The painful truth about age discrimination in tech

By: Lisa Schmeiser,  18 Feb 2010, IT World Canada: InfoWorld
There are bold programmers, but no old programmers -- the reasons for this reality aren't simple. A closer look suggests that it's the nature of IT itself to push its elderly workers out.

There's a commercial airing on ESPN right now that features two hiring managers discussing the two job candidates sitting in the lobby. We see the backs of these candidates' heads; one is dark brown and lustrous, the other brittle and gray. The managers debate -- should they go with the experienced candidate? ("He won't have energy!" frets one manager) -- or the fresh young thing? And then -- surprise! -- the two candidates are the same person before and after a hair-dye job.

It's a nasty and effective commercial, and one that deftly plays on a pervasive fear of job hunters: Will my age be held against me? And in IT -- where the popular narrative favors kids launching companies in their dorm room or bringing down a corporate network as a way to blow off steam after finals -- that fear of age discrimination is especially pervasive. continue reading

On the same shelf:

• Five Pervasive Myths About Older Software Developers | Lessons of Failure

Canadian Experience: Myth or Reality Poll

This blog asked bloggers to vote. The results are:

Myth: Yes (18 %) / No (0 %)
Reality: Yes (43 %) / No (0 %)
Don't know (43 %)

On the same shelf:

Will the Canadian Experience Class program help ease the construction industry skills shortage? weekly poll

Employment Equity - Myths and Realities

The Canadian Model of Diversity in a Comparative Perspective

What does being Canadian mean to you? - Yahoo! Answers

No Canadian experience - no job : fact or myth? : a qualitative ...

Not all opportunities are equal -- Canadian job market is no exception

Quotable quote: They came to Canada in 2002, but sadly, writes Rashid, "in terms of
finding jobs, up until now I have noticed that no place except McDonald's welcomed us." more extracts in The Story That Brought Me Here

NB. Before you read, there is a punchline now in 2008: The Canadian Experience Class
And the fine print says: "...when an employer tells you you have no Canadian experience, there is at least one thing you can say, “No, I don’t, but my training is considered to be equal to…. [PDF] No Canadian Experience?”

Those who are living in this land of opportunities, must remember the bottomline: immigrants are not just born, nor they are kids (only adults immigrate, kids are sponsored).
Positive outlook: To be an immigrant doesn’t mean that you have to limit your life and keep away from “ordinary” activities that most of the settled people do. This sounds a two way approach in helping new immigrants, and new immigrants making use of all opportunities to get settled as early as possible.
See also:

• Employment Equity - Myths and Realities

Related post: Not all transitions are equal -- Canadian educational scenario is no exception
On the same shelf:

• All Qualifications Are Not Equal @ Many Immigrants to Canada Are Falling Behind

Dealing with Discrimination During Your Job Hunt

"In an ideal workplace, staff would be hired based on work ethic, education and experience. Unfortunately, some employers may still be behind the times." By Jennifer McFee, @ Toronto sun

For new immigrants to Canada, employment experts offer five key pieces of advice on how to handle the sensitive situation of prejudice during a job hunt.
1. Assess the situation.
2. Eliminate objections.
3. Address the issue.
4. Develop a support system.
5. Keep positive.
Continue reading

See also Amazon's related titles:

Not all transitions are equal -- Canadian educational scenario is no exception

The relationship between a) inequality of educational opportunities and b) inequality of educational outcomes is a dictum (or punchline) true for both the Canadian educated and those educated abroad.

Some of the profressions require Canadian certification (see Regulated occupation). For example, if an engineer qualified in a foreign country comes to Canada, he has to complete his professional competency test in Canada.
But, there are many jobs --skilled and professional -- that donot have a certification and local assessment (see Non-regulated occupation, Skill Types, Skill Levels, plus much more). Such professionals must be tested and hired in other ways.

Interesting quote on how to find a solution for the Canadian new comers:

"...Controversially, it would make sense to assign newcomers to a particular geographic area, e.g. if you want in to our country, you must have "x" type of skills and can only live in a certain city or town. You must live there for at least five years and use your skills there, or else "no soup for you" (e.g. no landed status, no access to government benefits). Sounds rather harsh. And useless unless our government expedites the recognition of pre-existing credentials, and provides more supported "Canadian experience" programs so that employers will hire these newcomers..." Mark Swartz @ Any Canadians out there? - Secrets of the Job Hunt Network.

Please join our poll (poll is right up in this blog--right column, top side) on Canadian experience: Myth or reality. The poll is open now and your opinion is highly appreciated.

See also:

• Statistics Canada. The Dynamics of Overqualification: Canada’s Underemployed University Graduate
  More than one-half (52%) of recent immigrants with a university degree worked in a job requiring only high school education at some point during the six-year period. This was almost twice the proportion of 28% among their Canadian-born counterparts. April, 2006.
  
• Alberta Federation of Labour. Background Information on Temporary Foreign Workers
  
  
• [pdf] Like Sons and Daughters of Hong Kong: The Return of the Young Generation, Janet Salaff, Professor Emerita, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Honorary Research Fellow CAS, HKU, (corresponding author, contactsalaff@chass.utoronto.ca) [There is global competition for skilled labor, and as a result, transnational migrants have become important resources. The term “transnational” refers to people’s connections between different global locations, as manifested in their personal moves and flows of in- formation in which they are involved. In this sense, transnationalism is a concrete embod-iment of globalism. Our qualitative research studies 24 transnational young adults, who migrated with their families from Hong Kong to Toronto (1985-1996, at ages 8-19). Ten years after the Handover, many children of immigrant families who obtained overseas citizenship and education and are now facing the choice of where to work and live. This paper analyses the factors that contribute to the residency decisions being made by the children of those who left. Our analysis incorporates: (1) Macro-level processes: the citizenship rights of this younger generation in two countries and how labour markets re- cognize their training, credentials, and experience; (2) Meso-level processes: the family, social networks, and organizations that create transnational contacts; (3) Micro-level pro- cesses: personal definitions of the situation that include their notion of home and identity.
  We find that while some of the younger generation chose between Hong Kong and Canada, many are transnational in their intentions, not choosing to permanently return to Hong Kong nor to permanently remain in Canada. We find that their social networks greatly influence their settlement decisions. Having roots in Hong Kong they are able to fit easily into society, but their return should not be taken for granted. They need to be motivated to return, their complex needs should be addressed.]

Related post: Not all opportunities are equal -- Canadian job market is no exception