Hi All,
First off let me say that I've seen quite a few of you here on ATS and respect you guys. For those who may not know, I'm a skilled immigrant from
South Africa and celebrated my 5th 'birthday' in Canada last week. I also think some of you guys have missed the point here, and let me try clarify
what I'm saying.
There is a HUGE difference between a skilled immigrant and somebody who comes here illegally. If you think it get's under your skin seeing people
working for $3/hr etc etc, let me tell you, you have no idea how it feels for me. And let me state, it has nothing to do with race, etc. It has to do
with my personal experience and all the hoops I had to jump through to get here.
It took 3 &1/2 years for my application to go through. It cost a LOT of money, plenty of paperwork, and I even had a 3hr interview in Pretoria. I had
to backup all my claims, education etc, and PROVE that I am who I say, and that I can do what I claim. For God's sake, I had to prove that I'm
proficient in English. Now, how do you think I feel when I see people here that can't speak a word of English or French?
It irks me because how is it that I had to go through all the hoops, and yet there are plenty who obviously didn't, but somehow they are here? Well,
I've learnt not to worry about it anymore and focus on my life. Those people are not going to earn what a skilled worker can. Hell, if they are
illegal they won't have healthcare etc. So it isn't all milk and honey for them.
So let's understand the difference between skilled workers / labour and those you speak of.... HUGE difference. Now, also think of the government as
an employer. Are you going to pay someone to get skilled and then eventually hope for the payoff, or are you going to hire someone with that skill
already - meaning it costs you nothing but you benefit immediately?? It's a no brainer people.
And speaking of this lack of jobs, I started a new job in January. I travel 70 kilometers one way each day to get there. No problem for me. If it
takes that to move forward in life, I will do it. In February we were looking for a driver / packer. Simple job really. Load up a van with a bunch of
boxes of fasteners and related products, deliver and unpack into the customers bins.
We hired 3 guys in the space of 3 weeks, all quit. 2 of them lasted 2 days, the other 3 days. I know for sure they were being offered between
$14-$16/hr. And let's be honest, you don't need to have a master degree to do what they had to. All you needed was a driver's license, the ability to
read and some common sense....right?? I'm pretty sure almost every Canadian has that.
Jobs are out there, but unfortunately people just don't want to get their hands dirty and put in a little hard. What a shame..... what a shame....
edit on 11-4-2012 by TortoiseKweek because: (no reason given)