"Teaching somebody to fish": implications for immigrant-serving organizations and employment in Edmonton and Winnipeg.

Thomas, Jasmine

Abstract

Provincial governments increasingly develop strategies that attract immigrants to settle in the Prairie Provinces. Although considerable research examines the role of settlement services in larger cities such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, there is less information regarding mid-sized cities. Increasingly, newcomers are moving to Manitoba and Alberta due to real or perceived economic opportunities. Unfortunately, some immigrants experience difficulties during their settlement process, and their varied needs create challenges for immigrant-serving organizations as they develop programs. This study explores how philosophies of empowerment influence service providers and their programs for working with professional newcomers searching for meaningful employment. Semi-structured interviews with 21 service providers in Edmonton and Winnipeg illustrate how tensions between competing notions of empowerment and neoliberal ideologies interact to guide how service providers assist immigrants. Although empowerment is a goal of service provision, limited funding and resources may constrain the advocacy role of organizations.

Resume

Les gouvernements provinciaux developpent de plus en plus des strategies qui attirent les immigrants a s'installer dans les provinces des prairies. Bien que d'importantes recherches examinent le role des services d'etablissement dans metropoles comme Toronto, Montreal et Vancouver, il y a moins d'informations concernant les villes moyennes. De plus en plus, les nouveaux arrivants demenagent pour le Manitoba et l'Alberta en raison des opportunites economiques reelles et pergues. Malheureusement, certains immigrants rencontrent des difficultes au cours de leur processus d'integration, et leurs besoins divers constituent un veritable defi pour les organismes d'aide aux immigrants dans l'elaboration de leurs programmes. Cette etude vise a explorer comment les philosophies d'autonomisation influencent les pourvoyeurs de service ainsi que leurs programmes dans leur travail avec les nouveaux arrivants qualifies pour la recherche d'emplois significatifs. Les entrevues realisees aupres de 21 pourvoyeurs de services semi-structures a Edmonton et a Winnipeg illustrent les rivalites entre les notions d'autonomisation et les ideologies neoliberales qui interagissent pour orienter les pourvoyeurs de services afin qu'ils assistent mieux les immigrants. Bien que l'autonomisation soit l'objectif de ces prestations des services, les financements et ressources limites pourraient restreindre le role de plaidoyer des organismes.

INTRODUCTION

This study challenges the notion that the declining employment outcomes of immigrant professionals are individualistic problems, and rather, I argue that immigrant-serving organizations, newcomers, and governments must work together to address broader systemic barriers to meaningful employment. One approach to promote systemic change in the labour market could involve an advocacy role within service provision that empowers and promotes the political inclusion of clients and their communities. Advocacy in service provision is important because there are significant obstacles for many immigrants as they search for jobs related to their educational credentials or previous careers. Employment services are the primary focus of this research because insufficient financial stability compromises full participation and inclusion in Canadian society (Breton 2000; Danso 2002). I analyze interviews with representatives of immigrant-serving agencies in Edmonton, Alberta, and Winnipeg, Manitoba to determine how they are or are not contributing to the process of immigrants finding satisfactory employment. I conceptualize effective advocacy as a collaborative process where agencies and immigrants work together to navigate a labour market characterized by prevalent ethno-racial inequality.

The turbulent history of Canadian immigration policy involved overtly racist preferences for immigrants of white racialized origins (Driedger and Haiti 1999; Isajiw 1999; Simich, Beiser, Stewart and Mwakarimba 2005). In 1967, immigration reform shifted selection criteria to a points-based system with greater focus on human capital rather than country of origin or racial background (George 2002; Li 2000a). With the passage of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act in 1988, Canada embarked upon the road of official multiculturalism to become a nation perceived as celebrating diversity (Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2000; Li 2000a; Winnemore and Biles 2006). Immigration policy also shifted to focus on attracting "highly skilled" professionals, and many now arrive with advanced educational credentials and occupational experience (Li 2000b, 2001; Reitz 2007). Despite these positive changes to immigration policies, many newcomers face challenges obtaining stable employment that would facilitate their full inclusion in Canadian society (Bauder 2003; Bonikowska, Hou and Picot 2011). It is common for people to obtain survival jobs while they attempt to continue their careers (Bauder 2003; Buzdugan and Halli 2009; Creese and Wiebe 2009). These survival employment trajectories typically involve low-skilled and low-paid positions that do not provide the financial stability necessary for ensuring that immigrants have the resources to adjust to their new communities and "get ahead" economically. These observations illustrate the inherent contradictions between the ideal of a primarily welcoming Canadian society and the barriers experienced by newcomers.

