Migration and Social Capital Factors in the School-to-

Work Transitions of Immigrant Youth

Lori Wilkinson, Ph.D.Associate Professor

University of Manitoba

29 September 2009

Presented at the Prairie Metropolis Centre Winnipeg Research Symposium

Youth Employment in Canada Finding good employment a marker of

integration 352,500 youth are looking for work Youth between the ages of 15 & 24 make up

31.1% of all unemployed persons Among youth, immigrants are most likely to be

unemployed Over half of all migrants to developed nations

are under age 29 years

UN, 2007; Statistics Canada, 2007 & 2003; Anisef et al., 2006; Wilkinson, 2008

Only 25% of immigrant youth have job experience by the time they are 18 years, compared with 60% of Canadian-born youth

Factors that influence job history among immigrants: Age at immigration Level of education Visible minority status Obtaining “Canadian” work experience

Many immigrant youth do not find work that is equivalent to their previous work experience or level of education

Shields & Rahi, 2003; Perreira et al., 2007; Kunz, 2003; Omidvar & Richmond, 2003;Anisef, et al., 2007; Beaujot and Kerr, 2007

Labour Force Participation Indicators, 2005- Employed

Females Males Total Females Males Total

Employed (full- & part-time) Youth ages 15 to 24 years 73.0% 73.2% 73.1% 59.1% 60.6% 59.9% Adults ages 25-54 years 85.0% 92.3% 88.6% 76.9% 90.0% 83.1% Recently arrived (15-24 years) n/a n/a n/a 47.0% 50.8% 48.9% Recently arrived (25-54 years) n/a n/a n/a 64.7% 84.2% 73.8%

Canadian-born Immigrant-born

Data from Statistics Canada (2008) 2006 Census of Canada, based on calculations of the researcher.

Labour Force Participation Indicators, 2005- Unemployment

Females Males Total Females Males Total

Unemployment rate Youth ages 15 to 24 years 11.9% 13.2% 12.5% 14.3% 14.5% 14.4% Adults ages 25 to 54 years 5.0% 5.2% 5.1% 7.6% 5.4% 6.5% Recently arrived (15-24 years) n/a n/a n/a 16.4% 9.3% 15.4% Recently arrived (25-54 years) n/a n/a n/a 14.4% 14.3% 11.7%

Canadian-born Immigrant-born

Data from Statistics Canada (2008) 2006 Census of Canada, based on calculations of the researcher.

Social Capital, Family Influences on Job Search Strategies Few studies on the influence of social capital

on full-time employment for immigrants More than 70% of American-born workers find

their current jobs through networks Research suggests that finding full-time

employment may be affected by: English language proficiency or accent Age at immigration Perceived standing in host culture Immigrant status: 1.5/2.0 generation are most neglected in

research

Yan, 2000; Manni, 1994; Kilbride et.al, 2004; Anisef et. Al, 2003; Nesdale and Pinter 2000; Leu, 2009

Phase One Quantitative analysis of the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to

Canada (LSIC) Consists of 20,300 immigrants who arrived in Canada during autumn

2001 Randomly selected by Citizenship & Immigration Canada

Representative of major immigrant-sending countries

Representative of the major entrance classes (including government/private sponsored refugees)

Not representative of refugee claimants Wave 1 (6 months after arrival), Wave 2 (2 years after arrival), and

Wave 3 (four years after arrival)

Phase Two Qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 100

youth in Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg & Vancouver

Similar characteristics to those in LSIC Special interest in comparing the trajectories

for those with high school education, trade/technical school education or university education

Extensive questions about educational and work history prior to arrival, at arrival & post-arrival

LSIC Sample Characteristics & Methodology Respondents are aged 15 to 29 years at time

of arrival Must have immigrated to Canada between

October 2000 and September 2001 Excludes those coming from the US and

Australia Used logistic regression models for each of

the three time periods: six months after arrival, 2 years after arrival and four years after arrival

Dependent variable Full-time employment status: are you working full-

time or not? 1=working full-time (using Statistics Canada

definition of 30 hours per week) 0=not working full-time

Measured at Waves 1, 2 and 3 Log [P(Y)/P(NoY)]=

Statistics Canada, 2007a; 2007b

iiXX ...110

Determinants of Full-time Employment Pre-migration/SWT characteristics

Gender (1=female) Marital status (1=relationship) Presence of dependents in household (1=yes) Highest education prior to arrival (dummy) Canadian degree (1=yes) Age (continuous)

Integration variables: Immigration category (dummy) Visible minority status (1=yes) Language proficiency (index)

Social capital variables Family in Canada prior to arrival (1=yes) Friends in Canada prior to arrival (1=yes) Sponsorship status (1=yes)

Logistic Models of SWT Wave 1Table 1 Logistic Models of SWT, Integration and Social Capital by Wave 1 Models.

