Jobs commensurate with their skills?
Selected workers and skilled job access in Québec
Jean Renaud
Département de sociologie, Université de Montréal
Centre d’études ethniques des universités montréalaises
Centre de recherche interuniversitaire de Montréal sur l’immigration, l’intégration et
la dynamique urbaine
Tristan Cayn
Centre d’études ethniques des universités montréalaises
Study commissioned by the
Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec
June 2006First published as « Un emploi correspondant à ses compétences? Les travailleurs
sélectionnés et l’accès à un emploi qualifié au Québec » in March 2006. We thank
CIC for the translation.
This study was carried out by:
Jean Renaud
Département de sociologie de la Faculté des arts et des sciences de l’Université de
Montréal
Centre d’études ethniques des universités montréalaises
Centre de recherche interuniversitaire de Montréal sur l’immigration, l’intégration et
la dynamique urbaine
and Tristan Cayns universités montréalaises
It was commissionned by the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés
culturelles (MICC) and produced by the Direction des affaires publiques et des
communications du MICC.
The authors bear sole responsibility for the analysis and interpretation of the data in
this document.
To obtain copies of the study:
Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles
Direction des affaires publiques et des communications
360, rue McGill, bureau 2.09
Montréal (Québec) H2Y 2E9
Téléphone: (514) 873-8624, poste 20205
Web: www.micc.gouv.qc.ca
iiTABLE OF CONTENTS
Highlights................................................................................................................................vi
Background.......vi
Aim of secondary analyses ..................................................................................................vi
Overview of access to employment and skilled employment .................................... viii
The predictive potential of the selection grid… ............................................................. viii
… on first job access............................................................................................................ viii
… and access to a job commensurate with education................................................. ix
The predictive potential of an expanded range of factors …....................................... ix
… on first job access.... ix
… and access to a job commensurate with education..................................................x
The respondents slowest to find skilled jobs are those who: ............................................x
The effect of origin by period .............................................................................................. xi
Permanence of requalification ........................................................................................... xi
Discussion, conclusions.......................................................................................................... xi
Introduction..........................................................................................................................xiii
Section 1: Data and methods...............................................................................................1
1.1 Data...................................................................................................................................2
a) Selected worker sample.................................................................................................. 2
b) Dates....2
c) Questionnaire data ...................................................................................................2
d) Administrative data2
1.2 Explanatory factors studied ...........................................................................................3
a) Selection grid characteristics...................................................................................3
b) Personal characteristics ............................................................................................4
c) Preliminaries to immigration .....................................................................................5
d) Settlement arrangements.........................................................................................5
e) Regions of origin.........................................................................................................5
f) Economic cycles..........................................................................................................5
1.3 The National Occupational Classification and requalification .............................11
1.4 Analytical methods .......................................................................................................13
a) Survival curves ..........................................................................................................13
b) Semi-parametric and exponential piecewise survival regressions with
independent variables evolving over time ...............................................................14
Section 2: Job integration......................................................................................................1
2.1 First job access ................................................................................................................17
a) Definition....................................................................................................................17
b) Description.................................................................................................................17
c) The predictive potential of the selection grid .....................................................18
Regression table.......................................................................................................18
Main selection grid results.......................................................................................20
iiid) The predictive potential of the whole set of characteristics ............................21
Regression tables .....................................................................................................21
Main extended characteristics results ..................................................................27
Section 3: A job commensurate with education...............................................................34
3.1 First look at job qualification / dequalification ..........................................................35
a) Education and pre-immigration employment: a standard ..............................35
b) Mobility in the host society .....................................................................................37
3.2 First job commensurate with skill level .........................................................................40
a) Definition....................................................................................................................40
b) Description ................................................................................................................41
c) The predictive potential of the selection grid .....................................................43
Regression table.......................................................................................................43
Main selection grid results.......................................................................................45
d) The predictive potential of the whole set of characteristics ............................46
Regression tables .....................................................................................................46
Main extended characteristics results................................................................ 53
Section 4: Loss of skilled status............................................................................................58
4.1 Dequalification after qualification..............................................................................59
a) Definition....................................................................................................................59
b) Description ................................................................................................................59
c) The predictive potential of the selection grid .....................................................60
Regression table.......................................................................................................60
Main selection grid results.......................................................................................62
d) The predictive potential for the whole set of characteristics ...........................62
Regression table2
Main extended characteristics results ..................................................................65
Section 5: Discussion............................................................................................................67
5.1 What have we learned from this analysis?.................................................................68
5.2 What is the outcome? ...................................................................................................75
ivTables
Table 1: List of economic indexes....................................................................................6
Table 2: Saturation matrix after rotation .........................................................................7
Table 3: Level of education on federal permits and corresponding
NOC skill level.....................................................................................................12
Table 4: First job access, selection grid variables........................................................19
Table 5: Speed of first job access in Québec 22-23
Table 6: Speed of first job access, effects differentiated by periods................. 24-25
Table 7: Education and pre-immigration employment .............