Common Factors Contributing to Successful Career Changes Among Chinese Skilled Immigrants in Canada

Abstract

Canada is one of the major immigration countries in the world. According to Dolan and Young (2004), Canada has the largest rate of immigration in the world. Every year, the Canadian government accepts millions of immigration applications from people around the world. Many of them are skilled immigrants who bring Bachelor’s, Master’s or Ph.D degrees and valuable professional experience from their home countries. According to a Statistics Canada 2008 survey, 60% of recent skilled immigrants have Bachelor’s degrees compared to 20% of Canadians. They choose to immigrate to Canada to achieve further career opportunities and a better quality of life for themselves and their families. However, life as an immigrant is often not as easy and smooth as they expected. They inevitably face challenges and obstacles. Many immigrants are unable to find employment opportunities in Canada and bitterly give up their immigration dreams to return to their homelands. On the other hand, some skilled immigrants quickly make social and mental adjustments after immigration and successfully launch new careers in their second homeland. Skilled immigrants from China make up 73% of all the new skilled immigrants in Canada (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2000). This research will focus on interviewing and collecting research data from Chinese skilled immigrants in order to find out what key factors contribute to successful career changes. It is hoped that the outcomes of this research will provide valuable resources for new skilled immigrants in Canada to be able to efficiently and effectively adjust to the Canadian living environment and achieve career success. This research will also provide a stepping stone for the Canadian Immigration Bureau to develop further skilled immigrants training programs and resources to maximize immigration success rates.