There are complex factors behind the obstacles many newcomers face in the labour market. Employers and professional regulatory associations perceive credentials from "foreign" nations as having less value than those obtained in Canada (Bauder 2003; Buzdugan and Halli 2009; Lauer, Wilkinson, Chung Yan, Sin and Tat Tsang 2012). There is also a demand for "Canadian experience" from immigrants despite their high qualifications (Bauder 2003; Danso 2002; Neuwirth 1999). Research indicates that many newcomers consider leaving the country because of a lack of access to employment opportunities (Dean and Wilson 2009). These findings are significant on two levels. First, the lack of equal opportunity for immigrants is a form of exclusion requiring action to promote equality in the labour market. Second, the devaluing of highly skilled immigrants represents enormous wasted potential for the Canadian economy (Caidi and Allard 2005; Reitz 2001). Multiple actors must work together to ensure an equitable labour market, but as immigrants increasingly settle in the Prairie Provinces, it is crucial for the government to support a progressive settlement system to assist them if they face challenges finding work.

Newcomer-serving agencies are an important resource for immigrants searching for careers in Canada. There is limited research examining settlement agencies, and most existing studies focus upon the three largest Canadian cities (Creese 2011; George and Chaze 2009; Ku 2011; Richmond and Shields 2005). Manitoba and Alberta plan to attract immigrants to meet labour market demands, and it is important to examine if there are adequate resources in place to support them once they arrive (Alberta Employment and Immigration 2009; Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2013; Manitoba Immigration and Multiculturalism 2012). Although differences exist between them, this study focuses upon non-profit, government-funded service providers, ethno-cultural organizations, and community-based groups. This broad focus captures the idea that services should remain flexible to meet the diverse needs of clients and the community (George 2002). Research conducted by the Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA-ACSEI) indicated that settlement agencies supported "individual immigrants" and recognized a need to expand their focus from individuals to families and communities (Burstein 2010). I emphasize employment because it is a major factor necessary for the meaningful inclusion of newcomers in Canadian society. Organizations must work together with their clients, governments and employers to ensure that immigrants have access to employment opportunities at the beginning of the settlement process. As participants in my study suggest, services designed to assist newcomers find or re-start careers can reduce the impact of obstacles such as limited social capital, unfamiliarity with the Canadian workplace, losing hope, and the lack of credential recognition. This range of services, however, places emphasis on newcomer adaptation with a limited mandate for advocacy that may help promote systemic change. I utilize concepts of advocacy and empowerment for immigrants, in contrast to neoliberalism's emphasis on the self-governance of individuals and self-sufficient communities.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: TENSIONS BETWEEN EMPOWERMENT AND NEOLIBERALISM

Currently, human capital explanations and policy interventions are common models for examining differential employment outcomes for newcomers versus Canadian-born individuals. These approaches are problematic because they do not address the multiple forms of capital that are involved, such as social and cultural resources (George and Chaze 2009). Moreover, individualistic frameworks do not address systemic barriers that exclude immigrants from obtaining meaningful employment opportunities. This individualistic focus is due to the dominance of neoliberal ideologies in Canadian society that inform and guide both policy and service provision (Creese 2011). Although immigrants face numerous systemic barriers to employment, social support is a major benefit provided by the settlement system (Gibb, Hamdon and Jamal 2008; Simich et al. 2005). In addition to necessary services, it is crucial for immigrant-serving organizations to collaborate with newcomers and communities in an advocacy role that moves beyond focusing upon the "deficits" of individuals. In contrast, empowerment as a goal of service provision with newcomer clients is a helpful concept.

Empowerment in Service Provision

Employment services typically involve essential services such as education, training, computer literacy, workshops, vocational training, job placement, internships, mentorship and bridging programs (Benner, LoPresti, Matsuoka, Pastor and Rosner 2005). Organizations also provide services that facilitate employment such as housing, day-care, and legal supports. Research suggests that psychosocial empowerment through interventions to improve the employment status of immigrants will result in more positive outcomes (Garcia-Ramirez, Martinez, Balcazar, Suarez-Balcazar, Albar, Dominguez and Santolaya 2005; George 2002). These strategies focus upon the improvement of individuals as an effective solution to immigrant underemployment. The problem with this approach is that the barriers immigrants experience during the employment search are not always individualistic challenges. Rather, there are widespread systemic issues related to a lack of credential recognition and discrimination (Galabuzi 2008; Li 2001). Therefore, immigrant-serving organizations should also work to change the systemic barriers faced by newcomers in the labour market, rather than stopping at the provision of necessary services.

Overcoming systemic barriers in the labour market involves developing a collective consciousness leading to broader civic participation amongst groups experiencing marginalization (Benner et al. 2005). Moreover, empowerment is traditionally viewed as an "emancipation process in which the disadvantaged are empowered to exercise their rights, obtain access to resources, and participate actively in the process of shaping society and making decisions" (Luttrell, Quirz, Scrutton and Bird 2009, 2). I see these activities as a form of empowerment that works to counter neoliberalism because although civic engagement alone will not ameliorate systemic barriers, it is an important step towards ensuring all voices are included in the political arena. Therefore, in addition to providing training to individual newcomers, organizations should work together with immigrants and communities to develop social movements calling for broader labour market changes. This framework emphasizes an advocacy role to empower immigrants and allies to promote broader change to reduce barriers they experience rather than focus upon "improving" the individual.

