Knowledge not acknowledged

The recent recession has hit the Canadian economy badly and the government is trying to inject booster doses to keep it alive. All possible efforts are being made to help us crawl out and improve the deteriorating condition of our collective fiscal situation.

We're all concerned about our economy, but do we also care as much for our knowledge economy and knowledge management? I believe that in today’s globalized economy, knowledge resources such as know-how and expertise are as critical as other economic resources. The basic infrastructure of a country rests on the pillars of knowledge and the level of education of its citizens. Education is a light that enlightens the mind and brightens one's path to success.

The educated and skilled immigrants from around the world come to Canada with the aim to utilize their education, experience and skills in different areas of economic and national development, and to contribute a valuable share to the progress and prosperity of the country.

We have an acute shortage of doctors and other professionals in many fields. Ironically, on the other hand, there are huge stockpiles of foreign qualified immigrants, whose skills are not being utilized to the fullest capacity, and this is an enormous loss.

They have knowledge, which is not acknowledged.

What is the actual utilization of an immigrant’s education and skills in Canada? Can't we evaluate and incorporate externally acquired technical knowledge into our system and make it productive for the country?

To seek answers to the above questions, I went through the research conducted by Dr. Jeffrey G. Reitz, a professor of sociology at the University of Toronto. He states that the underutilization of immigrant skills may be defined as any employment of immigrants in work below a level of skill at which they could function as effectively as native-born Canadians. This leads to an immigrant employment disadvantage, and their skills are not properly utilized in the labour market, which creates poverty and many social problems as a result.

It is a vast topic that needs an objective analysis. In my next several installments of this blog, I will try to convey the findings of various studies conducted in our universities based on statistical facts. The underutilization of skills also questions the aims, objectives and achievements of the whole immigration process.

The accountants, chemists, doctors, engineers, professors and PhD scientists come here to look for better opportunities. But within a few months after arrival, most of them are forced, by circumstances, to change professions and look for any available job in order to make ends meet. As a result, they soon feel disappointed with the outcome of immigrating to Canada.

As a first step, to have an on-site view of the situation, I spoke to 10 gas station attendants in the Greater Toronto Area and asked them about their education and skills.

Seven out of 10 people I spoke to — from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, who have bachelor and master degrees in business administration, commerce, medicine, natural and physical sciences — are working as gas attendants because of various extenuating factors and would prefer to be using their educations by working in their chosen field and profession.

Yet some of them were currently happy, too, as there is no fear of layoffs when one is a gas station attendant, and they reportedly feel a kind of security. Plus this job is also better than a temporary factory job, which sometimes requires heavy lifting and a tedious routine.

The Canadian government did not spend a single penny on the elementary and university education of these foreign-qualified university graduates. Yet we certainly have the most educated gas attendants in the world. During my own job at a gas station, I arranged jobs for a medical doctor from Syria and an accountant from Pakistan.

Is it a matter of pride or shame, or simply a reckless waste of knowledge? Our policy makers should seriously look into this issue and the social and cultural implications it poses for immigrant children and families.

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Hello Khalid_ejaz,