationally-educated immigrants (i.e., those who reported working in occupations requiring lower skill levels) were found to be working in occupations related to sales and service (32%) or to business, finance and administration (22%). Another 14.5% reported working in occupations unique to processing, manufacturing and utilities.

Table 15 Occupations of internationally-educated immigrants aged 25 to 64 who reported working in occupations requiring lower skill levels, Canada, 2006

In addition, occupations in which over-qualified internationally-educated immigrants were found in 2006 varied according to their postsecondary credential. In the case of over-qualified internationally-educated immigrants with credentials in engineering, for example, 19% reported working in technical occupations related to natural and applied sciences, 17% in occupations unique to processing, manufacturing and utilities (17%) and 9% in clerical occupations. In the case of those with credentials in medicine, 26% were found to be working in technical and related occupations in health, 12% in clerical occupations and 10% in assisting occupations in support of health services.³

As noted at the beginning of this section, the presumption is that the selection of skilled immigrants on "human capital" criteria such as education, work experience, and knowledge of either official language will increase their employability upon their arrival in Canada. However, most studies have reported that the market value of immigrant qualifications in Canada is generally less than for native-born Canadians (Reitz 2007).

Indeed, the analysis reported here finds that while about 41% of internationally-educated immigrants reported working in their field of study or in an occupation requiring similar or higher skill levels, this was the case for about 61% of their counterparts educated in Canada and 63% of the Canadian-born with a postsecondary education (Table 14).

According to Reitz (2007), there are competing explanations for the lower value of immigrant qualifications on the Canadian labour market. One is that a foreign-acquired education is of lower quality than a Canadian education or is not entirely transferable to the Canadian context. An alternate explanation is that internationally-acquired educational qualifications have relevance to Canadian workplace requirements, but for various reasons that relevance is not recognized by Canadian employers or by regulatory organizations who monitor licensed professions and trades people.

Such barriers have important labour market consequences for the mismatched individual, employers and society as a whole. According to a report by Boudarbat and Chernoff (2009), education-job mismatch may cause job dissatisfaction, lead to employee turnover and have a clear negative effect on wages / job status.

Similarly, most studies show foreign work experience to have relatively little value in the Canadian labour market as well. This is usually seen as a discriminatory practice, but in some cases, employers may be justified in wondering whether someone with job skills developed abroad will do as well in a Canadian context. In other words, the transferability of foreign experience may be a variable, just as the transferability of foreign education is (Reitz 2007).

Furthermore, the education-job match rates of immigrants are not only indicative of recognition (or lack thereof) of foreign credentials and work experience, but may reflect other factors as well. These include labour market conditions such as demand for particular occupations; language skills; and personal decisions such as the desire to work in the occupation related to their field of study or in another occupation (Zietsma 2010). Boudarbat and Chernoff (2009) noted that individuals may have various reasons for accepting employment outside their field of study. While there will always be factors that facilitate or restrict individuals in finding a job related to their field of study, personal preferences also play a role. For example, Heijke, Meng and Ris (2003) show that individuals who feel it important to use their knowledge and skills on the job have higher education-job match rates.

Province and overall education-job match rates

Provincially, overall education-job match rates (i.e., match between a given instructional program and the best corresponding occupation or an occupation requiring similar or higher skill levels) were highest for internationally-educated immigrants in the Atlantic Provinces (51%). Overall education-job match rates for internationally-educated immigrants were also above the national average of 41% in Saskatchewan (47%) and Alberta (45%), regions that had strong labour markets in 2006. Canada's largest provinces, Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia had education-job match rates that were at about the same level as the national average (between 40% and 42%) (Chart 1.7).

Chart 1.7 Overall education-job match rates of immigrants aged 25 to 64 by location of study and province, 2006

Credentials and overall education-job match rates

As shown by the 2006 Census, few instructional programs led a majority of internationally-educated immigrants to work in corresponding or equivalent occupations compared to immigrants who completed their highest level of postsecondary education in Canada. In fact, of the 43 categories of credentials leading to the targeted occupations as specified by the FCR program at HRSDC, only 14 led a majority of internationally-educated immigrants to occupations related to their field of study or to occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels. This compares to about 36 for their counterparts who reported completing their education in Canada.

As shown in Table 16, in the case of internationally-educated immigrants, more than half of the top 10 'most favourable' instructional programs (i.e., those for which a majority reported working in the best corresponding occupation or in occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels) led to occupations that required a level of education below the university level; five of these led to regulated trades: heavy / industrial equipment maintenance technologies; carpentry / carpenter; precision metal working; electrical and power transmission installers; and vehicle maintenance and repair technologies. Instructional programs leading to occupations related to health (for example, physicians, medical laboratory technologists and pathologists' assistant and technical occupations in dental health) and to occupations where mathematics skills are very important (for example, engineering technicians and occupations related to computer and information sciences) also had relatively high education-job match rates (Table 16).

