Internationally Educated Agrologists Pilot (IEAP) Program Outcomes 2007-2011 Report Table of Contents

Internationally Educated Agrologists Pilot (IEAP) Program Outcomes
2007-2011 Report
Table of Contents
Page
Market Demand for IEAP Graduates
2
Student Demand for the Program
3
Promotion of the IEAP Program
4
Professional Brand
7
Focus Groups for Industry
8
Cultural Awareness Workshops for Industry
9
IEAP Program Committees
10
IEAP Program Graduation Ceremonies
11
Appendix A
14
Appendix B
16
Appendix C
24
Appendix D
28
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Market Demand for IEAP Graduates
The students who have gone through the program so far are from 23 different
countries: Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Colombia, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Germany, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Sudan.
As of September 2011, 35 students have been through the program, 28 have
successfully completed it, 4 are working towards completion, 2 did not complete it and 1
dropped the program.
Of the 32 students that successfully finished the program and/or are working towards its
completion, 31 obtained a term or permanent job in the Agriculture industry.
As of September 2011, 28 students remain employed (12 term positions and 16
permanent positions). One more student is doing her Ph.D. in Plant Science at the
University of Manitoba and also obtained the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) Graduate
Fellowship Award.
List of employers who have hired IEAP Program students.
Employer
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Bayer Crop Science
Canterra Seeds
Cargill
General Mills
ICMS Inc. (Integrated Crop Management Services)
MAFRI (Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural
Initiatives)
Manitoba Conservation
Manitoba Institute of Agrologists
Maple Leaf Agri-Farms Inc.
Haplotech Inc.
Parrish and Heimbecker, Limited
Phoenix AgriTech
R-Way Ag Ltd.
Steinbach Credit Union
University of Manitoba
Total
Term
Position
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
12
Permanent
Position
1
1
1
2
3
1
3
1
1
1
1
16
The fifth cohort (2011-2012) of eleven students is currently enrolled and in progress.
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IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Student Demand for the Program
18 applications were received for the 2010-2011 (4th year) commencement.
33 applications were received for the 2011-2012 (5th year) commencement.
Education – Sorted by Major (5th year commencement)
Animal Science – 16
Agribusiness -- 4
Plant Science – 3
Soil Science -- 3
Agronomy -- 3
Horticulture -- 2
Biosystems (Genetics in Agriculture) – 1
Entomology – 1
Country
#
Philippines
Colombia
Nigeria
India
Pakistan
Bangladesh
China
Eritrea
Republic of Moldova
Russia
Sri Lanka
12
4
4
4
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
Total
33
Residence:
Within Manitoba
Winnipeg
Steinbach
Souris
Treherne
Brandon
Selkirk
Morden
Niverville
16
4
3
1
1
1
1
1
Total
28
Outside of Manitoba
Toronto, ON
Stoney Creek, ON
Edmonton, AB
3
1
1
Total
5
3
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Promotion of the IEAP Program
The promotion of the program among potential students has been through:
• Orientation Sessions
• Former students
• Ongoing promotion through the following agencies:
