Affiliations:
School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Suzanne Huot, School of Occupational Therapy, 1201 Western Rd., Elborn College, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada. Tel.: +1 519 661 2111 x 81174; Fax: +1 519 661 3894; E-mail: shuot2@uwo.ca.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Immigrants engage in complex integration processes that are mediated through daily occupations. A central element of socio-economic integration relates to labor market preparation and participation, including job searching, learning cultural values in the workplace, pursuing credential recognition and engaging in volunteering roles and paid employment. OBJECTIVE: To examine how immigrants experienced occupations relating to preparing for, seeking, and gainingemployment. METHODS: A secondary analysis using whole text analysis and line-by-line coding of twenty verbatim transcripts from interviews held with ten recently arrived immigrants to London, Ontario, Canada. Sessions consisted of a narrative interview, creation of an occupational map and a semi-structured follow-up interview. RESULTS: The participants’ employment related occupations were characterized by the overarching theme of ‘making difficult decisions’. This main theme was connected to four related sub-themes: 1) mechanisms of exclusion, 2) learning the host country’s culture, 3) the influence of one’s outlook on the decisions made, and 4) accessing support. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies factors influencing immigrants’ experiences of labor market preparation and participation. ‘Making difficult decisions’ was faced by all participants throughout the process of becoming part of the Canadian workforce and, ultimately, society at large.
