Study-Work options for English Language or ESL Students in Canada
Yes you can, But it is not going to be easy, The overseas job market is a tricky one and whether you find a job there or not depends on how good you are. So before anything else you need to assess your own capabilities. And you need to be honest about this assessment. See what category(ies) you fit into:
1. Type A – Highly academic – Will have a Masters degree or above. Perhaps, even a PhD.or will be called a Geek at some point in life. talk about the theory of relativity like you and I will talk about the cricket score. May not have a very high degree of English skills, but will have adequate to get around and get his work done.
2. Type B – The real go getter – Extremely confident, excellent English skills including spoken and written, may not have a high qualification but would have a degree at the minimum, would have been called a wheeler-dealer or glib talker at some point in life, would be willing to start low in the organisation Knowing fully well, he can claw his way up quickly through his street smartness.
3. Type C – Average Joe – The name says it alli.e., average in pretty much everything but an overpowering desire to go abroad.
4. Type D – Middle age blues – Will be between late 20s or late 30s. Has this persistent feeling that life somehow has given a raw deal and going abroad will fix the problem especially the monetary aspect. Will also suffer from feeling of inadequacy about not creating or having grabbed opportunities in the past. Will exhibit or at some point in time would have had qualities of type A, B or C.
5. Type E – Desi boy – Very desi, poor communications skills but again like average Joe has an overpowering desire to go abroad.
Now depending on which category you fall into your overseas job chances are as follows:
1. Type A will find a job without a problem if they diligently apply for jobs especially if they have qualifications and experience in high technology areas. They need to be focused on where they are applying. Generic job sites will not be very effective as much as focused research to find out opportunities on company websites who are seeking specific team members. But sometimes you can hit pay dirt from a general jobsite as well. It’s a known fact that many companies especially, Technology firms cannot find specialised people and encourage their governments to create ‘skills shortage lists’ so that talent can be attracted. So you have a very good chance and it’s imperative you use the net to search the skills shortage list of the country you intend to go to. If your qualification and work experience is listed then you have a very good chance. Then you really start the research and send your CV to targeted companies or job sites/agencies. You don’t need a local Canadian ‘consultant’ who will essentially do the same thing that I am suggesting i.e. send your CV to many job sites abroad and may not have the inclination to do specific search suited to your profile. The thing is these consultants will charge you a bomb for work that you can essentially do yourself if you set aside an hour every day. Simply follow the steps I outlined. If this approach fails go for another Masters or PhD and then use this as a pathway towards eventual job. If you choose the study to work pathway please use HC.
2. Type B can also find a job but, they will not have the same success as type A. Mainly because type B will have qualifications that will not be in the skills shortage lists of many countries. They do not need BA, B.Com types and unfortunately our dashing type B will have only one of these. Or worse they will have an Engineering degree that will technically fall into a skills shortage but they struggled through the engineering course with many backlogs and the only use they can put a Vernier Callipers now is to check the size of their drink in the absence of a peg measure! So these guys will need to find their way into the country and then use their charm to find a job. One way of doing it is to see if they qualify for immigration under the points system prevalent in many countries which is being changed in Canada and specially for international students. This will essentially lead to a work-to-residency sort of permit. Obviosly this will be easier to get if you have a spouse who is also qualified. That gives additional points. The other way is to try and get a visitor visa and then once you land there look around for a job and apply for a regular work permit. But getting a visitor visa is not as easy as it sounds and also there will be a reasonable amount of struggle to find a job on a visitor visa as most employers will be apprehensive to employ you while you are on a visitor status. But it can work. One word of caution-DO NOT overstay if you are on a visitor visa. Canada Immigration officers HATE overstayers and you can also get into legal trouble and even be jailed. We would never promote any illegal inmigration to Canada. An easier option is to go for a Masters or specific Diploma and then use this as a pathway towards eventual job. If you choose the study to work pathway please use HC.
3. Type C – It is always a struggle for this type unless they make a valiant attempt to change their circumstances especially qualification and communication. I would suggest getting into a local course for language as well as some technical qualification like IELTS, etc and then attempt for TOEFL path. That’s pretty the best advice I can give. A much better way they can utilise is through the study-to-work pathway which will also give the average Joe time to improve on communication and social skills during the stint as a student. If you choose the study to work pathway please use HC.
4. Because type D exhibit traits of A,B or C it is best to decide which type you exactly are and then attempt to do what is suggested.
5. Type E are better off staying home and doing something locally as they will otherwise be exploited rather cruelly even if they manage to smuggle themselves into a country. Sadly these are the people who are exploited by the people smugglers and also the unscrupulous education agents who enable them to go abroad through fakes documents, etc. But once they reach there they are completely lost because they simply cannot cope with the environment unless they already have some family or friends there. But these are the type most likely to actually degenerate into a second graded life after the initial euphoria of being in ‘phoren’ evaporates. Their problem can be curbed by curbing the unscrupulous agents.
I hope that helps. If you choose the study to work pathway please use HC. Otherwise, best wishes and do not hesitate to write to me for further advice at
hineni_inquiries (at)mail(dot)com Best Wishes,
Miriam Iom Managing Director Hineni Communications
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