1. Adult Education Centres (AEC)
2. Beausejour Employment Centre
3. Brandon Employment Centre
4. Career Services, University of Manitoba
5. Dauphin Employment Centre
6. Employment Manitoba – Winnipeg Branches
7. Employment Projects of Winnipeg Inc.
8. Employment Solutions for Immigrant Youth
9. Enhanced English Skills for Employment
10. Entry Program
11. Flin Flon Employment Centre
12. Gimli Employment Centre
13. Immigrant Centre Manitoba
14. Jewish Federation of Winnipeg
15. Job Works
16. Labour Market Strategy for Immigrants (Work Internship Pilot Program) Wage
subsidy
17. LACFIEA (Language and Communications for Internationally Educated
Agrologists)
18. Manitoba Start - Manitoba Immigration Division - Information and Referral for
New Immigrants, Newcomer and Labour Market Supports
19. Morden Employment Centre
20. Osborne Village Resource Centre
21. Portage la Prairie Employment Centre
22. Selkirk Employment Centre
23. Steinbach Employment Centre
24. Success Skill Centre
25. Swan River Employment Centre
26. The Pas Employment Centre
27. Thompson Employment Centre
28. Welcome Place/Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council
29. Westman Immigrant Services
30. Winnipeg English Language Assessment and Referral Centre (WELARC)
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IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Promotion of the Program Among the Industry
•
Civil Service Commission - Career Gateway Program for Members of Visible
Minorities
•
Articles published in the Manitoba Cooperator (see Appendix A)
•
MIA is actively promoting the program
•
The IEAP Program is continually being promoted among employers, by the
Associate Dean (Academic), IEAP Program Coordinator, the Co-op Coordinator
and the PPA instructors during various events, tours and meetings.
Tours and guest speakers - provided exposure for the IEAP Program within the industry
2009-2011
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
Ag Days – Brandon, MB
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Brad Erb, Erb Family Farm. Oak Bluff
Brett Young Seeds
Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre
Cargill
CCARM (Canadian Centre for Agri-food Research in Health and
Medicine)
Feed Rite
Food Development Centre
Hytek, Ltd. (Now: HyLife Ltd.)
ICMS, Inc., Portage la Prairie, MB
Interprovincial Cooperative Limited (IPCO)
Keystone Agricultural Producers Annual General Meeting
Loveday Mushroom Farms Ltd.
Mac Don Industries
MAFRI Urban GO Centre
Manitoba Pork Council
Meeting with Barry Todd, Deputy Minister, MAFRI/Tour of
Legislative Building
Monsanto (breeding facility – SmartPark)
Paterson grain elevator, Morris, MB
Peak of the Market
Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals
Richardson International Limited
Westeel
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IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Tours and Guest Speakers
Diploma Tour
Crops Bus:
- Ian N. Morrison Research Farm, Carman and Region Facility
- Prairie Flour Mills Ltd. – Elie, MB
- Itzke’s – Human Resource Management, Vegetable Production Marketing, Field
Equipment, Storage Equipment, Labour Management
Livestock Bus:
- University Research Facility – Glenlea tour start in feedmill, then split into 3
groups – dairy, swine and beef
- Plett’s Dairy Farm
Nutreco – Livestock
Crops Bus
- WF Farms Ltd., Potato Producer
- McCallister’s – Transition, asset transfer, overcoming difficulties, etc.
- Riddell’s Roasters
- Rockwood Bison
Livestock Bus:
- EUR Ranches – Beef production
- Riddell’s Roasters/Fish Farm Update
- Rockwood Bison
Guest speakers
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Albert Valdiva (Territory Manager, Syngenta)
Annette Allen, Business Development Specialist, MAFRI
Delaney Ross Burtnack, M.Sc. (Agronomy) Communications & Marketing
Manager, Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers (CAAR)
Don Flaten, Professor of Soil Science, U of M
Laura Rance, Editor, Manitoba Co-operator
Laurel Hyde, Recruiter, Scott Wolfe Management
Neil Dobson, Western Canadian Manager, Alltech
Neil Hamilton, President, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC)
Oscar Perez, Regional Marketing Manager, Mosaic Crop Nutrition
Randy Dhillon, HR Generalist, Monsanto
Rick Holley, Professor of Food Science, University of Manitoba
Sam Grande / Geneth Amdemikael, Career Assistance Program for Visible
Minorities and Immigrants, Civil Service Commission
Wayne Hiltz, General Manger, Manitoba Chicken Producers
6
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Professional Brand
A new way to work on the students’ professional brand was implemented in August,
2010. The IEAP Program Coordinator is working with the students as a group, and also
on an individual basis to identify possible cultural and/or communication barriers that
may be interfering with their ability to excel as professionals.
