Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - May 2008
Visible minorities in Canada are more likely to hold university degrees, according to a new study by the Association for Canadian Studies.
The report is based on the latest census data released by Statistics Canada, which found that the most educated group in Canada are Korean Canadians, where 74.7 per cent held university degrees. In comparison, at 25.9 per cent, white males are the least likely to hold a university degree.
Analysts say that these figures are a result of Canada’s immigration policy which favours those with higher education. Post-secondary degrees translate to points that qualify an immigrant for permanent residency. Furthermore, those who hold university degrees are more likely to encourage their children toward further education.
While this is good news in terms of boosting the education rates in the country, there is also a disturbing trend unfolding simultaneously, says Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies. The higher education rates of minorities are not necessarily leading to better employment and wages.
In fact, the Association for Canadian studies has found that the wage gap is increasing between Canadian-born workers and immigrants with the same level of education. Jedwab says this is likely due to social and cultural biases within the workplace. Many employers are still hesitant when it comes to assessing foreign credentials. In some cases, there may even be an underlying racism at play.
The key, according to Jedwab, is to raise public awareness. Canada must acknowledge and address the problem before it becomes even worse. If left as is, the problem could adversely affect the nation’s reputation abroad and discourage the educated from choosing Canada as their destination.
“[It] risks creating the impression that there is less of a value in university education,” said Jedwab. “It’s not a good recipe for cohesion when you have a very educated population that is suffering disproportionately higher rates of unemployment and a less educated population that’s not encountering the same kind of employment challenges.”
Sources: The Gazette and Canwest News Service
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=d29e1a30-b4bd-4b7e-86a1-b4b1c4f8b4fe&k=91468
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=77fdeea9-750c-47ad-8bff-8348c2f874ee&k=85437
