Nora Wilmot’s Post

Hidden in plain sight, international newcomers are a treasure trove of underutilized talent. There are over 2 million highly-skilled immigrants in the US who experience underemployment or unemployment. 45% of immigrants in the workforce boast a college education and are deemed highly skilled, however, 25% of them find their talents underutilized. Want to learn more about why transformation is important to actualize the workforce of the future? Read the full report at: https://lnkd.in/dKmH-fii. BYU Ballard Center for Social Impact

Do you know the difference between a Labour Shortage, a Skills Shortage and a Skills Mismatch? Chi-Chi Egbo skillfully defined each of these labour issues happening in Canada. She told us it was important to understand the labour force problem so we can solve it properly. Chi-Chi and Melissa Macfarlane Heidmiller, BA, CDP, were on deck to present at our monthly Communitech Future of Work and Learning Peer-to-Peer meeting yesterday. Melissa and Chi-Chi encourage us to remove artificial barriers to employment and to carefully consider what education and experience are actually required for a role. Melissa mentioned a "gender decoder" that helps employers ensure they are not subtly discouraging people from applying by the language they use. She also suggested asking employees in an exit interview, "What skills did you gain working here?" so the interview has a positive tone and you know what skills are leaving your company. So many helpful nuggets! If you attended the meeting, feel free to post what you learned in the commments. I met more interesting people, including Janaparan G. CSM, CSPO who works with CMHA supporting people with mental health issues in the workplace. Stay tuned for info about the Future of Work and Learning Peer 2 Peer meeting. #futureofwork #skillsgap #canada #smallbusinessowners #startupfounders    

I can't wait to hear from expert panelists about the thorny challenge of integrating immigrant talent in Waterloo Region and beyond. 🗻 Join us Thursday, May 16 at 12 noon in person at Communitech for Bridging Cultures, Building Futures: Integrating Immigrant Talent panel with Olusola Oladele, Dave Thomas, Mandip Kanjiya ✈️, Jim Miller and moderator Tanja Gancevich. This is the monthly meet-up of The Future of Work & Learning Peer to Peer. The panel will discuss how integrating immigrant talent is critical to meeting current and future labour needs in the Waterloo Region. 🛠 We met with the panelists yesterday. I heard the frustration of talented immigrants not being hired and employers needing talent. 😖 Some mentioned the lack of knowledge of helpful resources, like organizations that assess foreign credentials. 👩🔬 We mentioned things that Canadians are too polite to discuss, like employers being reluctant to hire immigrants if they can't understand their accents or pronounce their names. 😟 Event agenda: 12:00 pm Eat your brown bag lunch and network 🥕 12:30 panel discussion begins 1:15 Q&A begins 1:30 -2:00 pm Network and leave when you need to Join others in the Waterloo Region and beyond interested in the future of work and learning. This friendly, informal group is open to tech founders and staff, educators, government leaders, HR and employment professionals etc. RSVP on MeetUp https://lnkd.in/gug4unmg #futureofwork #futureoflearning #hiringimmigrants #Canada #WaterlooRegioin

The labor market is becoming increasingly diverse, yet many immigrant skills remain underutilized. Did you know that over a quarter of immigrants with foreign degrees are in jobs that require only a high school diploma? Check out this insightful article from CareerWise on Culturally Responsive Career Development and learn how organizations can better engage and retain immigrant talent. #Diversity #Inclusion #CareerDevelopment #Immigration #fridayread

Are you interested in the thorny challenge of integrating immigrant talent in Waterloo Region and beyond?🗻 Join us in person at Communitech on Thursday, May 16, at 12 noon for the Bridging Cultures, Building Futures: Integrating Immigrant Talent panel with Olusola Oladele, Dave Thomas, Mandip Kanjiya ✈️, Jim Miller, and moderator Tanja Gancevich This is the monthly meet-up of The Future of Work & Learning Peer to Peer. The panel will discuss how integrating immigrant talent is critical to meeting current and future labour needs in the Waterloo Region. 🛠 When we with the panelists. I heard the frustration of talented immigrants not being hired and employers needing talent. 😖 Some mentioned the lack of knowledge of helpful resources, like organizations that assess foreign credentials. 👩🔬 We mentioned things that Canadians are too polite to discuss, like employers being reluctant to hire immigrants if they can't understand their accents or pronounce their names. 😟 Event agenda: 12:00 pm Bring your own lunch and network 🥕 12:30 panel discussion begins 1:15 Q&A begins 1:30 -2:00 pm Network and leave when you need to Join others in the Waterloo Region and beyond interested in the future of work and learning. This friendly, informal group is open to tech founders and staff, educators, government leaders, HR and employment professionals etc. RSVP on MeetUp https://lnkd.in/gug4unmg #futureofwork #futureoflearning #hiringimmigrants #Canada #WaterlooRegion