The Professional Brand is part of the Practising the Profession of Agrology course, and
15% of the mark for that course is now assigned by the IEAP Program Coordinator,
based on each student’s progress.
Also, an Organization and Culture Questionnaire was implemented in 2011 in order to
obtain a Values Report for each student. The report contains charts that compare
graphically the student scores with the scores of Canadian professionals on the
dimensions measured by the Organization and Culture Questionnaire and on individual
questions. There is an initial assessment with the student, as well as follow up sessions,
focused on cultural differences/personality issues that might prevent them from
succeeding in a professional environment.
Also, there are regular updates on participant job applications and networking activities.
Workshops
• Cover Letter and Resume
• Conflict Resolution
• Leadership Training
• Personality Types: Understanding Yourself and Others
• Assertive Communication
• Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
The students took part in the following extracurricular courses and seminars:
•
Two days training at Canadian International Grains Institute (CIGI)
•
Value Chain Workshop
•
MIA Seminars
•
Various seminars and presentations held by the Faculty of Agricultural and Food
Sciences, including Advanced Plant Science Seminars
•
Ag Forum in Minnedosa, Manitoba
Courses
We have 2 courses, specifically designed for the IEAP Program, which are:
•
Business and Technical Communication - Designed to improve students’
communication and language skills
•
Practising the Profession of Agrology (PPA)
• 2 courses, 3 credit hours each, designed to show Canadian agriculture
industry practices and the responsibilities of a practising agrologist.
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IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Students attend tours, mock interviews, networking events and training, and have
several guest speakers during their classes.
Co-op work
At the end of the co-op work term, students prepare a Co-op Work Term Report, which
provides them the opportunity to analyze, evaluate, and integrate what was learned
from the work term experience.
The co-op site visits include interviews with both employer and IEAP participant. The
goal of these visits is to help build awareness and communication between employer
and employee (IEAP student) and to enhance the student’s Professional Brand.
Focus Groups for Industry
Focus Groups held on Thursday November 5th, 2009
The Industry Committee suggested having focus groups before the workshops.
The focus groups allowed us to determine the gap between the requirements of the
agriculture industry and the qualifications of the IEAP Program students and other
immigrants within the workplace.
The workshops were based on the focus groups results in order to provide better tools
to the employers in their interactions with immigrants. At the same time, they would
provide the IEAP students with better tools to pursue and maintain jobs within the
industry.
Industry Participants (10)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Canterra Seeds
Cargill
ICMS
MAFRI
Manitoba Institute of Agrologists
Monsanto
Richardson Pioneer Limited
Viterra
Labour and Immigration
IEAP program participants
•
First and second year students (11)
8
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Cultural Awareness Workshops for Industry
This workshop was designed to support employers of the agriculture industry who
interact on a regular basis with individuals of many diverse backgrounds.
The goal was to help industry employers better understand the role culture plays in
communication and how it affects their interaction with others. Through discussions and
activities, participants identified strategies to build relationships and communicate
effectively within a culturally diverse workforce.
1) Cultural Awareness Workshop - Planting the Seeds for Intercultural
Communication - March 23, 2009
21 participants from:
• Agri Skills Inc.
• Cargill Limited
• Civil Service Commission
• Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences University of Manitoba
• ICMS, Inc. (Agricultural and Environmental Research Services)
• MAFRI (Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives)
• Monsanto Canada
• Office of the Manitoba Fairness Commissioner, Labour and Immigration
• Steinbach Credit Union
• The Canadian Wheat Board
• UFCW-AWA (Agriculture Workers Alliance)
Please see Feedback Summary from the Evaluation Forms on Appendix “B”
2) Cultural Awareness Workshop for Supervisors, December 1st, 2009
The objective of this workshop was to provide information and tools to
employers/supervisors that would help facilitate their interactions with IEAs to improve
cross-cultural competency and be more effective in the workplace.