Following this approach, I conceptualize "positive" notions of empowerment as linked to political collective action to reduce employment barriers experienced by immigrants, in addition to "a transition from a state of powerlessness to a state of more control over one's life, fate and environment" (Sadan 2004, 13). It is essential to support individuals in their employment search, but advocacy and political engagement strategies are necessary to address broader systemic barriers that prevent meaningful employment. These positive aspects of empowerment are in contrast to neoliberal self-organization of communities, where social services avoid systemic problems to focus upon individual responsibility and accountability. The contrast between the individual-level and "positive" empowerment through advocacy is important because of how participants in this study characterize their work.

Empowerment or Neoliberalism?

Empowerment language may mask the influence of neoliberal ideology that demands the self-organization of communities and places responsibility on individuals and families to address market inadequacies. For this study, I conceptualize neoliberalism in service provision as individualistic training with an emphasis on personal accountability. This perspective expects that newcomers should be able to overcome barriers in the labour market if they improve their credentials, obtain Canadian experience, and quite simply, work harder. This viewpoint does not address systemic barriers that exclude immigrants from obtaining meaningful employment opportunities. An individualistic focus is due to the dominance of neoliberal ideologies in Canadian society that inform and guide both policy development and service provision (Creese 2011). Neoliberal governance is highly adaptable, but has core goals despite varying socio-political contexts (Duggan 2003; Hardt and Negri 2000; Ong 2006). Importantly, neoliberal rationality is the "new relationship between governments and knowledge through which governing activities are recast as non-political and non-ideological problems that need technical solutions" (Ong 2006, 3). These strategies prioritize individualized program strategies over broader political advocacy. Neoliberal ideology is dominant in Canada, and has an impact on the experiences of immigrants during their employment search (Creese 2011; Ku 2011). From a neoliberal perspective, when newcomers fail in the labour market it is either because the immigration system is selecting the "wrong sorts" of immigrants, or they have not been working "hard enough" to integrate into the Canadian workforce.

Neoliberalism affects the employment outcomes of newcomers and plays a role in the provision of settlement and employment related services. Within neoliberalism, a strict separation between civil society and the state is necessary to best facilitate the free choice of citizens (Duggan 2003; Jessop 2002). In other words, state intervention is an intrusion that prohibits the freedom of individuals, and therefore, the community is responsible for supporting people who are unable to find employment. Rather than acknowledging systemic problems facing newcomers when they are trying to obtain employment, a neoliberal government "downloads" accountability to the community and individuals themselves. These policies shift focus to the "personal responsibility of the family and civil society" and divert social service costs from state agencies to individuals and their households (Duggan 2003, 14). Proponents of this perspective see unemployment as the result of newcomers' individual deficiencies, and neoliberal pressures reduce the availability, autonomy and efficacy of settlement services. Importantly, neoliberal ideology constrains service providers to intervene at the individual level, thereby reducing broader anti-racist and anti-oppression advocacy work.

I utilize these concepts because I observed a tension between empowerment and neoliberal positions in my interviews with service providers. Empowerment themes took on both "positive" forms while also being coopted by neoliberal influences. On the one hand, some representatives of agencies were actively engaged in advocacy and positive empowerment in the capacity where they were assisting newcomers to obtain Canadian citizenship, and to become actively involved in civic and political life. Overshadowing these positive activities are a focus on improving perceived individual deficits with educational upgrading, resume preparations, and workshops related to teaching Canadian cultural norms (rather than workshops to facilitate more welcoming workplaces, although these activities exist as well, but are marginal in comparison). While some adjustment is necessary for newcomers attempting to enter the Canadian labour force for the first time, there should be an equal focus on adaptation by local employers and communities. Neoliberal empowerment in the latter sense involved a perception expressed by service providers that their clients were empowered because of an improvement in their professional skills. The results will outline how the distinction between advocacy leading to positive empowerment and neoliberal "empowerment" was not always clear due to nuanced responses from participants.

METHODOLOGY

This study examines the role of settlement organizations in assisting skilled-immigrant professionals find meaningful career-related employment. I conceptualize employment on a continuum between survival, transitional, and meaningful opportunities. Survival employment includes jobs that are completely unrelated to individuals' credentials and experience such as service, unskilled labour, and retail sectors (McCoy and Masuch 2007). Transitional employment relates to someone's previous career and credentials, but is usually at an entry level, or is not quite equivalent to the job status they left behind in their country of origin. An example provided by one of my respondents was that an engineer could work in a firm as a draftsperson. Although an engineering degree is not required to work in this role, this position provided the Canadian experience required by internationally trained engineers for accreditation through the Alberta and Manitoba Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Associations (APEGA and APEGM). Transitional employment has the potential, therefore, to be "meaningful" employment. Some service provider participants expressed a perception that this was often sufficient for clients, as they would be making a decent wage, and were working in a position related to their previous careers. Meaningful employment relates to both individuals' subjective satisfaction with their current job, and whether this current position matches previous experience and credentials (O'Brien 2003). I argue that immigrant-serving organizations attempt to facilitate meaningful employment outcomes, but work within the constraints of neoliberal ideology that places the burden upon individuals. Unfortunately, this means that newcomers with high levels of education and previously well-established careers may have to settle for employment well below their skill level and expertise.

