OSPE - The Voice - May 2019 - 28

CAREERS

Location of Study, Male

50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%

Engineering

Professional

Degree Inside Canada

Underemployed

Degree Outside Canada

50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%

Location of Study, Female

Engineering
Degree Inside Canada

Professional

Underemployed

Degree Outside Canada

Figure 1: Proportion of Ontario Men and Women with Engineering Degree Holders by Location of Study and Type of Profession - 2015

Figure 1 illustrates the dichotomy of employment based on
receiving a degree from inside or outside Canada. Professional
positions are those that typically require a degree as a
qualification for employment.
While clear gaps exist between men who have degrees from
inside Canada and outside Canada, they nonetheless fare better
than women. Both men and women with degrees from inside
Canada are solidly employed in engineering or professional
positions, with over one third of women with engineering
degrees working in engineering and fully 43 per cent of
men. Only 18 per cent and 22 per cent of men and women,
respectively, are underemployed. For women with degrees
from outside Canada, only 13 per cent work in engineering
and just about one half are underemployed. This is obviously
discouraging for newcomers and it means women immigrants
have a 50/50 chance of only finding work in jobs not necessarily
requiring a degree.
Ontarians with engineering degrees from outside Canada
also earn less income than those with Canadian degrees
(Figure 2).
Annual Income by Location of Study
$100,000
$90,000
$80,000
$70,000
$60,000
$50,000
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000

-11%
-27%

WHAT IS OSPE DOING FOR NEWCOMERS TO CANADA?
-32%

Engineering
Degree Inside Canada

Professional

Underemployed

Degree Outside Canada

Figure 2: Weighted Median Income of Engineering Degree Holders in
Ontario by Type of Profession and Location of Study - 2015

28

THE VOICE

Summer 2019

Certainly, the gaps in income are significant between location
of study for professionals and the underemployed. However,
the gaps for those working in engineering are not as wide (11
per cent lower for degrees from outside Canada). This is not
to indicate an 11 per cent gap is acceptable, it suggests that for
those working in engineering, whether one has a degree from
inside or outside Canada does not make as much of a difference
in income than working in other types of professions.
Overall, observations based on analysis of census data
include:
* Those with degrees from outside Canada (immigrants) are
at a distinct disadvantage in finding work in engineering or
professional positions;
* Holders of engineering degrees from inside Canada had
more than twice the proportion of individuals working in
engineering than those with degrees from outside Canada;
more than twice the proportion of those with engineering
degrees from outside Canada were underemployed than the
proportion of people with degrees from inside Canada;
* Gaps were even more pronounced for women, with half of
women with engineering degrees from outside Canada being
underemployed in 2015;
* The narrowest income gaps were in engineering although
those with degrees from outside Canada earned 11 per cent
less than those with degrees from inside Canada.
It is well documented that immigrants indeed face barriers
in finding meaningful work once they move to Canada.
According to the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment
Council (TRIEC), "immigrants too often find they are unable
to apply their significant education and professional experience
towards meaningful employment in our region". In response to
this situation OSPE proposed and has received funding from
the Ontario Government to develop and deliver courses to
assist International Engineering Graduates (IEGs) to become
OSPE - The Voice - May 2019

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