Study: Job-related training of immigrants

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Immigrant workers were less likely to receive job-related training than their Canadian-born counterparts.

Between July 2007 and June 2008, 35% of Canadian-born men received job training, compared with 31% of immigrant men. Among women, 37% of the Canadian-born took some job-related training, compared with 33% of immigrant women.

Immigrant employees, both men and women, were less likely to participate in job-related training even after controls were in place for personal, job and workplace characteristics.

Compared with the Canadian-born, certain groups of immigrants were less likely to receive training. For example, 1 in 5 male immigrant employees who were not Canadian citizens participated in job training. Those who immigrated as adults were almost 10% less likely than their Canadian-born counterparts to get training.

As well, immigrants who were admitted in the family class had significantly lower rates of job-related training than Canadian-born workers.

Among those who participated in job-related training, there were no significant differences in the number of training hours and courses between immigrant and Canadian-born workers. For immigrant and non-immigrant participants alike, about 90% reported they were satisfied with the results of training.

Within the immigrant population, the groups less likely to get training were workers with the lowest personal income, those in occupations requiring a high school education or less, and those in smaller firms.

Immigrant employees were also more likely to perceive the presence of barriers to access to training than their Canadian-born counterparts. About 35% of immigrant women and 31% of immigrant men reported barriers, compared with 30% of Canadian-born women and 25% of Canadian-born men.

Major barriers perceived by immigrants included family responsibilities and financial constraints.

Note: Data for this study are from the Access and Support to Education and Training Survey, which was conducted between July 2007 and June 2008. It examined the incidence, subject and objectives of, and satisfaction with, job-related training of immigrant and Canadian-born employees. This study included workers aged 18 to 64, and excluded full-time students and temporary residents. In this study, immigrants are those who were born outside Canada and are naturalized citizens or landed immigrants, regardless of when they arrived in the country.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 5151.

The article "Job-related training of immigrants" is now available in the August 2011 online edition of Perspectives on Labour and Income, Vol. 23, no. 3 (75-001-X, free), from the Key resource module of our website, under the Publications.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this article, contact Jungwee Park (613-951-4598; jungwee.park@statcan.gc.ca), Labour Statistics Division.