With this background in mind, three related research questions guide my analysis. The first determines if immigrant-serving agencies are utilizing positive or individualistic notions of empowerment with their professional newcomer clients. The second examines how the services provided may relate to building confidence and empowerment and what activities providers perceive as most necessary. My final question asks what philosophies and strategies inform the way service providers approach helping clients. In other words, do service workers focus on positive empowerment, or on the neoliberal themes of addressing individual "deficiencies" and relying upon the community and individuals to be self-sufficient "ideal" immigrants (Abu-Laban 1998; Li 2003)?

To answer these questions, I conducted 21 in-depth semi-structured interviews with front-line employment counsellors, program managers, and executive directors of immigrant-serving organizations in the cities of Edmonton, Alberta and Winnipeg, Manitoba. Snowball, theoretical and opportunity sampling procedures ensured my participants represented the wide range of agencies and services provided. The agencies participating in the study included the largest newcomer-serving organizations, as well as smaller ethno-specific community groups. Although I primarily focused my theoretical sampling to select employment services, most of the organizations have a broader range of services provided on-site, and see employment as only one component in the settlement process. I developed a theme list to guide interviews, and this article outlines two major topics of "empowerment" work and "neoliberal" pressures. The University of Alberta Research Ethics Board approved this study, and interviews occurred between February and October 2013.

I utilized NVivo 10 for the coding and subsequent analysis of the results. Participants often discussed issues of empowerment, confidence building and their clients' independence. Occasionally, when the discussion warranted, I probed about issues such as advocacy for clients, listening to clients, community consultation, and political inclusion. If no discussion of empowerment occurred spontaneously, I asked specific questions about whether or not the service provider focused on empowerment, advocacy, and/or building confidence in their work. Hope also arose as a common response, and relates both to empowerment, and to notions of neoliberal self-governance. My research philosophy allows me to focus on the "meaning that the participants hold about the problem or issue" rather than on my initial assumptions or interpretations of the existing literature (Creswell 2008, 175). For example, in the early stages of my study I anticipated a greater dominance of neoliberalism to emerge during interviews, but as fieldwork continued this assumption required a shift to acknowledge that this was not the case. Therefore, results contained nuanced themes related to what I consider a continuum, with the empowerment of newcomers on one side, and the pressures of neoliberal ideology on the other. In other words, rather than being two distinct categories, empowerment discourse often worked together with neoliberalism in unexpected ways.

RESULTS

Overall, I received nuanced responses from my participants representing newcomer-serving organizations in Edmonton and Winnipeg. Many service workers interpreted empowerment in various ways, but recurring themes included developing confidence and independence for clients. Some respondents perceived a community development component to their programming. I argue that there is tension between empowerment "in a good sense" and the downloading of responsibility onto communities and individuals to solve or overcome market inadequacies. In fact, despite awareness amongst agencies to teach employers about the skills and abilities of immigrants, there remains too great a focus upon solving the so-called deficits of individuals. Commonly raised issues include the fact that immigrants might not be familiar or comfortable in the Canadian workplace because they may not understand the norms involved. My participants suggested that it may be easy to find a job, but keeping a job may be challenging due to a lack of understanding Canadian workplace culture.

Building Confidence and Moving Beyond Job Retention

Local economic conditions are important, as the tar sands and broader oil and gas industry drive boom and bust cycles of the Alberta economy, while in Manitoba, economic growth has been slow with long periods of stagnation (Mansell and Schlenker 2006; Mansell and Percy 1990). Due to a "hot" Alberta economy, newcomers to the province may be able to obtain employment relatively quickly as compared to other provinces. Nationally, the unemployment rate for Canadian-born workers aged 25-54 is 5.3 percent compared to a rate of 7.7 percent for landed immigrants. The Alberta unemployment rate for Canadian-born individuals is 3.5 percent and 5.0 percent for landed immigrants (Statistics Canada 2014). In Manitoba, the unemployment rate is 4.1 percent for Canadian-born workers and 5.4 percent for landed immigrants (Statistics Canada 2014). Although these rates are similar between the two provinces, one interesting side note is that Alberta participants commonly mentioned economic boom cycles as a major factor for employment outcomes, but Manitoba service providers did not see similar economic trends as significant. Nonetheless, there is a need for skilled labour in the Prairie Provinces, and many of my respondents discussed how this provided more opportunities for their clients.

Local employers benefit greatly from highly skilled immigrant labour and some of these companies move people into management roles. This influences the type of employment preparation provided by newcomer-serving agencies:

[W]e would be doing leadership language, speaking with more confidence, not cultural stuff or English--basic English, it would be professional language and exuding confidence, so those guys have figured things out and they're trying to develop leadership capacity with their newcomer hires, not retention. They've moved past retention and now they're wanting to move those--the stronger, harder working newcomers into more of a management role [Edm.Service.Worker.2].