18 participants from:
• Canterra Seeds
• Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba
• Hytek Ltd. – Springhill Farms, Neepawa
• ICMS Inc.
• Loveday Mushroom Farms Ltd.
• MAFRI – GO Team
• Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF)
• Manitoba Trade and Investment, Government of Manitoba
• Office of the Manitoba Fairness Commissioner, Labour and Immigration
• Viterra
Please see Feedback Summary from the Evaluation Forms on Appendix “C”
9
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
IEAP Program Committees
The Steering Committee’s mandate is to:
•
•
•
•
Provide regular input and guidance to the program
Provide participant updates and needed support/action (academic and job
search)
Assist with the development of guidelines and policy, updates to same
Develop processes and associated roles for a successful IEAP Program
This committee consists of the Associate Dean, the IEAP Coordinator, the Co-op
Coordinator, the Academic Advisor– Degree, the Practicing the Profession of Agrology
(PPA) Instructor, the Business and Technical Communication Instructor and the
Manitoba Institute of Agrologists Executive Director.
The Advisory Committee consists of Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences staff,
MIA, and employers from diverse areas such as: Production, Retail, Financial
institutions and Government:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Associate Dean (Academic), Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences
Executive Director, Manitoba Institute of Agrologists (MIA)
Chairman, MIA Membership Committee and IEAP Instructor
Planning and Policy Analyst, Office of the Manitoba Fairness Commissioner
President, Integrated Crop Management Services, ICMS Inc.
Farm Service Group Manager, Cargill Ltd.
Senior Director of Human Resources, HyLife Ltd.
Manager, Eastman GO Team, MAFRI
General Production Manager, Maple Leaf
Agriculture Banking Specialist, CIBC
IEAP Coordinator
The responsibilities of the industry advisors are to commit formally once a year to
participate in a meeting of the Advisory Committee, plus be available on a more informal
basis from time to time for ongoing feedback.
Role of the Advisory Committee is to:
1. Determine industry expectations and the kind of employees’ qualifications that
are required to be successful in the industry.
2. Ensure the program meets industry expectations and needs by recommending
what the program should do to better meet these expectations and needs.
3. Determine if the IEAP Program students are acquiring adequate technical
knowledge.
4. Determine what other kind of skills/knowledge the IEAP Program students need
to learn or to focus on in order to succeed.
5. Determine if the IEAP Program students are a good fit from a cultural
perspective.
6. Advise how the program can better communicate with the industry.
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IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
IEAP Program Graduation Ceremonies
2007-2008 Graduation Ceremony
11 of 13 students graduated from the program
Guest Speakers:
•
Dr. Michael Trevan, Dean, spoke on behalf of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food
Sciences
•
Gerald Huebner, Director, GO Teams Branch, Manitoba Agriculture, Food & Rural
Initiatives, spoke on behalf of the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists
•
Jason Farell, form Richardson International Limited, spoke on behalf of the
industry
Dr. Michael Trevan
Gerald Huebner
Graduates and their families
11
Jason Farell
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
2008-2009 Graduation Ceremony
7 of 7 students graduated from the program
Guest speakers:
•
Dr. Karin Wittenberg, Acting Dean, spoke on behalf of the Faculty of Agricultural
and Food Sciences
•
Tracy Gilson, Research & Innovation Manager, Manitoba Agriculture Food and
Rural Initiatives, spoke on behalf of the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists
•
Brent Wright, President of ICMS Inc. (Integrated Crop Management Services)
spoke on behalf of the Industry.
