Why Hire Immigrants?

Changing demographics are having an impact on the Canadian labour force, including Ottawa. With lower birthrates, declining numbers of post-secondary graduates and unprecedented numbers of retirements, labour shortage will soon be felt across several sectors of the economy.

Canada will be increasingly reliant on immigrant talent to meet its skills and labour force requirements. Per capita, the Ottawa region attracts the most highly skilled and educated immigrants in Canada. Nearly half of all immigrants who settle in Ottawa hold a university degree. This overlooked talent pool is a tremendous economic advantage for this region. In the “war for talent,” diversity can be a competitive edge for local employers who can effectively recruit from this rich talent pool of skilled labour.

Hiring Immigrants is Simply Good Business...
Employers who diversify their workforce are better able to:

• Attract and retain top talent to alleviate skill and labour shortages
• Better understand and respond to the increasingly diverse local customer base
• Expand local markets, and develop new global markets, by leveraging immigrants’ international experience and cultural awareness
• Enhance productivity, creativity, employee relations, and decision-making through diverse approaches
• Save on employee training costs by utilizing transferable foreign work experience

… And It’s Good For Ottawa.
We all benefit when skilled immigrants in our community are fully employed in skills-appropriate positions. Overall disposable income in the community is increased. Consequently, so are consumer spending and government tax revenues.