JT--So, as more newcomers and more diverse folks get into companies and kind of get up into management then they'll be the ones doing the hiring right?

Absolutely, yeah, absolutely. And it does take a while right, once they get there then everything will change. But um, yeah of course, you know it's--there's so many factors, cultural factors that somebody to kind of move from an entry level to management you've got to have a good knowledge of the Canadian workplace culture and how things get done in Canada and all that [Wpg.Service.Worker.3].

While some of these examples involved retail companies moving cashiers into management roles, other discussions indicate that immigrants are able to find employment related to their previous skills and experience. Interestingly, the first quote emphasized that the stronger and harder working newcomers were moving into management roles, and although this is not surprising, it suggests that individuals will succeed if they just work hard enough. There is also an implication that immigrants first must learn basic English and be comfortable with Canadian culture before they will advance. Moreover, the second statement echoes this theme (after probing), that there are many "cultural factors" and knowledge for newcomers to learn before they will be proficient managers within the Canadian context. Participants frequently relayed neoliberal themes in their comments without critical reflection. This illustrates the neoliberal perception of the labour market as a meritocratic space whereby those who work hard receive sufficient reward for their endeavors.

In Edmonton, many of my participants indicated that the "hot" labour market was providing benefits for newcomers in terms of their employment searches, but reflected upon the challenges they experienced once they entered their new workplace. A mentorship program (which matches skilled immigrant professionals with employers in their fields) works to address these issues:

[I]t's about mentorship and relationship building, developing confidence, understanding some of the, again, the particularities of a Canadian workplace. That's what that relationship is, building social capital. So that's essentially what that's about. If you get a job, bonus, um, and it's our hope as well but we don't actually get funded to do that. We get funded to help them, in sort of preparing them for the workplace. So, and the idea again, and I really like this concept because it is that sort of, you know, teaching somebody to fish right? At the end of the day, you know, yeah it can be very easy to connect them to employment, but will they be able to retain it [Edm.Service.Worker.9]?

The "teaching somebody to fish" metaphor is important because it illustrates a common neoliberal theme of many of my discussions with service providers. Implicit within this response is that newcomers might not necessarily be independent, and therefore, there is an assumption that they must build their capacity to be self-governing. This same passage emphasizes another dominant topic as agency workers outlined examples of how immigrants who found employment may experience difficulties "integrating" into the workplace. Although the shared norms of the Canadian workplace may be unfamiliar to some people when they start a job, it is important to focus both upon the adjustment of newcomers to Canada, and to our increasingly diverse workplaces (Miller and Rowney 1999). Interestingly, participants also provided nuanced perspectives by moving from an emphasis upon the individual to discussing how programs challenged stereotypes and discrimination amongst employers.

Although responses related to empowerment often reflected the influence of neoliberal expectations of immigrants to adapt to Canadian society, there were contradictions that illustrated how some organizations work to change the perceptions of employers as well. Some of my interviewees described the need for adjustment on the employers' end, but sometimes only when I asked if employers needed to create workplaces that are more inclusive. In one interview, my participant expressed a need for building independence with the "teaching somebody to fish" metaphor, but later reflected upon how employers needed to change as well:

I always look at it as a two-way street, and everybody has to meet somewhere halfway. For immigrants it can't be all just helping them out, they've got to move in that direction, and the same with employers. Employers shouldn't have to take them and meet them all the way to the other side, they should come half-way. And so, all of our events, and all of our initiatives we're really trying to hit two populations, the immigrant that's trying to find work here, but also the employer who may not realize how difficult it is, you know, the immigrant journey. And, you know, you get the classic sometimes, mentors will come in and say 'I don't understand why immigrants can't find work' you know? So, even though we're in a really good situation in Edmonton and Alberta right now, there's still a lot of people looking for work. Immigrants especially, because of peoples' attitudes towards immigrants, or accents, or optics, or--and so, when a lot of those people with those attitudes come in and realize, after, you know, some time with their mentee they realize that it's not quite so easy. So, those kinds of epiphanies are really important, and discoveries--for the Canadian as much as it is for the immigrant [Edm.Service.Worker.9].

Interestingly, this service provider indicated how the local context played a role, as some employers simply did not believe that immigrants had difficulties finding employment, because how could this be possible in a labour market context characterized by persistent shortages of all types of labour? While my participants emphasized the importance of building independence and teaching newcomers the norms of the Canadian workplace, they also expressed how their program worked to teach employers about the "immigrant journey". These two themes occurred in the same interview, but not all service providers mentioned similar responses. In the Winnipeg context, the discourse of educating employers was extremely important for one of the larger agencies in the city:

We also have to work towards getting employers engaged, so we bring them here as much as we can because a lot of them don't have a clear idea of what a newcomer brings to the table. So, we bring them here, we sometimes take them to classes to get the attendees to introduce themselves, and they're just blown away at how they communicate. It's like they're probably thinking when they come in that they won't even, know how to speak, but they're just blown away by the quality, and then they hear 'I have a master's' or 'I have a PhD, I have 15 years of experience' ... wow. It's just like an eye opener for some [Wpg.Service.Worker.3].