Karin Wittenberg
Tracy Gilson
Graduates
12
Brent Wright
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
2010 Graduation Ceremony
7 of 8 students graduated from the program
Guest speakers:
1. Richard Balog, on behalf of the 2009-2010 class
2. Dr. Merv Pritchard, Associate Dean (Academic) on
behalf of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food
Sciences
3. Marilyn Brick, MLA for St. Norbert on behalf of the
Honourable Minister Jennifer Howard, Labour and
Immigration
4. Ximena Munoz, Manitoba Fairness Commissioner, on behalf of
Labour and Immigration
5. Neil Booth, Manager, Sow & Nursery Production at
Maple Leaf, on behalf of the industry
6. Richard Kieper, member of MIA Provincial Council,
and a senior manager in the crop inputs business of
Paterson Grain, on Behalf of MIA
Graduates and people involved in the IEAP program
13
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Appendix A
14
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
15
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Appendix B
Focus Group Report and Recommendations for the IEAP Program Intercultural
Awareness Workshop for Employers
Prepared for: Alicia Franco-Espinosa, Internationally Educated Agrologists Program
Coordinator, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of
Manitoba
By:
Laurel Daman and Jamaal Ramole
Manitoba Diversity & Intercultural Training Program
The following is a report/synopsis of the responses to the questions at the two focus
groups held November 5, 2009 and recommendations for the content of the intercultural
awareness workshop to be held December 1, 2009. The responses included some
areas that will not be addressed by the workshop as they apply to areas outside
intercultural training. Below is a list of areas/topics to be covered in the workshop.
Following this, a list of topics identified in the focus groups that are outside the scope of
the workshop.
Plans for areas to cover in the workshop
Benefits
• We recommend a substantial amount of time be spent in identifying the benefits
Internationally Educated Agrologists (IEAs) bring to the company (having the
group prepare their own list and then compare/add it to the list generated by the
focus group)
Communication
• Awareness of how difficult it is to learn English as an additional language,
different styles of English, how cultural backgrounds affect communication
How
•
•
•
•
•
cultural differences can be misinterpreted or perceived incorrectly
Use of eye contact, hand gestures
Humility
Punctuality
Saying yes inappropriately
How difficult it is to adjust to a new cultural norm
Provide information for supervisors to take back with them
• Provide appropriate information from the IEA focus group to help supervisors
understand the areas IEAs had trouble adjusting to, particularly clear
expectations and organization/work culture
• Provide written suggestions for supervisors to help IEAs adapt to Canadian
culture
Areas/topics brought up in the focus groups that will not be covered the
workshop
• Training in and use of equipment and technology, including driving.
• IEAs understanding of Canadian safety procedures and standards.
16
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
•
•
•
•
•
•
English proficiency – accents hard for customers to understand, some grammar
and writing skills. While we will spend time on different communication styles in
different cultures and how difficult English is to learn, it is our understanding that
this area may have come up as a problem because the first year of the program
had a lower English benchmark requirement.
IEAs requesting time off for religious and personal reasons during peak periods.
Again, while we will cover cultural differences in work/family relationships and
perhaps some suggestions for accommodation, we will not cover Human Rights
legislation in this regard.
While we will cover the different cultural perspectives on time and punctuality, we
will not cover what training has been provided to the IEAs in this area.
Need for mentors. While this might come up as a strategy to help immigrants, the
focus group results indicate a more formal mentorship program would be
beneficial.
Need for more practical training.
Other than intercultural awareness training for staff of employers, most of the
answers to the employers’ question 5 (What would you identify as the biggest
obstacle that you have experienced in hiring an IEA?) which were – acceptance
by staff and customers, driving and technology, community support in rural
Manitoba, verbal and written communication, attention to detail and focus on cost
of errors
17
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Appendix B (cont’d)
Synopsis of the Focus Group Discussions
Employers
Question 1
What benefits would an internationally educated agrologist bring to your
organization?