Among instructional programs leading to seven of the targeted occupations identified by the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications, only three led a majority of internationally-educated immigrants to occupations related to their field of study or to occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels: clinical / medical laboratory science and allied professions (52%), rehabilitation and therapeutic professions (51%) and pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration (50%). These were followed by internationally-educated immigrants with credentials in nursing (49%), engineering (42%), architecture (39%) and accounting and related services and finance and financial management services (36%) (Table 16).

Table 16 Top 10 'most favourable' instructional programs for internationally-educated immigrants aged 25 to 64, Canada, 2006

Immigrants educated in Canada had higher overall education-job match rates than their counterparts educated outside the country. In fact, as shown in Table 17, six of the top 10 'most favourable' instructional programs for this population led to occupations at the university level, of which five led to regulated health occupations: dentistry (DDS, DMD) and dental residency programs, medicine (MD) and medical residency programs, veterinary medicine (DVM) and veterinary residency programs, pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration, and rehabilitation and therapeutic professions (Table 17).

With overall education-job match rates ranging from 61% to 80%, all instructional programs leading to the seven targeted occupations identified by the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications led a majority of Canada-educated immigrants to the best but not necessarily corresponding occupations: pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration (80%), rehabilitation and therapeutic professions (73%), nursing (65%), architecture (64%), engineering (64%), clinical / medical laboratory science and allied professions (64%) and accounting and related services and finance and financial management services (61%) (Table 17).

Table 17 Top 10 'most favourable' instructional programs for Canada-educated immigrants aged 25 to 64, Canada, 2006

However, even with credentials obtained in Canada, immigrants were slightly less likely than the Canadian-born with a postsecondary education to be working in their field of study or in equivalent occupations. In fact, with the exception of the rehabilitation and therapeutic professions program (73% vs. 71%), education-job match rates of Canada-educated immigrants with credentials leading to the other six targeted occupations identified by the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications were lower than those obtained by the Canadian-born with a postsecondary education: pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration (80% vs. 89%), nursing (65% vs. 70%), architecture (64% vs. 73%), engineering (64% vs. 69%), clinical / medical laboratory science and allied professions (64% vs. 71%) and accounting and related services and finance and financial management services (61% vs. 66%).

Recent research has found that the literacy skills of immigrants may play a role in these differences. Bonikowska, Green and Riddell (2008) found, for example, that while immigrants were more likely than the Canadian-born to have completed a university degree, the skills of the Canadian-born in prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy and problem-solving were significantly higher than those of their immigrant counterparts. Similarly, the skill levels in prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy and problem-solving of immigrants who received part or all of their education in Canada were higher than those of immigrants who received all of their education abroad.

Furthermore, Picot and Hou (2009) argue that when information on the skills (productivity or language ability) of an individual is difficult to obtain, decisions regarding hiring may be made based on the employers' notion (real or perceived, correct or incorrect) of the language skills or productivity levels of the group to which the individual belongs, rather than on those of the individual specifically.

Period of landing and overall education-job match rates

Lower overall education-job match rates for internationally-educated immigrants seem to indicate difficulties for these individuals in finding work in the occupations for which they studied or in an occupation requiring a similar or higher skill level. However, to a certain extent, the mismatch between education and employment decreases as the time spent in Canada increases.

As reported in different studies, one important reason for the relative disadvantage of very-recent immigrants compared to immigrants established in the country for a longer period of time is that the skills immigrants have acquired in their home country are often not directly transferable to the host economy. Furthermore, as reported by Reitz (2007), newly-arrived immigrants nearly always experience a period of adjustment in the new country, including adjustment in the labour market. This is particularly true for those from diverse cultural backgrounds and arriving without pre-arranged employment, a situation which is typical for most immigrants to Canada. Over time, these initial difficulties can be overcome more or less successfully and employment and earnings levels rise.

In fact, as illustrated in Chart 1.8, about 45% of internationally-educated immigrants established in Canada for more than ten years reported working in the best corresponding or equivalent occupations in 2006 compared to about 34% for very-recent immigrants. However, even after ten years in Canada, internationally-educated immigrants still trailed the overall education-job match rate of their Canada-educated counterparts and the Canadian-born by more than 15 percentage points.