Although some agencies acknowledged that employers also shared responsibility for adaptation, the responsibility generally focused upon clients' adjustment to the Canadian workplace. Returning to another theme I heard from numerous interviewees, newcomers searching for work can face challenges based on appearance, accents and other discriminatory attitudes. Racial discrimination in Canada remains a significant issue contributing to the disempowerment of immigrants.

Discrimination and Confidence

Some of the strongest examples of empowerment revolved around providing support and working with clients to help them cope with discrimination. Racism remains an issue for non-white, racialized newcomers to Canada. While prejudicial perceptions of certain types of immigrants create barriers for their entry into the labour force, discrimination also affects emotional health and well-being. The result may be disempowerment that potentially leads to marginalization. One agency worker described this difficult experience:

[P]art of this is that people who experience discrimination often don't acknowledge it themselves, often new immigrants to Canada will be so happy to be here, in this place that is supposed to be a wonderful place that they won't see the discrimination as discrimination. ... So, that is a barrier to people succeeding because it--you just internalize it, it becomes an internalized issue and you blame yourself and that's when stress increases and all those kinds of health issues, ability to perform on the job is affected. So if those people get support in any way, family members, friends, agencies to help them recognize what they're dealing with, then you can work on strategies to deal with it [Edm.Service. Worker.5].

In other words, discrimination can be a real barrier for empowerment. Internalized oppression--for example, if immigrants incorrectly believe that their skills are inferior to Canadian-acquired credentials and experience--may prevent people from thinking there are alternative explanations for the barriers faced in the labour market (Luttrell et al. 2009). Discrimination is not always overt, and may be difficult to identify, as another service provider reflected upon how important it is for newcomers to be aware of their rights:

I try to help to tell them about the reality no matter what the benchmark level that they have--the reality of their life, you're looking for a job and you have this job, so what happens when you're working, you know? So I would tell them, the simplest explanation about their basic rights, you know? Sometimes the exploitation is not seen, you know, it's not about physical--the physical work or everything, it may not be about the wage. But, you know, there are different ways [Wpg.Service.Worker.1].

This previous participant highlighted the important role that service providers play to help familiarize newcomers with their rights within the Canadian workplace. Not all immigrants may need rights education, and they may not be at risk of exploitation, but it is essential for service providers to be prepared to act in this advocacy role.

Many participants acknowledged that discrimination creates obstacles to meaningful employment, and that this affects the confidence of newcomer professionals. Interestingly, most participants also said that the situation was "improving" and was "much better than it used to be" and referred to the reality of demographic shifts in the composition of the labour force. For example, one participant reflected on these changes:

It's more about the skills and what they can bring to the table, so now, having said that of course there's still employers that, you know, don't really understand about diversity and current immigration trends. The workforce that we have, that's really what we have, so down the road there's not going to be an opportunity to pick and choose. You've got to deal with what you have. And uh, so yeah, that's--there's still certainly discrimination, all across, in all industries, in all companies, small firms, small to large [Wpg.Service. Worker.4].

It is unfortunate that a strategy for systemic change is to rely upon the changing demographic reality that employers will no longer have the choice to continue with discriminatory hiring practices. Although service providers acknowledged discrimination, it was often easier for them to articulate that newcomers needed to learn about Canadian workplace culture if they lacked "Canadian experience." Some participants reflected on the injustice of employers requiring Canadian experience, but many did not challenge this problematic request, and shared the related idea that newcomers need to adapt to the Canadian workplace. I wonder about how many misunderstandings in the workplace exist due to immigrants "not understanding," or if other factors, such as less than welcoming environments, play a role.

Community Self-Governance versus Collaborative Advocacy

One continuing tension involves working with communities in developing solidarity or collective consciousness, and depending too heavily upon the community for assisting newcomers rather than calling upon the government and settlement agencies. Agencies in both cities do frequently meet with community leaders to determine their needs. Although sometimes an underlying theme indicates that agencies work to ensure communities support themselves:

[O]ur spot in the spectrum, so if you look at [another agency] or the ethnic communities themselves, they're just trying to ensure that there's a lack of isolation, that people come out of their houses v :i things like that. We do a bit of that, but we would be generally the next step, and so we're working with, community leaders to build capacity in the community, to support the next family that comes in [Edm.Service.Worker.2].