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3Logged Odds SE Logged Odds SE Logged Odds SE

School-to-work Gender .674** .144 .660** .145 .668** .145 Age 1.009 .025 1.009 .026 1.006 .026 Marital status 1.222 .173 1.261 .181 1.262 .182 Children .956 .169 .932 .183 .952 .183 Education level Some university .944 .215 .971 .218 .988 .219 Doctorate 1.033 .253 1.282 .262 1.329 .263 Canadian Degree .970 .388 1.087 .393 1.099 .395Integration Immigration category Skilled workers .457** .244 .706 .312 Business immigrants .861 .317 1.222 .353 Family Class .605* .250 .559* .258 Visible minority .645** .166 .644** .168 Language proficiency 1.749 .299 1.813* .300Social Capital Family 1.068 .170 Friends 1.293 .147 Sponsor 1.878* .252Constant ..095*** .516 .206** .607 .108** .658 Note: *p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001; Model 1 R2 = .009; Model 2 R2 = .026; Model 3 R2 = .034

Factors influencing full-time employment 6 months after arrival

0.66

1.006

1.262

0.9520.988

1.329

1.099

0.706

1.222

0.5590.644

1.813

1.068

1.293

1.878

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Gender***

Age

Marital Status

Childrenpresent

Sometertiaryeducation

Doctoraldegree

Degree inCanada

Skilledworkerclass

Businessclass

Family Class*

VisibleMinority**

LanguageProficient*

FamilySK

FriendSK

Sponsor-shipStatus*

*p<0.05**p<001***p<0.001

Logistic Models of SWT Wave 2Table 2 Logistic Models of SWT, Integration and Social Capital by Wave 2 Models.

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3Logged Odds SE Logged Odds SE Logged Odds SE

School-to-work Gender .779* .125 .770* .126 .780 .127 Age .987 .021 .983 .022 .977 .023 Marital status 1.091 .149 1.098 .156 1.096 .157 Children .779 .150 .770 .162 .783 .163 Education level Some university 1.321 .189 1.372 .191 1.400 .193 Doctorate 1.258 .226 1.451 .233 1.519 .235 Canadian Degree 1.042 .327 1.102 .331 1.092 .333Integration Immigration category Skilled workers .628* .221 .906 .283 Business immigrants .762 .300 1.028 .333 Family Class .725 .228 .652 .235 Visible minority .697* .147 .696* .149 Language proficiency 1.752* .268 1.840* .271Social Capital Family 1.184 .149 Friends 1.636*** .129 Sponsor 1.820** .224Constant ..197*** .450 .368 .534 .184** .583Note: *p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001; Model 1 R2 = .008; Model 2 R2 = .018; Model 3 R2 = .034

Factors influencing full-time employment 2 years after arrival

1.096

1.519

1.092

0.906

1.028

0.6520.696

1.84

1.184

1.636

1.82

0.977

0.78 0.783

1.4

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 11 1 1 1 15

*p<0.05**p<001***p<0.001

Gender

Age

MaritalStatus

Childrenpresent

Sometertiaryeducation

Doctoraldegree

Degree inCanada

Skilledworker

Businessclass

Familyclass

VisibleMinority*

FamilySK

LanguageProficient*

FriendSK***

Sponsor-ship status**

Logistic Models of SWT Wave 3Table 3 Logistic Models of SWT, Integration and Social Capital by Wave 3 Models.

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3Logged Odds SE Logged Odds SE Logged Odds SE

School-to-work Gender .396*** .094 .381*** .095 .380*** .095 Age 1.106*** .015 1.132*** .016 1.135*** .016 Marital status .765* .112 .632*** .118 .639*** .119 Children .576*** .102 .711** .111 .706** .112 Education level Some university 1.597*** .130 1.544** .134 1.543** .134 Doctorate 1.971*** .156 1.946*** .163 1.963*** .164 Canadian Degree 1.165 .260 1.268 .264 1.317 .264Integration Immigration category Skilled workers 1.205 .173 1.517 .225 Business immigrants .830 .232 1.010 .263 Family Class 1.965*** .179 1.780** .183 Visible minority .759* .115 .729** .116 Language proficiency .544* .237 .558* .237Social Capital Family 1.245* .109 Friends .884 .095 Sponsor 1.226 .180Constant .161*** .318 .092*** .392 .068*** .430 Note: *p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001; Model 1 R2 = .199; Model 2 R2 = .219; Model 3 R2 = .223

Factors influencing full-time employment 4 years after arrival

0.38

1.135

0.639

1.543

1.963

1.317

1.517

1.01

1.78

1.245 1.226

0.884

0.5580.7290.706

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

*p<0.05**p<001***p<0.001 Gender***

Age***

MaritalStatus***

ChildrenPresent***

Sometertiaryeducation**

DoctoralDegree***

DegreeIn Canada

Skilledworker

Businessclass

FamilyClass**

VisibleMinority** Language

Proficient*

FamilySK*

FriendSK

Sponsor-ship status

Model interpretation Gender plays a role at arrival and 4 years later It takes time for educational credentials to be

recognized with full-time work Mixed results with immigrant class Language proficiency key to finding full-time work in

short and medium-term Visible minority status has a negative effect on

access to full-time work at all time points Social capital factors play a role, particularly

sponsorship status; Family and friendship social capital more important in the early stages of integration

Policy Questions to Consider Why are visible minority migrant youth having

significant difficulties in the labour market? Is it time to reconsider challenges to Employment Equity legislation?

How can we ensure youth requiring language training have access to it?

How can we facilitate friendship & family social capital networks among newcomers?

What can be done to convince employers of the value of the credentials and languages brought to the labour market by migrant youth?

A Note from Statistics Canada The UBC and Manitoba Research Data Centres of

Statistics Canada provided invaluable advice relating to the statistical analysis and access to the confidential data from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada. All errors and omissions are the responsibility of the author.

The analysis is based on confidential micro-data received from Statistics Canada and the opinions expressed do not represent the views of Statistics Canada.

Acknowledgements Research assistants Colleagues:

Dr. Rick Sin McMaster University Dr. K.T. Tsang University of Toronto Dr. M.C. Yan UBC

Advisory panel members Statistics Canada Research Data Centres SSHRC/Metropolis Strategic Joint Initiative &

our Metropolis Centres for funding this study and the pilot projects.