Bonikowska, Green and Riddell (2008) reported that although internationally-educated immigrants acquire Canadian work experience over time, another part of the explanation lies in differences in skill levels, especially between foreign-educated immigrants and those who received some or all of their education in Canada. In fact, research has found that the skill levels in prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy and problem-solving of immigrants who received all of their education abroad were lower than those of immigrants who received part or all of their education in Canada.

Chart 1.8 Overall education-job match rates of individuals aged 25 to 64 by immigrant status, period of landing and location of study, Canada, 2006

Occupation-specific credentials and specific education-job match rates

Not all internationally-educated immigrants in the core working-age group of 25 to 64 years old faced the same challenges — depending on the particular occupation they had studied for, some were more likely than others to be working in the best corresponding occupation in 2006.

Not surprisingly, immigrants who studied in programs where there was a clear relationship between educational credentials and the ability to meet the requirements to work — such as for most regulated occupations and trades — generally had higher specific education-job match rates (that is, the match between a given instructional program and the best corresponding occupation) than those who had studied in a field of study for which this relationship was not as clear. Similar results were found in various studies. As noted by Boudarbat and Chernoff (2009), graduates from occupation-specific programs overall have a much higher degree of match than those of graduates from more general programs. This is attributable to the fact that such programs provide specific skills meant for the job market.

As shown in Table 18, internationally-educated immigrants with occupation-specific credentials leading to regulated health professions (for example, physicians (43%), dentists (41%), pharmacists (36%), technical occupations in dental health care and dental assistants (35%), physiotherapists (32%) and veterinarians (30%)) had higher specific education-job match rates than those who had more general credentials such as those leading to work in business, administration and marketing (8%). Higher specific education-job match rates were also found among internationally-educated immigrants with credentials leading to work in the regulated trades (for example, carpenters and construction managers (37%), construction millwrights and industrial mechanics, and heavy-duty equipment mechanics (31%), welders and related machine operators, machinists and machining and tooling inspectors, and tool and die makers (30%)).

Table 18 Specific education-job match rates of internationally-educated immigrants aged 25 to 64 by instructional programs, Canada, 2006

Sex, age and overall education-job match rates

Data from the 2006 Census show that internationally-educated immigrants aged 35 to 54 were more likely than their counterparts in the younger and older age groups (25 to 34 and 55 to 64) to report working in the best corresponding occupation or in occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels.

Men were also more likely than their female counterparts to work in such occupations (49% vs. 33%) and, as shown in Table 19, this was generalized across all instructional programs leading to the targeted occupations as identified by the FCR Program at HRSDC and through the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

According to the literature, there appear to be some contradictions concerning the effects of various demographic factors such as age and sex on the likelihood of working in related fields and this discrepancy is difficult to explain (Boudarbat and Chernoff 2009).

Table 19 Overall education-job match rates of full-time full-year internationally-educated immigrants aged 25 to 64 by instructional programs and sex, Canada, 2006

As shown in Table 19, along with the occupations of geologists, geochemists and geophysicists with a 47 percentage-point difference, the largest education-job match rate gap between male and female immigrants educated abroad were found among those with credentials leading to the identified regulated trades. This may reflect the fact that regulated trades are male-dominated in general in Canada (Skof 2010). As noted by Scullen (2008), limited access is the first hurdle faced by women seeking skilled trade jobs. While progress has been made in certain areas, recruiting and hiring practices that make use of traditional networks (e.g., word of mouth recruitment) often overlook the available pool of women. This may represent an even greater challenge for immigrants who often do not possess social networks upon their arrival in the country and their limited knowledge of and information about the Canadian labour market. Conversely, there was less than a seven-percentage point gender gap among internationally-educated immigrants with credentials leading to occupations in nursing (6 percentage points), secretaries, administrative officers, executive assistants and general office clerks (5 percentage points), medical laboratory technologists and pathologists' assistant (5 percentage points), paralegal and related occupations (4 percentage points), and forestry professionals (less than 1 percentage point).

Country of education and overall education-job match rates

Countries in which internationally-educated immigrants reported receiving their highest credentials also had an impact on the likelihood of working in their field of study. Results from the Census show that, overall, more than 60% of internationally-educated immigrants with credentials from Ireland (70%), New Zealand (66%), Israel (64%) and Australia (63%) reported working in their field of study or in an occupation requiring similar or higher skill levels (Table 20). Conversely, less than 45% of immigrants with credentials from Central America, most of Africa (except the region of Southern Africa), South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda as well as Eastern and Southern Europe found a match within the Canadian labour market for their education.