Top Answers:
Good employees to have in a company
• bring experience and maturity to the workforce (especially when working with
younger people as often happens since many IEAs start in entry level positions
with the youngest employees)
•
strong work ethic
•
highly motivated
•
loyalty
•
accountability
•
positive attitude
•
desire to succeed/please
•
diversity brings good business benefits
•
new markets/contacts open to company
•
different viewpoints/ways of looking at things/approaching problems that bring
good synergy to the business
•
supervisors working with IEAs become better at communication and training for
all employees
•
IEAs used to doing with less and therefore more creative with resources
Question 2
Name and give examples of 3 difficulties that you have encountered in working
with internationally educated agrologists. (For example, verbal communication,
report writing, providing/accepting feedback or evaluations, dealing with
clients/co-workers, solving problems)
Top answers broke down into 2 categories:
1. Technology and equipment usage.
2. Communication and language.
Technology and equipment usage
• Tools, including computers, adapting/adopting to the tools used here, tendency
to revert to familiar ways which are inefficient (an example brought up was that 3
18
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
•
•
•
PhDs were doing manual work in a field rather than using tools or lower paid staff
to do the work).
Equipment and driving, inexperience and sometimes unwillingness to drive
(particularly in prairie winters), not understanding ability to drive is a necessity
Not understanding North American safety policies
Not understanding that damage to expensive machinery/equipment is
unacceptable
Communication and language
• Accents, mostly a problem when dealing with clients as co-workers could adapt
to the accent, pronunciation
• Telephone communication
• Saying they understand when they don’t
Other comments that were not common but may be pertinent:
• Grammar could be an issue
• Writing and letter writing requires careful editing
• listening comprehension makes it hard for IEAs to follow instructions
• fear of saying they don’t understand*
• eye contact*
• too agreeable, saying yes but don’t get the work done *
• too humble about abilities (caused inefficient job/work placement) *
• Difficulty accepting feedback (hurt feelings)*
• Non verbal cues off sometimes*
* not recognized by employers as being cultural
Question 3
Name and give examples of 3 cultural issues that you have encountered in
working with IEAs. (For example, not making eye contact when talking or
receiving instructions, indicating that they understood instructions, when in fact
they really hadn’t, waiting for the supervisor to tell them what to do)
Top answers could be broken down into 3 categories:
1. Cultural norms and traditions
2. Time
3. “Hidden” cultural issues not recognized as cultural by employers so some of
these issues came up in other questions
1. Cultural Norms and traditions
• Holiday customs, in Canada and country of origin not understood e.g. religious
prayer, not wanting to work on religious holidays (a problem during peak
periods)
• Accepting invitations when no plans on attending
• Hand gestures
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IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Appendix B (cont’d)
• Some traditions offensive to each group, for example, Halloween offensive to
some IEAs and the idea of bleeding a goat for offensive to some mainstream
Canadians
Time
• Being on time for meetings, appointments
• Need for speed and efficiency
• Having coffee with a customer when there was a lot of work to be done
“Hidden” cultural issues not recognized as cultural by employers
• Excessive humility
• Formality
• Hesitancy to commence tasks undirected
• Checking in/out at end of day
• Overly concerned
• Unassertive, not self starter
• Personal conversations at work (too long)
Question 4
What recommendation do you have, to make the introduction of internationally
educated agrologists to your workplace and to the Manitoba agricultural
community easier?
This question elicited 4 strong recommendations outlined below.
1. Mentors
• Necessary and would solve a lot of problems regarding time, cultural,
understanding the industry
• Not necessarily from the agricultural field as the people in the field might not
have enough time to properly mentor
• Can explain rural/urban differences
• Supervisor to be more hands on, a volunteer could help on the job
2. Expectations
• Employer needs to give clear expectations and employees need to know
agricultural expectations as there seems to be some disconnect, for example,
driving, use of tools/equipment, time requirements during peak periods
3. Introduction to the workplace/industry
• Need a formal intro to the workplace/industry
• Employers need to look at things from the IEAs side
• More cultural training for the IEAs (okay to say no, okay to ask for clarification,
time expectations)
• Develop a plan to ease the IEA in, also to outline minimal expectations
• Supervisors on the job need to reinforce issues that have been brought up in IEA
training
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IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
• Workplace must be accepting
• IEAs need to know that “research” is a narrow field here, more work in product
support, sales, private agronomy
4. Training
• More practical training
• Must be all inclusive, clear, well explained and include all aspects of the job,
technical expectations, workplace culture
• Interviews to be more specific to find out what training on equipment and
machinery is needed
Question 5
What would you identify as the biggest obstacle that you have experienced in
hiring an internationally educated agrologist?
