What happens after they arrive?

How settlement organizations are

essential to successful refugee

resettlement Lori Wilkinson, PhD

Department of Sociology

Metropolis North America, Washington D.C.

16 November 2017

Immigrants to Canada 2006-2015

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

All Other Immigrants

Refugee claimants

Resettled Refugees

Sponsored Family

Members

Economic immigrants

Source: IRCC, 2017

Facts and Figures

Refugees to Canada by Type, 2004-2015

On average, between 43% and 57% of refugee claimants are admitted to Canada on

humanitarian grounds.

Calculations from Immigration and Citizenship Canada. 2017. Facts and Figures

-

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Government Assisted Refugees Privately Assisted Refugees

Refugee Claimants

Asylum seekers

(refugee claimants)

Refugee Claimants Canada, 1999-2017

-

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

50,000

Figures for 2017 include Jan-August 2017 only

CIC Facts and Figures, 2008; CIC Facts and Figures 2015; IRCC Open Data, 2017

Age at Arrival, Refugees 2006-2015

20%

14%

50%

13%

3%

0 to 14 years of age

15 to 24 years of age

25 to 44 years of age

45 to 64 years of age

65 years of age or

more

Source: IRCC, 2017

Facts and Figures Another 9% are aged

25-29 years

Findings from Syrian Refugee Study 2017; Western Settlement Survey 2013

Top Initial Difficulties in Resettling

• Training to get a job

• Difficulty finding work

• Credential and experience

recognition

• Orientation to the Canadian

economy

• Links to employers

• Learning English or French

Wilkinson, et.al, 2017; Wilkinson et. al, 2013

Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images 2017

Wilkinson et al., 2017; Wilkinson et al., 2014

Language and settlement needs

Photo credit: University of Reading, 2017

Self-rated English Pre-arrival among refugees, 2015

Source: IRCC Monthly data release, May 2017

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

English Neither English Neither English Neither

GAR PSR BVOR

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Not attending English Class by Sex & Province

Findings from Syrian Refugee Study 2017

Wilkinson et al., 2017

25%

17%

13%

3% 3% 4%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba

Females Males

Why not attending language class?

Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba

Male Female Male Female Male Female

Currently on

wait list 5% 4% 1% 6% 0% 4%

Plan to attend

class 1% 10% 0% 8% 4% 9%

No plans to

attend 11% 11% 2% 3% 0% 0%

Attending 83% 75% 97% 83% 96% 87%

Findings from Syrian Refugee Study 2017

Wilkinson, et. al., 2017

What programs are available Language

• Canadian Language Benchmark online assessment tool

• Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC)

• Cours de langue pour les immigrants au Canada (CLIC)

• CLB programs offered by accredited agencies

• « Community » led English language and conversational

classes

• English language for professionals

• Some free courses, others fee-for-service

• Online English language training and exercises

• Some places offer childminding

Language affects settlement outcomes • Social integration, sense of well being, connections with community all

increase when newcomers can speak local language

• Family well-being is decreased when some members don’t learn the official

language

• Critical period hypothesis: learning a language after age 12 more difficult

• Average earnings 50% higher among those who can speak official

language

• Literacy test scores account for 2/3 of earnings disparities among

university-educated immigrants

• Language is the second most important determinant of occupational

success

• Ability to understand spoken English is more important to labour market

integration than speaking, writing and reading it

Skuderud 2012; Ferrer et al., 2006; Carnevale et al., 2001

Shields and Prince 2002

Employment and settlement needs

Images courtesy of hirearefugee.ca 2017; Peace by Chocolate 2017 and

Maclean’s Magazine, 2017

Used employment services by city

4%

53%

13%

35%

0%

35% 30%

13%

28%

46%

19%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Findings from Syrian Refugee Study 2017

Wilkinson, et al., 2017

Trouble finding work that matches qualifications

by province and class Western Settlement Survey 2013

Wilkinson, et. al, 2016

Occupational “mobility” of refugees

67%

53%

75%

66%

21%

12%

28%

9%

31%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

BC AB SK MB

Status decline Stayed same Status increase

Western Settlement Survey 2013

Wilkinson, et. al, 2016

What programs are available? • Resume and interview preparation, career counseling, computer

classes, some internship

• Credential recognition

– International Credential Assessment Services of Canada

– Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials

– Each province and each profession has its own regulations

– Office of the Fairness Commissioner (Ontario, Quebec, MB)

• Talent Beyond Boundaries

• Refugee Career Jumpstart Project

• English language on the job

• Danby Appliances, hirearefugee.ca, Syriana

Employment influences settlement

success

• Allow refugees to work as soon as possible (Canada & US)—have greater

employment rates than countries that prevent refugees from entering labour

market (Sweden & Switzerland)

• Speed up process of asylum hearings (Spain, Norway, Germany, Canada &

Sweden)

• Reintroduce “Matching Grant” programs in Canada and US that provide

employers with financial incentives to hire refugees

• Settle in areas where population is declining

• Access to language training as soon as possible

• Provide higher level language training to assist in gaining better employment

• Provide language training on-the-job

• Mentorship and internship possibilities increase linkages with potential employers

Hainmueller, Hangartner and Lawrence 2016; Smith 2015; Legrain 2017

Resettlement of Syrians in Western Canada

2017 Study thanks: • Brooks and County Immigration Services

• Calgary Catholic Immigration Societies

• Catholic Social Services (Edmonton)

• Catholic Social Services (Red Deer)

• Lethbridge Family Services-Immigrant Services

• Moose Jaw Multicultural Council

• Regina Open Door Society

• Saskatoon Open Door Society

• YWCA Prince Albert

• La Société franco-manitobaine/Accueil francophone (Saint-Boniface)

• Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council Inc. (Winnipeg)

• Westman Immigrant Services (Brandon)

Additional Thanks

• Joseph Garcea, University of Saskatchewan

• Pallabi Bhattacharyya, Jill Bucklaschuk, Abdul-Bari Abdul-Karim, Annette

Riziki, Janine Bramadat, Palak Dhiman, Kaitlyn Fraser University of

Manitoba; Marie Schnieders, University of Oldenburg (Germany)

• Jason Disano, Jessica McCutcheon, Martin Gaal and team at the Social Science

Research Laboratory, University of Saskatchewan

• Stephanie Kot and Milton Ortega, AAISA

• Bob Cram, SAISIA

• Vicki Sinclair, Teresa Burke and Bequie Lake, MANSO

• Donna Wall and John Biles, IRCC

• Funding: IRCC-Prairie Region & NHQ, MITACs Globalinks, University

of Manitoba Undergraduate Summer Internship Fund

Additional Findings, Reports and Information

Immigration Research West

92 Dysart Road

University of Manitoba

Winnipeg, MB Canada R3T 3M5

Email: Lori.Wilkinson@umanitoba.ca

irw@umanitoba.ca

http://umanitoba.ca/about_IRW.html

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