Të lësh Shqipërinë për Amerikën? Atje jeni askushi, në ndërtim do punoni!

The problem is that almost all skilled immigrants have unrealistic exceptions before coming to Canada. And when they lend here and start looking for a job in their profession the truth unveils. First don’t get excited by government statistics about unemployment rates, they should mean nothing to skilled immigrants. Don’t get excited about reading that your skills are in high demand in Canada. That also should mean nothing to skilled immigrants, you still have little chances to get that job.

The reality is that 3/4 of skilled immigrants will settle for a survival job, if they don’t want to return to their home country. And most of the 1/4 will settle for an entry level job in their sector with a wage close the one from a survival job. Of course, a few will get a better job because they might be lucky, or they might have a special combination of skills which a particular employer needs right away, these are a minority and these are the happy stories you will here and based your immigration decision upon.

What about the settlement agencies and their free programs about resume writing, cover letter, interview tips, employers’ connections, language training? Personally, I have tried many of them (JVS, TDSB etc) and they are almost completely useless, maybe 2-3% of people would find them useful and get some insight from them to get a job, that’s why I use the expression ‘almost’. I don’t understand why the Government here insist of losing money financing such programs. It’s ridicules how these programs would advice you to act on an interview, pretending to be someone else just to please the employer so he/she will think you have the “soft” skills you need for the job. Once a friend of mine in Germany told me he went for an interview with an employer and the employer asked him: What can you do best. My friend said *…skills in IT…*. I am glad to here this said the employer because that’s exactly what I am looking for. Basically, this was the interview, he didn’t ask some stupid question about how you solved a conflict with your previous boss or coworkers, because from you previous behavior I am going to predict you future ones. Probably in Germany they want to hire professionals not actors. There must be a reason why that country is doing better then Canada in every sector of the economy, even having much fewer natural resources. But that’s another story.

But even people who have started working here, in their field, have told me that the everyday job reality is chaotic. The companies are far away from what they market themselves as innovative or fast paced. They have seen better work culture in their own countries then in Canada’s companies. But don’t despair, at least Canada shares a border with the US so as thousands of people do each year, after waiting 3 year and getting citizenship you can try to establish yourself in the US. Many people have succeeded this way and some friends working here have expressed me this intention.

I have herd this before, but I have always thought it was a minority, but in fact its the majority: Do not come to Canada if you have established yourself in your own country as a professional, unless you have a life-threatening situation or security issues (civil wars, political unrest etc.). You will not get rich, forget about this dream. You might not even get close to the standard you were used in your own country, even if you get paid more here in Canada. Only, if you want to do this as a sacrifice for your children, then its ok. They will be part of the system from the beginning and they will have equal opportunities, for them for sure would be different.

If you think mine is an isolated opinion, you are wrong. The fact that you here far more success stories online is because that is what is promoted, and many people I know lie to their families and friends back home, pretending to be Ok and live a decent life. Because at the end they do not want to appear as ‘losers’ in their eyes, so yes, you will hear very few unhappy skilled immigrant stories before coming to Canada. For this reason alone, most of them will not even return to their home countries and will apply for social assistance while doing some survival jobs and being paid in cash.

I have immigrated here from East Europe with 450+ points in Express Entry with Ielts band 8 – overall, Msc degree and many years of experience and I asked myself why the Government insists in bringing in Canada skilled immigrants, if the statistic tells they will end up doing some job that most born-Canadians don’t like to do. You just need normal immigrants (like war refugees) not skilled immigrants to do those jobs. But I think I have an answer to that. The Government of Canada knows that most immigrants who scores high in these immigration programs are Law-Abiding citizens, that’s all. Unlike refugees in Germany, these educated people migrating to Canada will not revert to crime or theft even when they struggle.

Amway this is just my input on this matter. I do not pretend to have the absolute truth or to know more then anyone else, but I sure know more then before immigrating to Canada. And yes, I have had job interviews and will even attend 2 more after writing this massage and more in the future, but even getting that job will not make me change even one word of what I have written above, because that is what I have seen and what I feel is right. Hope it helps other skilled immigrants think about twice before embracing the immigration pathway and don’t base their decision on some statistics or happy stories seen or heard in TV or elsewhere. Best of luck and btw don’t get ill in the process, a Canadian told me that their free health care system is a joke and unfortunately, I heard many stories to back this up too. But again that’s another story