學歷還是時機?

其實之前已經看到這篇本地報紙的文章, 關於技術移民, 到底是因為他們的學歷影響他們在加拿大成功落地生根? 還是其實是移民抵達加拿大的時機造成影響? 最近世界的的經濟狀況真的很不好, 加拿大也無法倖免, 想了很久, 還是把這篇文章抓出來, 大家參考囉!

這篇文章出自本地的報紙Vancouver Sun, 原標題是: 根據研究, 大學畢業的移民比較難在溫哥華找到好的工作. (先提醒一下, 新聞的標題通常只是某個角度, 通常得要把全篇文章看完, 才能明白全貌!) 接下來嚐試翻譯一下這篇文章.

University-educated immigrants less likely to find good jobs in Vancouver: study
By Chad Skelton December 22, 2008


More than a quarter of university-educated immigrants in Vancouver are still working in low-skilled jobs a decade after arriving in Canada, a higher proportion than in any other major city in the country, according to a new study by Statistics Canada.
在溫哥華, 超過1/4的大學學歷移民, 在住進加拿大十年之後仍然從事低技能的工作. 根據加拿大統計局的研究, 這個比例高於全國任何一個城市.

The study, released Monday, looked at how Vancouver immigrants who arrived from 1990 to 1994 with university degrees were faring.
這份研究主要的研究對象是1990到1994年住進溫哥華的大學學歷技術移民, 研究他們目前的生活適應狀況.

It found that 24 per cent of the men and 33 per cent of the women were still working in low-skilled jobs — such as clerks, cashiers or taxi drivers. That’s higher than the national average of 21 per cent for men and 29 per cent for women, and also slightly higher than the country’s other major immigrant-receiving cities such as Toronto and Montreal.
這份研究發現: 這群住在溫哥華的大學學歷技術移民, 24%的男性和33%的女性目前仍然從事低技能的工作, 比如辦事員, 收銀員或計程車司機. 這個比例高於加拿大全國的平均值: 分別是男性21%, 女性29%. 同時也比加拿大的其他主要城市比如多倫多和蒙特婁都高.

Don DeVoretz, an economics professor at Simon Fraser University who studies immigration, said Vancouver’s rates may be higher because the city lacks the kind of research-heavy industries that hire lots of engineers and mathematicians.
SFU大學研究移民議題的經濟學教授認為, 溫哥華的比例偏高, 可能是因為溫哥華相對而言, 缺少需要大量工程師和數學家, 深度倚賴研究研發導向的相關產業.

Overall, the study found that well-established immigrants — those who have been in Canada between 10 and 15 years — are faring much worse now than they were in the early 1990s Since 1991, the proportion of such immigrants in low-skilled jobs jumped from 12 to 21 per cent for men and from 24 to 29 per cent for women. During that same time, the rate stayed more or less the same for Canadian-born men and women, at about 10 per cent.
整體而言, 這份研究報告指出已經在加拿大生活10到15年的落地生根移民, 目前生活的比他們在1990早期生活的不好. 十幾年來, 從事低技能工作的比例男性從12%跳到21%, 而女性從24%跳到29%. 在1990早期, 加拿大本地出生, 從事低技能工作的比例大約是10%. (我猜這部分比較的應該也是大學學歷的本地人)

從事低技能工作的比例 男性 女性
溫哥華(目前) 24% 33%
加拿大全國(目前) 21% 29%
加拿大全國(1990s) 12% 24%


Researchers have long known that recent immigrants to Canada often struggle to find work that matches their skills. What makes this recent study worrying, said study author Diane Galarneau, is that it suggests those barriers don’t erode over time.
很多不同的研究已經普遍瞭解, 新移民初抵加拿大的時候, 常常掙扎著無法找到能和他們原來學歷和經驗技能相符合的工作. 而這份研究報告指出讓人憂心的是, 看起來這些融入適應障礙並沒有因為時間而減緩.

“We used to see this for recent immigrants and now we’re starting to see it for established immigrants,” she said. “This is a form of underemployment and it reduces their contribution to Canada.”
"我們總是關注新移民的融入適應障礙, 而現在我們可能也要開始關注老移民的相關問題.""這是另一種形式的低度就業, 而這些都減少了他們對加拿大的貢獻"

However, some local immigration experts said the study’s findings should be treated with caution. Dan Hiebert is a geography professor at the University of B.C. and co-director of Metropolis B.C., which studies immigration issues. Hiebert said research clearly shows that people who start their working lives during an economic downturn have less success over their careers than those who start working during a boom.
然而, 本地的移民議題專家提醒應該要小心解讀這份研究報告. UBC的教授指出, 在經濟不景氣時移民, 並開始新工作職涯的人, 比起那些在經濟蓬勃發展時開始新職涯的移民, 比較不成功.

As a result, he said, the poor performance of established immigrants in 2006 may simply be due to the fact they arrived in this country during a recession in the early 1990s, when jobs were more scarce than they were in the 1970s or 1980s.
因而, 這些老移民的表現不佳可能只是因為他們是在1990初期, 加拿大經濟不景氣的時候移民進來. 當時工作機會顯著的比1970或是1980年代缺乏.

DeVoretz said the figures may also reflect the fact that a number of the most skilled immigrants to Canada in the 1990s — in particular those from Hong Kong — have either gone back to their home country or moved to the U.S. “Over time, the people who are left are less talented,” he said.
SFU教授同時指出, 這些數據同時顯示1990年代的大多數技術移民, 尤其是香港來的移民, 很多要嘛回流, 要嘛已經移居美國. "漸漸地, 留下來的是比較沒有那麼優秀的." (這句話挺嚇人, 一定要強調, 這不是我說的喔)

Despite their reservations about the study, both DeVoretz and Hiebert said immigrants face genuine difficulty in finding work to match their training. DeVoretz said the best solution may be to stop admitting immigrants based on their level of education — which may or may not be recognized in Canada — and instead develop an employment-based immigration system that admits those who already have a firm job offer here.
暫且不論兩位學者對於此份報告的有所保留, 他們仍然一致認為移民面對相當程度的困難, 難以找到和他們學經歷相當的工作. 因而建議也許最好的方法是放棄目前以學歷為標準的移民政策, 取而代之的發展一套以聘雇(優先提供給已經確認有本地工作的人)為基礎的新移民方式.


cskelton@vancouversun.com © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
資料引用處:
http://www.vancouversun.com/University+educated+immigrants+less+likely+find+good+jobs+Vancouver+study/1106070/story.html