These results seem to support the statement that "skills generated through education or work experience in some source countries cannot be directly transferred to the Canadian labour market." Language barriers and both real and perceived discrimination may also represent some of the factors influencing the likelihood that an immigrant will be working in their field of study. This may also reflect the fact that Canadian employers do not have sufficient information to be able to assess the quality of education completed in specific countries.

Table 20 Overall education-job match rate: Top 10 countries of education for internationally-educated immigrants aged 25 to 64, Canada, 2006

The importance of country of education also appears to vary according to the credential earned. In the case of regulated occupations, for example, more than 90% of immigrants who received their highest education in medicine from New Zealand, Sweden, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom reported working as physicians or in an occupation requiring similar or higher skill levels. Conversely, less than one quarter of immigrants with medicine credentials from Japan and South Korea reported doing so.

The country of education did not seem to be as important for internationally-educated immigrants with credentials leading to regulated trades. In the case of internationally-educated immigrants with credentials in culinary arts and related services, for example, although education-job match rates were higher for those whose highest educational credential was earned in Oceania (65%), still more than half of immigrants with such credentials from Asia (57%) reported working in the best but not necessarily corresponding occupation.

In the case of credentials leading to non-regulated occupations, the largest overall education-job match rates were found for internationally-educated immigrants from countries in North America, Oceania and Europe.⁴

Full-time, full-year earnings and education-job match rates

Even with the same educational background and working on a full-time full-year basis in occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels, internationally-educated immigrants, with earnings of $56,300 in 2005, generally earned slightly less than their Canada-educated counterparts ($59,500) and the Canadian-born with a postsecondary education ($57,200) in 2005. As shown in Chart 1.9, this was true for all provinces with the exception of the Atlantic Provinces. In fact, at $62,300, median earnings of internationally-educated immigrants residing in the Atlantic Provinces were generally higher than those reported by their counterparts educated in Canada ($56,400) or Canadian-born postsecondary graduates ($49,200).

At $58,600 and $57,700 respectively, median earnings for internationally-educated immigrants who reported working on a full-time full-year basis were also slightly above the national average of $56,300 in Ontario and the Prairie Provinces. Their counterparts in Quebec and British Columbia, on the other hand, showed median earnings lower than the national average, at $46,300 and $53,800, respectively (Chart 1.9).

Chart 1.9 Median earnings of individuals aged 25 to 64 who reported working on a full-time full-year basis in the best corresponding occupation or in occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels by immigrant status, location of study and province, 2005

As shown in Table 21, median earnings of internationally-educated immigrants varied according to field of study, ranging from $23,300 for those with credentials in cosmetology and related personal grooming services programs to $109,000 for those with an MD in medicine.

Earnings gaps between immigrants educated abroad and those educated in Canada also varied by field of study. As shown in Table 21, in 2005, the three largest gaps were found among immigrants with credentials leading to the following occupations: physicians ($109,000 vs. $176,000, for a gap of about $67,000), lawyers and Quebec notaries ($60,300 vs. $92,200, for a gap of about $31,900), and dentists ($70,700 vs. $100,200, for a gap of about $29,500).

Conversely, there was less than a $3,000 difference in earnings in 2005 among immigrants with credentials leading to the following occupations: secretaries, administrative officers, executive assistants and general office clerks ($40,000 vs. $38,900); engineering technicians ($55,900 vs. $57,300); physicists and astronomers ($74,200 vs. $74,300); physiotherapists ($63,200 vs. $61,000); dental support services and allied professions ($39,500 vs. $37,200); psychologists ($61,000 vs. $62,200); social workers ($51,400 vs. $51,300); hairstylists and barbers ($23,300 vs. $22,500); chefs and cooks ($33,800 vs. $35,500); construction millwrights, industrial mechanics and heavy-duty equipment mechanics ($64,800 vs. $64,300); automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers ($47,800 vs. $48,700); and welders and related machine operators, machinists and machining and tooling inspectors, and tool and die maker ($54,800 vs. $55,900).

Table 21 Median earnings of individuals aged 25 to 64 who reported working on a full-time full-year basis in the best corresponding occupation or in occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels by immigrant status, location of study and instructional program, Canada, 2005

Median earnings of full-time full-year internationally-educated immigrants who reported working in the best possible but not necessarily corresponding occupation were much higher than for those who reported working in an occupation for which they were over-qualified ($56,300 vs. $34,300) (Table 21 and Table 22).

