In July 2014, IEC-BC made the transition from being a program of Vancouver Foundation, which incubated the Council in 2008, to become an independent not-for-profit society. This evolution is a reflection of the strong programming provided by the organization in helping employers and communities access and integrate the full range of skills that trained immigrants bring to British Columbia.
The past year has been another year of growth for IEC-BC, and equally of growth in the need for IEC-BC’s work. As the country’s population grew by over one and a quarter million people in 2023, at 3.2% the fastest growth in 66 years, 2024 brought renewed concerns around public support for immigration and the capacity of the economy to integrate so many workers.
New Provincial funding kicking into gear in the 2023-2024 fiscal year has generated more impact for employers, newcomers, and the economy. Service provider partners across the country continue to adopt IEC-BC developed programs like FAST and ASCEND for their clients, broadening their impact, while programs like MentorConnect connect even more newcomers with experts in their field at inclusive employers for career guidance. Opportunities at FAST and ASCEND are now open to international students and newcomers with open work permits, increasing both their
reach and the ability of employers to access, retain, and develop skilled talent.
Read the report in single-page and double-page format.
The past year has been one of tremendous growth for IEC-BC. As the BC and Canadian economies roared back to life in 2022 the country’s population grew by over a million people, or 2.7 per cent—the greatest relative increase since 1957. In welcoming more immigrants, the need for IEC-BC’s unique expertise has grown: the last four years have seen the organization’s programming grow fourfold.
With a larger team and more resources at our disposal came greater impact for employers. Dozens of partners from coast to coast continue to adopt IEC-BC programs like FAST and ASCEND, confirming the value of employment programming developed in collaboration with industry. Here in BC, we connected three times more talented immigrants with employers than last year, deepened our engagement with tech sector employers, and drastically increased numbers of employer mentors, who consider IEC-BC programs as key pillars of their hiring and inclusion strategies. Longtime partners continue to look to IEC-BC for solutions to their labour force needs while more small- and medium-sized businesses than ever are benefitting from our programs.
2021-2022 Annual Report
With BC and Canada’s economies emerging from the shadow of the pandemic, it has been encouraging to see the country on track to settle a record number of immigrants in 2022. This is a welcome change from border closures and business restrictions.
IEC-BC is proud to have been invited to new national policy tables to share our insights gathered through our unwavering support for the inclusion of employers’ voices in the policy space, so that business and sector needs are kept top of mind when it comes to economic immigration decisions.
While most public health restrictions have been lifted, it is clear that economic challenges are still ahead of us. Rising inflation, a tight labour market and housing affordability are just a few of the factors that threaten to hamper growth. We remain committed to our purpose and to expand efforts to support employers and immigrants and will face these challenges together. Read the report.
2020-2021 Annual Report
As the world faced border closures, mass shutdowns, and fears of a global recession, IEC-BC and our partners remained steadfast in our commitment to connect BC employers with immigrant talent to help grow their businesses and support the provincial economy. Just as Canada confirmed the importance of increased immigration and its commitment to admit record levels of permanent residents in the coming years, our employer partners, funders and service delivery partners also renewed their belief in IEC-BC’s mission and impact.
We are grateful for the unwavering support and dedication of our staff, partners, funders, and board. Together, we’ve been able to showcase strength and resilience throughout the pandemic, which has nurtured a deep sense of responsibility and commitment to our organizational goals and values. This sense of responsibility is at the heart of everything we do. With a renewed sense of gratitude, we will continue to examine and improve our community impact to help all British Columbians emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever. Read the report.
2019-2020 Annual Report
Last year, British Columbia welcomed over 50,320 permanent residents, who brought with them high levels of education, as well as skills in entrepreneurship and innovation. Yet when compared with Canadian-born workers, newcomers still face fewer employment opportunities, with only half of BC’s job-ready immigrants able to find employment that matches their credentials. The economic toll that has accompanied the health crisis caused by COVID-19 has sharpened the focus on BC’s skills and labour needs, and further highlights the importance of connecting workers and employers.
It is with this knowledge and awareness that IEC-BC and its partners continue to provide an essential platform on which to facilitate meaningful connections between employers and immigrant talent. We provide the tools and vital resources required to find, hire and retain skilled newcomers, allowing them better access to the Canadian labour market.
