irish immigration
Like the many Irish migrants who arrived years before, Seamus Blake left his tiny coastal village in Ireland five weeks ago in search of greener pastures in Toronto.
No potato famine or decades-long political conflict drove him here.
Instead, a steady influx of young Irishmen and women like Blake, 24, is arriving here in desperate search of work, fleeing their country’s 14 per cent jobless rate, an after-effect of the 2008 global financial crisis and economic recession.
After spending a month at a backpackers’ hostel in Kensington Market, Blake moved into an apartment last week and, armed with a one-year work permit, started his job search. Hostel operators catering to young travellers in Toronto say as many as half of their residents over the past 18 months are visitors from Ireland looking to start a new life here.
Blake, 24, who graduated from Leeds University with a master’s degree in financial mathematics last year, arrived a year after his older brother David landed in Vancouver, also with a work permit.
“At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be any jobs for new graduates in Ireland,” said a despondent Blake, a native of tiny Liscannor, on Ireland’s west coast. “From what I heard, Canada’s economy has already bounced back and it’s full of opportunities.”
Latest statistics show the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada from Ireland — the class most recent newcomers arrive under — jumped from 1,514 in 2004 to 2,604 in 2008. Community leaders say those figures don’t begin to reflect the recent surge in Irish arrivals.
According to the London-based National Economic and Social Research Institute, some 18,400 Irish nationals emigrated in the year ending April 2009, mostly to Commonwealth countries. The exodus is expected to last for at least two more years.
Karl Gardner, deputy head of the Embassy of Ireland, said Irish people have a long tradition of adventure and migration. While the island’s population stands at 4.5 million, there are an estimated 75 million people of Irish descent around the world, including 4.35 million in Canada.
“We have always travelled,” Gardner said from Ottawa. “The sense is it is something that we do.”
Eamonn O’Loghlin, executive director of the Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce in Toronto, receives several emails and phone calls a week these days from his countrymen, some his “lost friends and relatives,” exploring prospects in Canada.
“I try to be realistic and tell people that the job market is tight here as well, but it is easier if you have the education, skills and network in business,” said O’Loghlin, who followed his Canadian wife, Madeleine, to Canada in 1975 and never left.
O’Loghlin has met at least 60 new arrivals in the last year helping them connect with his group’s 250 members in GTA. The trade group plans a Welcome to Canada Information Night on June 1 to offer tips about living in Canada, jobs and accommodation. It will start a Facebook group and an employment website later this month to assist new Irish migrants.
Sandra McEoghain, founder of the four-year-old Irish Association of Toronto, said many of her 345 members are recent arrivals ages 24 and 35 here on work permits.
“There’s advertising in Ireland about Canada and some people are falling for that. People realized Canadian banks did really well during the recession and think there have to be more opportunities here,” said the Toronto business system analyst, 38, who came as a skilled immigrant in 2002. “Some of them have to leave fast and it’s much quicker to get a work visa.”
But it is not easy to settle in a new country, even if you share the same language and similar heritage. Most report having problems finding affordable accommodation and jobs without Canadian references.
It took Brian Byrne five months to land a job at an engineering consulting company, after sending out dozens of resumes and doing survival jobs in drywalling and masonry.
Although Irish credentials are generally recognized here, the 33-year-old native from Kilkenny said he had to adapt to the Canadian resume style, pick up colloquial English and spend time building a professional network that ultimately led him to his present job. “It is a full-time job looking for jobs,” sighed the manufacturing engineer.
For Brian Keane, who has a university degree and 11 years’ experience in construction management, his “leap of faith” to leave home turned out to be one of the best decisions he’s made in his life.
“I have guilt for not feeling homesick,” joked the 35-year-old Dublin native, who came here in December after he lost his senior management job in early fall. “I really like the Canadian lifestyle and the people are so friendly, outgoing, welcoming and helpful.
“My advice for those who’d like to move to Canada is: Don’t think twice, but plan it!”
Like other new arrivals surveyed for this story, Keane said he can see himself staying in Canada for good.
Take our FREE Online Assessment Today!