Table 22 Median earnings of individuals aged 25 to 64 who reported working on a full-time full-year basis in occupations for which they were over-qualified by immigrant status, location of study and instructional program, Canada, 2005

Similar to what was observed earlier, even with the same educational background and working on a full-time full-year basis in occupations for which they are over-qualified, internationally-educated immigrants, with earnings of $34,300 in 2005, generally earned slightly less than their Canada-educated counterparts ($38,600) and the Canadian-born with a postsecondary education ($39,100) (Table 22).

Summary

If one of the main functions of education obtained either inside or outside the country, is to provide skills that will be used in subsequent employment, then having a poor education-job match rate would be an inefficient use of resources for both individuals and for society as a whole.

Results from the Census show low education-job match rates among internationally-educated immigrants in 2006. In fact, among the 881,600 internationally-educated immigrants who reported a postsecondary credential in a field of study that would normally lead to work in one of the targeted occupations identified by the FCR Program at HRSDC, only about one in five (17%) reported working in the best corresponding occupation. This proportion increased to 41% when considering occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels.

Not surprisingly, internationally-educated immigrants established in Canada for a longer period of time were more likely than more recent immigrants to report working in their field of study or in an equivalent occupation. About 45% of internationally-educated immigrants established in Canada for more than ten years reported working in the best corresponding occupation or in equivalent occupations in 2006 compared to about 42% for recent and 34% for very-recent immigrants. However, even after ten years in Canada, internationally-educated immigrants still trailed the education-job match rate of their Canada-educated counterparts and the Canadian-born by more than 15 percentage points.

The analysis finds that the likelihood of having a good education-job match varies by country from which internationally-educated immigrants reported receiving their highest level of education. Overall, more than 60% of internationally-educated immigrants with credentials from Ireland (70%), New Zealand (66%), Israel (64%) and Australia (63%) reported working in their field of study or in an occupation requiring similar or higher skill levels. On the other hand, internationally-educated immigrants with credentials from countries other than Europe, Oceania, North America, and South Africa had education-job match rates below 45% in 2006.

Not all internationally-educated immigrants faced the same challenges and, depending on the particular occupation they had studied for, some were more likely than others to be working in an associated occupation in 2006. Not surprisingly, immigrants who studied in programs where there was a clear relationship between educational credentials and the ability to meet the requirements to work — such as for most regulated occupations and trades — generally had higher education-job match rates than those who had studied in a field of study for which this relationship was not as direct.

The importance of country of education also varied according to the credential. While more than 90% of immigrants with credentials in medicine from New Zealand, Sweden, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom reported working as physician or in an occupation requiring similar or higher skill levels. However, this was the case for less than one-quarter of those with similar credentials from Japan and South Korea. The country of education played a less important role in the case of internationally-educated immigrants with credentials leading to the occupations of chef, cook, hairstylist and barber.

Even with the same educational background and when working on a full-time full-year basis in occupations requiring similar or higher skill levels, internationally-educated immigrants, with earnings of $56,300 in 2005, generally earned slightly less than their Canada-educated counterparts ($59,500) and the Canadian-born with a postsecondary education ($57,200). Not surprisingly, median earnings of full-time full-year internationally-educated immigrants who reported working in the best corresponding occupation or in equivalent occupations were much higher than for those who reported working in an occupation for which they were over-qualified ($56,300 vs. $34,300).

Among the characteristics associated with an easier transition of internationally-educated immigrants into the Canadian labour market, men were more likely than women to report working in the best corresponding occupation or in equivalent occupations (49% vs. 33%). Differences are also apparent by age, with internationally-educated individuals aged 35 to 44 and 45 to 54 finding higher match rates than their counterparts in the younger and older age groups (25 to 34 and 55 to 64).

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Notes

1. Although 'Occupational therapists' was part of the occupations selected through the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications, this occupation was not identified by the FCR Program and HRSDC and is thus, excluded from the present analysis.
2. For the purposes of this commitment, the assessment and recognition process begins when an individual presents required documentation to the relevant regulatory authority. This point is typically marked by the payment of fees. The commitment is met when a qualifications recognition decision is communicated to the applicant.
3. For additional information on occupations of internationally-educated immigrants not working in their field of study or in occupations requiring at least the same skill level by type of credentials, please contact Client Services, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6 (telephone: (613) 951-7608; toll free at 1- 800-307-3382; by fax at (613) 951-4441; or e-mail: educationstats@statcan.gc.ca.
4. For additional data on match rates of internationally-educated immigrants by instructional program and country of education, please contact Client Services, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6 (telephone: (613) 951-7608; toll free at 1- 800-307-3382; by fax at (613) 951-4441; or e-mail: educationstats@statcan.gc.ca.