Top answers:
•
Acceptance, by staff and customers, this obstacle could reduce by demonstrating
the value of IEAs.
•
Driving and Technology
•
Rural Manitoba does not have the community support IEAs could find in a city
which likely has a population of the IEAs first country/culture. IEAs and their
families may feel isolated in a rural community.
•
Communication, verbal and written
•
Attention to detail, focus on cost of errors
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IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Appendix B (cont’d)
Synopsis of the Focus Group Discussions
Internationally Educated Agrologists (IEAs)
Question 1
What are some of the adjustments that you had to make when working in the
agricultural field in Canada?
Top answers:
More training required in technical skills, using equipment and machinery, driving, use
of large equipment, need to get driver’s license.
Learning and following safety procedures, tedious, did not understand why Canadians
are so worried about it.
Communication
• slang terms, being understood with an accent
Organizational culture
• workplace attitudes and behaviours
• professional etiquette
• time
• socializing in the workplace (eating, conversation)
• teamwork differences
• email versus face to face communication
• use of term positions (concept is unknown)
• networking
• adapting to Canadian work ethic (long hours when necessary)
• attitude toward time/punctuality
• showing confidence, speaking up
• understanding appropriate behaviour, e.g. talking at work
Question 2
What are some of the hidden rules you learned once you started working in the
agricultural field (for example, appropriate dress code, conversation topics,
socializing in the workplace, telephone etiquette)?
Top Answers:
Need to be sensitive to other people’s feelings
• what to discuss or not, appropriate topics
Don’t be afraid to ask, but only ask each person once
Canadian idea of “positivity”
• in customer service or workplace
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IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
•
promoting yourself is not boasting
Canadian indirectness, had to soften communication style to be less direct
Question 3
What do you think your employer could have done to help you feel more
comfortable in the workplace?
Top Answers:
More direct communication
• IEAs responsibilities and how they are doing, what they are doing well, what
could be better
• Instructions
Better introductions to staff and their jobs so IEAs know what jobs other staff members
have and better information about office routines so IEAs can understand how they fit in
better
Empathy regarding IEAs home life, perhaps allow flex time to help IEAs manage home
life responsibilities
Mentors, someone for IEAs to ask questions of and help IEAs develop confidence
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IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Appendix C
Cultural Awareness Workshop - Planting the Seeds for Intercultural
Communication
Feedback Summary from the Evaluation Forms
Date: March 23, 2009
I thought this workshop was very informative, good, useful, excellent, timely, great,
important, helpful, fantastic, very good, because:
• It gave me a very wide perspective of very diverse cultural backgrounds
• Employers are 20% responsible of the equation and that is bigger percentage
than many expected
• It was long enough to cover numerous topics in some depth
• It increased my understanding of how culture affects work behaviours
• In our agricultural field I think we will have to start recruiting more experienced
individuals that have come to Canada from different cultures.
• It made me aware of how to interpret some cultural differences
• It was informative, interesting, and had lots of interactive activities
• Canada is importing many foreign trained agrologists and there is a need for
them in our workplace
• There were a lot of points touched on that I was not aware of prior to the
workshop
• It exposed me to some issues that I never thought of before
• It was enlightening to consider the cross-cultural issues for employers and
immigrant employers
• It was very interactive, thought provoking many “aha” moments
• It provided opportunities for discussion of strategies and approaches to give
consideration to newcomers
• I learned many new things today
• Gave a better understanding about cultural awareness issues. I think that many
things were new and the participants now have more ideas of how to deal with
specific situations.