Socialize with Abrams & Krochak
Tags: about canadian immigration, Abrams & Krochak, Abrams and Krochak, AkCanada, akcanada.com, Alberta immigration immigration, amendments, application immigration to canada, applications, apply for canada immigration, apply for canadian immigration, assessment canadian immigration, British Columbia immigration, Calgary immigration, canada busines visa, canada business immigration, canada business visa, canada citizenship, canada citizenship immigration, canada citizenship lawyer, canada citizenship test, canada customs and immigration, canada dual citizenship, canada emmigration, canada employment immigration, canada family sponsorship, canada government immigration, canada immigration, canada immigration act, canada immigration agent, canada immigration agents, canada immigration assessment, canada immigration attorney, canada immigration attorneys, canada immigration center, canada immigration centre, canada immigration com, canada immigration consultancy, canada immigration consultant, canada immigration consultants, canada immigration department, canada immigration discussion, canada immigration forum, canada immigration help, canada immigration info, canada immigration information, canada immigration interview, canada immigration law firm, canada immigration lawyer, canada immigration lawyers, canada immigration lottery, canada immigration news, canada immigration official, canada immigration online, canada immigration permanent resident, canada immigration point system, canada immigration policies, canada immigration process, canada immigration requirement, canada immigration requirements, canada immigration rules, canada immigration service, canada immigration services, canada immigration skilled worker, canada immigration sponsorship, canada immigration spouse, canada immigration status, canada immigration test, canada immigration visas, canada immigration website, canada landed immigrant, canada migrating, canada permanent residency, canada skilled immigration, canada usa immigration, canada work visas, canada's immigration policy, canadian citizenship immigration, canadian family sponsorship, canadian immigration, canadian immigration applications, canadian immigration assistance, canadian immigration assistance services, canadian immigration attorney, canadian immigration attorneys, canadian immigration canada, canadian immigration consultancy, canadian immigration consultant, canadian immigration consultants, canadian immigration department, canadian immigration form, canadian immigration forms, canadian immigration information, canadian immigration law, canadian immigration law firm, canadian immigration laws, canadian immigration marriage, canadian immigration of canada, canadian immigration office, canadian immigration point system, canadian immigration policies, canadian immigration policy, canadian immigration process, canadian immigration requirements, canadian immigration service, canadian immigration services, canadian immigration site, canadian immigration skilled, canadian immigration skilled worker, canadian immigration sponsorship, canadian immigration visas, canadian immigration website, canadian migration, canadian permanent residency, canadian residency, cic canada immigration, citizen and immigration canada, common-law, documentation, documents, education requirements, emigrate canada, emigrating canada, emmigrate canada, enterpreneur immigration canada, enterpreneur visa canada, entrepreneur immigration canada, entrepreneur visa canada, family immigration canada, fast-track, federal application, government of canada immigration, how to emigrate to canada, imigration canada, imigration to canada, immegration canada, immigrate to Alberta, immigrate to British Columbia, immigrate to Calgary, immigrate to Manitoba, immigrate to Ontario, immigrate to Saskatchewan, immigrate to Toronto, immigrate to Vancouver, immigrating canada, immigrating to canada, immigration, immigration and canada, Immigration attorney, immigration canada jobs, immigration canada sponsor, immigration du canada, immigration for canada, immigration from canada, immigration into canada, immigration law canada, immigration laws canada, immigration of canada, immigration office canada, immigration policy canada, immigration service, immigration to canada from, investor immigration canada, investor visa canada, ireland, irish immigration, irish immigration to canada, Jeffrey Abrams, job titles, language proficiency, live and work canada, Manitoba immigration, marriage, marriage immigration canada, migrate canada, migrate to canada, migrating to canada, migration canada, migration to canada, move to canada, occupations, Ontario immigration, permanent immigration to canada, permanent residence, permanent residence canada, permanent residence card, permanent resident immigration, Quebec investor program, Saskatchewan immigration, self employed immigration canada, self employed visa canada, sponsor family canada, sponsor partner canada, sponsor relative canada, sponsor spouse canada, Toronto immigration, usa canada dual citizenship, Vancouver immigration, visas canada
Hello! Please e-mail me your contacts. I have a question webmaster@bravto.ru” rel=”nofollow”>……
Thank you!!!…