Clearly, this approach prefers that communities are self-sustaining, instead of focusing upon broader emancipatory themes for communities that may be experiencing marginalization. This is certainly not to say that immigrant-serving organizations are downloading responsibility onto community leaders, but it is important that these shifts in philosophy do not take that route in the future. Building community capacity would ideally involve promoting empowerment insofar as an organization supports and works collaboratively to nurture the community's identity and political voice (Benner et al. 2005). This is because the fragmentation, isolation, or marginalization of immigrant communities also contributes to the challenges newcomers face during their employment search. In other words, if a community lacks political agency and organization, they are less able to lobby for improvements. Although this strategy itself closely resembles techniques for more effective self-governance, it is important that political arenas include immigrant voices. This is where organizations can play a vital advocacy role, and community organizing is one of the most important roles that a settlement agency can take on (Benner et al. 2005; Creese 2011). What is crucial, however, is that these community-building approaches incorporate meaningful advocacy, rather than focusing upon solely building capacities for self-management. Unfortunately, although there may be a will amongst practitioners to do more than focus on individual improvements, a lack of economic resources makes it challenging. Some agency workers expressed a sense of frustration at their inability to do "deep settlement" work that involved working with the whole community:

[O]ne would be economic reality, just being too hard to make a go of it that's really sustainable, and then social cohesion at the sort of basic family level, as well as making meaningful contact. I'd say that's the thing I bump up against personally most, the frustration that we can't, or that we have not yet found a way to support a more integrative whole community, just first steps [Edm.Service.Worker.4].

This statement illustrates the important point that even if an organization recognizes a need for advocacy, they may not have the capacity to take on such a role. In another interview, an executive director expressed to me how their agency often took on a major role as an advocate, because it might be difficult for smaller organizations to confront broader social issues. Simply put, there is a perception that if smaller organizations spoke out to the media against a certain policy direction, they may receive backlash for doing so. Several agencies described the care they take when speaking to the media due to a fear of losing additional funding dollars. This raises an important point about how non-profit organizations are constrained by the contracts they sign to obtain funding from primarily governmental bodies (Creese 2011; Thomas 2009). Autonomy may be limited to the mandates outlined in their funding contracts, and this may prohibit the development of programs that could promote ideals of community empowerment.

Hope Makes the Difference

Hope was a common theme in the responses from service providers. When the discussion moved towards a focus upon hope, issues of empowerment, confidence, and the importance of meaningful employment often followed:

I also see the sustainability of peoples' livelihoods. So to assist people to find something that's really sustainable and satisfying and nurturing, and where the peoples' talents and hopes, the things that they really want to do with their lives, that there's a hope of meeting those, rather than getting stuck driving a taxi and just making it from month to month. This isn't a bad thing, but so many people are just putting all their hopes in their kids, and that's not a bad thing, but you know, people shouldn't just have to live for their children. Their children aren't necessarily having an easy time of it either [Edm.Service.Worker.4].

Sometimes newcomers take survival jobs to support their families with the aspirations that their children will be able to succeed in Canada. Despite their lack of hope for themselves, which some agency workers attempt to ameliorate, there is a hopeful optimism for their children. One front-line employment worker described hope as a central component of the work they did at the agency:

You know, so there's a lot of empowerment and encouragement that goes on because they're usually homesick too. So, they need hope. They need hope, and then if you get somebody like a settlement counselor, an employment practitioner, who specializes in immigrant needs, and is able to service them, bring them to the point of, you know, hope and carry on. You usually don't have to do too much more after that [Edm.Service. Worker.8].

Absolutely, that's very important, and actually what we're doing right now is we're actually in the works of developing a self-help workshop. So we're working on that as we speak, we had a few meetings last month. Were going to be bringing in a workshop to empower clients and to keep them motivated through the job search. So how to deal with depression, how to deal with anxiety, resources available, where to go, uh, videos - motivational videos, just to keep them engaged in the process because of course we see a lot of people are going through this and it's quite a challenge [Wpg.Service.Worker.4].

Respondents often described building self-confidence, hope, and empowerment as interrelated. At the conceptual level, hope is an aspect of self-confidence necessary to increase individuals' "power from within", as well as their personal self-dignity and self-awareness (Luttrell et al. 2009). Importantly, increased hope and confidence allows people to consider that there are more options, and that they deserve better. This is crucial for immigrants because some start to lose hope and see their inability to obtain meaningful employment as resulting from personal or professional deficiencies rather than systemic barriers. Confidence allows people to be more aware of their choices and rights, and increases their aspirations and ability to overcome these challenges (Luttrell et al. 2009). The second quotation describes how empowerment and hope function within "self-help" workshops, indicating that a lack of hope is due to individual factors. Importantly, the immediate strategies to assist newcomers cope with challenges requires a focus on supporting individuals who may be in crisis. It is understandable that agencies take this approach, but alternatively, it is quite telling that a common omission from the majority of my interviews was any mention of potential policy changes that may counteract systemic barriers against newcomers in the labour market. Especially because I probed directly about changes to governmental policy that may help improve systemic conditions.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Empowerment, conceived of through the responses of my service provider participants, is not solely an emancipatory exercise focused on meaningful systemic change to include newcomers in the labour market. Nor is there evidence of the overarching dominance of neoliberal self-governance amongst the service providers. I found both theoretical concepts necessary to interpret and understand the responses of my participants. Responses often engaged with positive notions of empowerment, such as programming that promoted political engagement of newcomers, changes in employer attitudes, and helping Canadian-born people understand the difficulties of the immigrant journey. These same participants, however, emphasized individual improvement, responsibility and independence as directly related to empowerment.

