Immigrants to Quebec find job search hard

[ErickMontreal]

Immigrants to Quebec find job search hard

 

Last Updated: Friday, September 4, 2009 | 4:16 PM ET

CBC News

 

Recent immigrants to Quebec have a harder time finding work than the average person, according to a CBC report.

 

Aurelie Tseng has been looking for a job in Montreal for two years.Aurelie Tseng has been looking for a job in Montreal for two years. (CBC)The unemployment rate for new immigrants living in the province is nearly double the national joblessness average of eight per cent.

 

Language barriers are a major obstacle for many people looking for work, especially in Quebec, where the dominant language is French.

 

But even for French-speaking immigrants, searching for employment can be frustrating.

 

Aurelie Tseng is a Taiwanese immigrant who moved to Quebec two years ago to be with her husband.

 

Tseng has a business degree, speaks French, and is looking for work in her field.

 

But after two years of looking for a job, she remains unemployed, and her discouragement grows.

 

"I have no clue how to do it," Tseng told CBC News. "It takes more courage [now] because I have been depressed for a long time."

 

Tseng has sought advice from YES Montreal, a non-profit organization that offers job-search services.

 

They told her networking is key to finding any job.

 

But networking in a new country is daunting, Tseng said.

 

"In my country nobody does that, nobody would tell you to do that," she admitted.

 

Tseng believes her Taiwanese background has made her job search tougher.

 

"We are more, you know, moderate and modest. You just want to say 'OK, yes, I probably can do this,' but for example people here, they don't like to hear that, they want you to say it out loud: 'Yes I can do it' not just, 'Oh yes I think I can do it,' for example."

 

Tseng said she's hoping to eventually get a break at a bank in Montreal's Chinatown.