The latest release of figures from the most recent Cesnus in 2006 shows that immigrants are better educated than ever. However, other sets of statistics from the same Census also show that unemployment amongst immigrants is higher than in the general population, and that recent waves of immigrnts do not do as well as previous ones. So, what is the problem> We are bringing educated immigrants with skills that do not translate into jobs in the labour force and we need to retool the system: if we need computer programmer sand engineers, why do we waste processing resources on PhDs in philosophy and geography? We need to establish different priorities, so we can tap into the educated immigrants who can find jobs only. Also, not all degrees are created equal and that is a factor that must be considered. See this article from the Globe and Mail today:
Immigrants better educated than general population
ELIZABETH CHURCH
EDUCATION REPORTER
March 5, 2008
Alberto Fonseca arrived in Canada last summer from Brazil, armed with job experience, a master's degree and a place in the geography PhD program at the University of Waterloo. Next week his wife - a master's student in urban planning - will join him.
Together they plan to spend the next four years studying, polishing their English and perhaps starting a family. Depending on how things work out, Mr. Fonseca says they may remain in Canada, far from family and friends.
"It is tough, but that is part of the fun," said Mr. Fonseca, 30, who picked Waterloo because of its expertise in mining sustainability, his area of research.
Increasingly, newcomers to Canada are like Mr. Fonseca and his wife, bringing with them a level of education that exceeds that of the general population and accounting for a growing proportion of those with university and advanced degrees.
Close to one-third of immigrants are university graduates, compared with 23 per cent of the general working-age population, according to numbers from the 2006 census released yesterday. Those numbers also show a huge jump in qualifications of the newest arrivals, with more than half of those who came to Canada between 2001 and 2006 holding a university degree.
At more advanced levels, the gap is even wider. Immigrants now account for close to half of all those in Canada who hold a PhD and 40 per cent of those who have a master's.
"These figures are quite dramatic," said Claire Morris, chief executive officer of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, which has long called on governments to increase funding for graduate studies. "Given the growth in jobs for advanced-degree holders, we haven't been producing the number of graduates we require."
"These figures are quite dramatic," said Claire Morris, chief executive officer of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, which has long called on governments to increase funding for graduate studies. "Given the growth in jobs for advanced-degree holders, we haven't been producing the number of graduates we require."
The census figures indicate that about 57 per cent of all those who hold a PhD - both immigrants and Canadian-born - earned their degree in Canada.
What the numbers do not indicate is whether these recent, highly educated arrivals are putting their credentials to work. "The whole skills recognition issue is a complicated topic. It is one we are hoping to do more research on," said Roland Hébert, an analyst with Statscan's Centre for Education Statistics.
In the case of Mr. Fonseca, he said his wife will likely take a job as a babysitter or in a restaurant at first, but hopes to eventually work in her field. "All of a sudden you come here and you are considered a nobody," he said.
By and large, the new census numbers paint a picture of a country in which education levels are generally on the rise, but where specific groups and regions still lag behind national averages. They show the most educated population is concentrated in major cities and in the youngest group of working Canadians, those between 25 and 34. About 29 per cent of young adults in this group had a university degree in 2006, compared with 18 per cent of those between 55 and 64. By contrast, younger adults were less likely than this older group to be educated in a trade.
Sixty per cent of all working-age adults had some form of postsecondary education in 2006. At the other end of the spectrum, 15 per cent had less than high school.
Young women are more likely than their male counterparts to have a university degree - 33 per cent, compared with 25 per cent. Business is the top choice of study for both genders, with one in five graduates from colleges and universities specializing in this area. The top 10 choices of areas of study were quite different for men and women after that No. 1 pick. Women favoured the health professions and education, men mechanics and repair technologies and engineering.
Individuals with higher levels of education were also more likely to pull up stakes and move to other parts of the country - especially the booming provinces of Alberta and B.C. The census numbers show Alberta gained more than 10,700 residents with university degrees between 2001 and 2006 and British Columbia added about 9,900 to its population.
Saskatchewan lost more than 5,400 university graduates during this same period, and Manitoba shed about 4,400.
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CENSUS
By and large, the new census numbers paint a picture of a country in which education levels are generally on the rise, but where specific groups and regions still lag behind national averages. The most educated population is concentrated in major cities. Alberta and B.C. are benefiting from the migration west of highly educated workers.
PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE AGED 25-64 WHO HAVE A UNIVERSITY CERTIFICATE, DIPLOMA OR DEGRE
National average 23%
TOP CITIES
Canadians living in major urban areas are far more likely to have a university degree than the national average, with city dwellers accounting for 83 per cent of all university graduates. These cities had the highest concentration of university degree holders in 2006:
Ottawa-Gatineau: 35%
Toronto: 34%
Calgary: 31%
Vancouver: 31%
RECENT* IMMIGRANTS WITH AN EARNED DOCTORATE
People's Republic of China: 3.070
India: 1,200
United States of America: 1,010
Iran: 910
Russian Federation: 780
*2001-2006
By region
Europe: 27%
Africa: 11%
Central and South America, Caribbean and Bermuda: 5%
U.S.: 7%
Asia: 49%
Oceania and other**: 1%U.S.
**Includes Greenland
Note: University degrees include bachelor's degrees, certificates above a bachelor level, doctoral degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, law, master's degrees and doctor of philosophy degrees.
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA CENSUS, 2008
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