The past year has been one of progress, hard work and success. We at IEC-BC invite you to find out more about our journey, the partnerships that make it possible, and the steps we are taking to promote our vision for diverse and inclusive workplaces in BC.
2018-2019 Annual Report
British Columbia welcomed over 45,000 immigrants in 2018. On average, new immigrants arrive with higher levels of education than the Canadian-born. Despite this, highly skilled newcomers struggle to find employment commensurate with their skills and immigrants have higher underemployment and unemployment rates than the Canadian-born workers – all while employers across the province identify skills and labour shortages as critical impediments to maintaining or growing their businesses. This is a problem. BC is failing to fully benefit from the skilled immigrant talent coming into its communities. As countries around the world become more restrictive to migrants, Canada can become the destination of choice for skilled immigrants if we can show them that the journey to Canada is worth the effort. To attract the right people, we need to provide them with the right opportunities. Aligning highly skilled newcomers with jobs in their field that use their expertise is essential to growing our economy.
But this cannot be left to the market; active interventions are required. IEC-BC and its partners connect employers to immigrant talent by providing the tools and resources needed to find, hire, and retain newcomers. We simultaneously provide newcomers with the knowledge and skills required to better access the Canadian labour market and communicate their experience to employers.
2017-2018 Annual Report
As we mark our 10-year anniversary, we reflect on a remarkable journey and share our vision for the future. IEC-BC emerged from the summit on immigrant employment co-hosted by the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Foundation in October 2008. While there were many groups working with immigrants, there was no organization devoted to helping employers connect with global talent and build their capacity for an immigrant workforce.
For founding CEO, Kelly Pollack, our call to action was clear: develop evidence-based initiatives that are employer-focused, rooted in best practices and help resolve the issue of immigrant underemployment and unemployment. Fast-forward to 2018, and we have now given hundreds of BC employers the tools and resources they need to grow their business and advance BC’s economy by connecting with global talent.
We invite you to read about our most notable achievements over these 10 years.
2016-2017 Annual Report
In 2016-2017, IEC-BC worked to empower BC businesses to succeed in attracting global talent and reaching new markets. We developed innovative tools, resources and nimble solutions – all with a view to maximizing these diversity benefits. And we made sure that our programs and initiatives look at the whole continuum – from targeted pre-arrival supports, to effective ways of connecting employers to new Canadians once they land here.
We invite you to find out more about our journey, as well as the unique approaches and perspectives of those change-makers who help us achieve our vision of BC employers growing and prospering by fully using immigrant talent.
2015-2016 Annual Report
2015-2016 was a year of inspiration and innovation, a year of identifying new strategies and developing new business models – all with a view to helping British Columbia employers effectively connect with immigrant talent and stay ahead of the curve. On this journey, we were inspired and helped by the many employers, industry associations, immigrant settlement agencies, Professional Immigrant Networks (PINs), community leaders, and other stakeholders we have had the privilege to work with. We received the financial support of our funder, the Government of Canada, and we were very fortunate to benefit from the talents and commitment of IEC-BC’s staff.
Responding to the year’s challenges required leadership and innovation, and IEC-BC piloted cutting-edge projects, forged new partnerships, and served as a catalyst for change – in both attitudes and practices. Throughout the year, we engaged with our key stakeholders to identify strategies to effectively leverage the potential of the skilled immigrant labour force in BC, unlock hiring biases and remove barriers to the employment of global talent in the Province.
2014-2015 Annual Report
By any measure, 2014-15 was a milestone year for IEC-BC. One of our proudest accomplishments during the 2014-2015 fiscal year was our success in facilitating dialogue and networking opportunities among skilled immigrants, employers, community agencies and other partners needed to help employers overcome barriers to tap into the immigrant talent pool.
Our one-day summit Mind The Gap – Winning Global Talent for BC’s Continued Prosperity set the stage for 2014/1015 by bringing together more than 80 business, industry, government and community leaders to identify strategic immigrant workforce development practices needed to address the looming shortage of skilled workers in BC. Over this fiscal year, IEC-BC held numerous workshops, round-tables and events to keep the conversation going and encourage like-minded partners to explore opportunities and develop innovative solutions to create diverse, inclusive workplaces that improve labour force participation by qualified immigrants.