An important article from CERIC discusses how to help #immigrant talent integrate into the Canadian #workforce. While immigrants might find talking about their achievements boasting, Canadians expect it, and use that knowledge to promote, or offer #opportunities. #Cultural differences can lead to fewer opportunities for #newcomers, and manager-lead communication can be a solution to this problem. #CulturalAwareness is key to bring about #integration in the workplace. What are your experiences with cultural differences where you work? #interculturalcommunication #promotion

Each year, 10-12 million young Africans enter a labour market offering only 3 million formal jobs. So livelihoods take informal, agile, resilient forms. But informal workers face opportunity gaps: → In gaining more, ethical informal work → In formalising their way of working, if that makes sense for them → In it being easier and more valuable for large companies and organisations to work with the informal sector, for mutual, carefully-shaped benefits We help clients (and their value chain partners) think, design and embed what we’ve come to call “first-rung” opportunities: working with the informal sector, getting people a first rung (back) onto a career ladder. We’ve shared more of our work and thinking in our latest piece. Read here: https://lnkd.in/eekhygCk

How can we build an ecosystem around inclusive jobtech to create viable, scalable platforms that provide quality jobs for Africans? Check out this piece by Jobtech Alliance that outlines how they're using a systemic lens to ensure that #jobtech interventions go beyond isolated solutions, contributing to shaping the #jobtechsector for increased sustainability and inclusivity. The Alliance is working across multiple fronts to shift the dynamics of the current #jobtech system, including: - Building awareness and knowledge of jobtech - Nurturing an engaged, informed, and inspired community - Nurturing appropriate policies, standards, and tools, fostering a funding network, and - Stimulating global demand for African talent Read more: https://lnkd.in/dTabZmrc Michelle Hassan Carmen Wamukoya Precious Manyara Nomso O. Wairimu Gitahi Jacob Winiecki Phoebe K. #inclusivejobtech #systemicchange #jobcreation #talentdevelopment

 📣 In 2017, immigrants accounted for 17% of the total civilian labor force in the United States. 👷♀️ Immigrants mainly work in private households, manufacturing, and agriculture industries. 👉 With immigration increasing worldwide, leaders of organizations need to consider the opportunity this presents to identify and hire diverse talent, increasing creativity and incurring effective organizational change. ❓ Want to kown how to do this? Visit my website, where I talked about how to increase awarness and support from immigrant workers in the USA.

Join us Thursday, May 16 at 12 noon in person at Communitech for Bridging Cultures, Building Futures: Integrating Immigrant Talent panel with Olusola Oladele, Dave Thomas, Mandip Kanjiya ✈️, Jim Miller and moderator Tanja Gancevich. This is the monthly meet-up of The Future of Work & Learning Peer to Peer. The panel will discuss how integrating immigrant talent is critical to meeting current and future labour needs in the Waterloo Region. 🛠 We met with the panelists yesterday. I heard the frustration of talented immigrants not being hired and employers needing talent. 😖 Some mentioned the lack of knowledge of helpful resources, like organizations that assess foreign credentials. 👩🔬 We mentioned things that Canadians are too polite to discuss, like employers being reluctant to hire immigrants if they can't understand their accents or pronounce their names. 😟 Event agenda: 12:00 pm Eat your brown bag lunch and network 🥕 12:30 panel discussion begins 1:15 Q&A begins 1:30 -2:00 pm Network and leave when you need to Join others in the Waterloo Region and beyond interested in the future of work and learning. This friendly, informal group is open to tech founders and staff, educators, government leaders, HR and employment professionals etc. RSVP on Meetup https://lnkd.in/gug4unmg