Evaluating the Effectiveness of Advanced Digital Technologies to Support Immigrant Professionals’ Integration into the Canadian Labour Market

Project Overview

Immigrant professionals in Canada face significant barriers, including credential recognition, lack of Canadian work experience, and discrimination, often resulting in underemployment and “brain waste.” The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the development of digital tools to address these challenges, with the settlement sector increasingly adopting remote platforms for job search assistance, language training, and professional networking. This research investigates the effectiveness of advanced digital technologies (ADT) in supporting the labour market integration of immigrant professionals in Canada, focusing on two case studies of digital tools—one powered by AI and one one not powered by AI.

Research Questions

  • How effective are advanced digital technologies, including AI-powered and non-AI-powered tools, in supporting the labor market integration of immigrant professionals in Canada?

Research Design and Methodology

The research design for this project includes in-depth Interviews.

Collaborators

UBC Centre for Migration Studies

  • Principal Investigator: Anusha Kassan (Associate Professor, Educational Studies)

Centre for Immigrant Research at The Immigrant Education Society (TIES)

Research Assistant

Outputs

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Publications

Fischer, O., Cox, D. W., Kassan, A., & Tomfohr-Madsen, L. M. (2025). Cultural humility, knowledge, and identity salience when working with sexual and gender minority clients. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000860

Oberle, E., Ji, X. R., Molyneux, T., Guhn, M., Forer, B., Thomson, K., Alkawaja, M., Kassan, A., & Gadermann, A. (2025). Mental well-being trends and school-based protective factors among adolescents in British Columbia (2015-2022): A population-based study. Social science & medicine (1982), 380, 118201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118201

Conferences & Events

"AI and beyond: Advanced digital technologies supporting immigrant professionals’ labour market integration in Canada," Palova, K., Hilario, K., Kassan, A., & Kazemi, F., Artificial Intelligence & Data Science Conference, Dubai, UAE, February 12–13, 2026

"Immigration, Work and New Technologies - Access to the Labour Market & Workforce Dynamics," Pathways to Prosperity Partnership (P2P), Halifax, Canada, November 24, 2025

Awards

CPA Award for Public, Community Service and Human Rights and Social Justice in Psychology, awarded to Anusha Kassan from the Canadian Psychological Association, June 24, 2025

Project Status

This project is currently in the Writing phase.

Keywords

Immigrant professionals; labour market integration; credential recognition; AI; digital tools; settlement sector

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This research was undertaken thanks in part to funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.