My first research question focused on discovering if immigrant-serving agencies utilized positive or individualistic notions of empowerment with their clients. Participants often referred to empowerment through an individualistic lens of building confidence, hope and improving personal capabilities. These notions of empowerment align more closely with neoliberal expectations of newcomers to take responsibility for their employment situation, and do not address the impact of systemic barriers outside of individuals' control. I also reflect upon the "teaching somebody to fish" metaphor as a statement that represents a position widely held amongst my participants. In line with neoliberal ideology, individuals had to take responsibility for their employment search and practitioners assist them rather than focusing upon advocacy. Responses were not uniform, however, with some participants clearly acknowledging the need for systemic change such as improving civic participation, engaging better with employers, deep community settlement work and rights education. Unfortunately, there were few policy suggestions aside from improving issues such as credential recognition. Funding constraints and limited skills are restrictive factors, as advocacy requires considerable expertise and staff time (Creese 2011; Ku 2011; Richmond and Shields 2005). Moreover, some of my participants reflected upon reduced funding for advocacy type programs (such as anti-racist educational campaigns). Although there is clearly a will to address systemic barriers, there may not always be sufficient resources or mandate to develop programs to do so.

My second research question examined how services provided may relate to building confidence and empowerment. Services overwhelmingly work on improving individual "deficits" such as resume preparations, workshops, and Canadian workplace training. Although there was wide acknowledgement that systemic barriers existed, responses often coincided with participants who were uncritical of employer requests for Canadian experience or who emphasized how newcomers required preparations to retain jobs in the Canadian workplace. This overlapped with the emphasis placed upon newcomers conforming to so-called Canadian norms rather than promoting social change to develop workplaces that accommodate and include professionals from diverse backgrounds. In contrast, some larger organizations had employer liaisons who worked to highlight the skills and education of newcomers to local employers with the intention of educating employers and changing perceptions about foreign-trained professionals. These agencies were also the ones that had management that identified they had a role as advocates for immigrants in their interactions with the media, governments and employers.

My final question asked about what philosophies and strategies informed service provision to newcomer clients. To reiterate, frequent strategies involved a focus upon individual factors rather than broader approaches to address systemic barriers to employment. Importantly, from a philosophical perspective, although neoliberal influences permeated my discussions with service providers, there was also an acknowledgment of a need to address employer attitudes, credential recognition, discrimination, and other systemic challenges. Although participants utilized empowerment as a philosophical strategy, neoliberal expectations overemphasized personal responsibility and accountability. Results, therefore, are complicated because both concepts operated simultaneously in sometimes troubling and unexpected ways.

Applying single theoretical concepts such as neoliberaiism or empowerment on their own may erase the nuances in qualitative data. I observed contradictory philosophies at play in my research, and conclusions are not necessarily straightforward. Empowerment, political advocacy and community building are important factors to my service provider participants, but programs may not reflect these goals. The ways that service providers envision community building often focuses upon self-sufficiency rather than emancipatory strategies to eliminate barriers to meaningful inclusion. Moreover, agency workers may be aware of a need for "deep settlement" work to increase political engagement and reduce marginalization, but these organizations often lack the capacity to take on these roles. It is important to acknowledge that immigrant communities would not experience marginalization if Canada achieved the ideal of becoming a truly welcoming nation, with the reality being that many experience significant discrimination.

Service providers work in several ways to empower their clients. Some front-line workers simply encourage and "listen" to their clients while assisting them in their job search and preparation processes. Some executive directors actively take on advocacy roles when they feel like their agency can exercise autonomy, whereas other organizations felt relieved to speak to me (as opposed to the media) because they could "speak freely" without the concern of potentially losing additional funding. Most, if not all of the agencies, utilize some form of community consultation (whether through surveys, program evaluation, focus groups or meetings with community leaders) to determine the needs of the community.

The philosophies and strategies that inform service provision involve multiple and sometimes contradictory concepts. Both positive notions of empowerment and neoliberal ideological approaches influence service providers to differing degrees. Empowerment discourse is also a way to legitimate programs that might only be ensuring that newcomers conform to the norms of Canadian society. In other words, rather than building a collective consciousness and public awareness that may lead to greater political engagement, many "empowerment" activities focus upon individual improvement. For example, the central goal of employment programs in both cities is the preparation of immigrants for the Canadian workplace, rather than ensuring the workplace or employers become more inclusive. More funding and programs should ensure the necessary adjustments from Canadian-born employers and workplaces. Future research could expand upon this current study to determine how to bring back broader advocacy and anti-racist programming into the immigrant services sector. Advocacy and research may eventually help create workplaces that are more inclusive for our increasingly diverse workforce. This is essential in order to ensure employers adequately respect and utilize the valuable skills and experiences of newcomers. Without the elimination of these labour market barriers, it is unlikely that Canada will live up to the hopes of newcomers as they try to continue their careers after arrival to the country.

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JASMINE THOMAS is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta. Her dissertation focuses on the interactions between service provision and the employment outcomes of immigrant professionals in Edmonton and Winnipeg. Her broader research interests include the labour market experiences of newcomers, social justice, critical race scholarship and research methods.