Awareness and Leadership

• Identify a diversity champion within the most senior levels of the organization (e.g. CEO or other senior executive).
• Build awareness among executives and hiring decision makers that skilled immigrants are now a significant segment of the Canadian population and labour pool, and that they have been accepted into Canada specifically for their skills and education (i.e. through a points system).
• Educate hiring decision makers in your company/organization about the various business drivers for employing skilled immigrants (e.g. shrinking workforce, globalization, specific skill sets within the skilled immigrant pool).
• Create awareness among sales and marketing leaders of the value of skilled immigrants for access to international markets, and the development of local niche/ethno-specific markets.
• Build awareness among executives and hiring decision makers of the value and transferability of international skills and credentials.
• Build awareness among hiring decision makers and diversity managers of the key differences between "visible minorities" and "skilled immigrants" to ensure programs for visible minorities are also inclusive of skilled immigrants.

• Establish a recruitment philosophy specifically focused on skills, irrespective of the country where those skills were developed.
• Source skilled immigrant talent in occupations where the Canadian labour force is not producing the necessary skills.
• Plan for a diverse workforce by training hiring decision makers on diversity principles, including principles most relevant to skilled immigrants.
• Make a specific commitment to hiring skilled immigrants by allocating a number of positions to Career Bridge candidates or similar programs for skilled immigrants.
• Identify and work with community agencies that assist skilled immigrants.
• Develop multicultural marketing strategies and leverage the cultural knowledge and language abilities of skilled immigrants to serve multicultural market needs.
• Identify international universities that produce excellent graduates in the skill areas in which you recruit.

Selecting

• Screen resumes with a sharp focus on skills. Establish skill-focused criteria and do not screen out resumes because an applicant has international credentials and experience.
• When interviewing, use a consistent set of questions for all candidates for a specific position, and place a strong focus on skills. Ensure that two or more people interview each candidate.
• Review interview questions and testing tools to ensure they do not create potential language barriers or cultural misunderstandings (i.e. ensure use of simple language and minimal slang or colloquialisms).
• Develop and implement a policy that deliberately recognizes and values international experience and the quality of international degrees, unless Canadian experience is required for licensing.
• In regulated professions where licensure is required, consider hiring skilled immigrants at an associate level until their licensure requirements are met, when they can be fully employed at the appropriate level.
• When rejecting applicants, give clear reasons. If you are rejecting candidates due to poor communication skills, insufficient credentials or other reasons, provide the actual reason and do not say "lack of Canadian experience" if this is not the real reason.