• Practical approach to understanding many issues related to communication and
challenges
• It provided different perspectives from the wonderfully diverse group in
attendance
• It allowed us to have more informal discussions and share real-life examples
I thought the presenter(s):
• Presenters were excellent, highly energetic
• Were friendly and knowledgeable
• Were well organized, dynamic, and engaged speakers; positive
• Very good, well-spoken, upbeat, knowledgeable and kept things moving
• Were dynamic
• Were knowledgeable with great stories to make their points
• Very informed and sensitive to the cultural needs of new immigrants
24
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Were knowledgeable and kept my attention for the whole day
Knew how to present their ideas well
Very good, clear and complete – gave us good examples
Were very professional and created a very nice atmosphere
Great – humorous, lots of information – good exercises
Enthusiastic and informative
Excellent!
Were engaging and knew their material well
I thought the activities:
• Were very brain-stimulating and it opened my eyes on things/subjects that I
would have never thought of.
• Appropriate for people new to the ideas of cultural awareness
• Were illustrative, helpful, - to bring awareness and stimulate/compassion of
suggested solutions
• Were relevant and good learning experiences
• Were balanced and timely, thought provoking enough
• Were useful
• Were good – sometimes could have moved a bit faster
• Were timely used and presented the different faces and challenges
• Kept things moving along and brought variety to the day
• Insightful, were appropriate for the workshop
• Useful but tedious
• Were very helpful especially the verb replacing activity
• Provided variety and gave opportunity to look at things from different styles
• I wish we could have used more time on the strategies
• Help us to understand and share
• Helped a lot to put ourselves into the immigrant’s shoes
• Instructive, thought provoking, fun and challenging
• Excellent
• Were good – would probably be more/less effective depending on the group. I
liked the stories and examples more.
I thought the content:
• Was amazing
• Was basic but it needed to be and consistent with what is really going on in the
IEAP program
• Was very interesting and well-rounded, exercises were good.
• Very helpful, My “a Ha” moment was the value some cultures place on education
and therefore the response to many things is to take others courses or get more
education.
• Was applicable, helpful and needed
25
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Appendix C (cont’d)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Was excellent! We are looking to offer some new Canadian practical experience
and the tips were great.
Was maybe too general though, I think this group in particular could have
skipped to more detailed material sooner in the presentation.
Was very well designed
As not too heavy, just the right amount
Excellent
Was interesting but would wish for more detail next workshop
Really applied to the problems we face hiring IEAP students and made us more
aware of their problems as well
Very relevant, well thought out and challenging. Look for avenues to applying
them now.
Just right
Relevant for my position
Was very good but not enough time
Covered lots of ground, many topics could be eventually covered in more depth
Excellent, very helpful
I want to follow up on / learn more about:
• The IEAP program
• More strategies in dealing with work related environments for new immigrants
• Actual examples of differences – useful for explaining the issues to other
stakeholders
• High & low context cultures
• Agricultural diversity in other cultures – how their educations and work
experience compares to Canada
• Understanding different cultural habits/traits and how to work with them. How to
not let one individual stereotype a culture.
• Real workplacing and see real employers involved
• How my company can be more culturally aware
• The science of the value of values
• The video – would have loved to watch all of it!
• Intercultural or cross-cultural communications
• Power distance and communication styles
• Cultural awareness in general
• Topics we talked about today
• Need to make employers more aware of these issues in understanding how our
organization/attitudes need to change
• How to connect with more agencies to help us meet/connect with new Canadians
I will incorporate this knowledge in my work/daily life by:
• Sharing the information & tools with my coworkers
• Carefully screening more individuals for full time positions and not looking past
individuals from other cultures
26
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Wording better questions and instructions
Sharing many of the points with my fellow managers – I would like to see them all
take this or a similar course
Being more sensitive to the cultural differences
Talking to my coworkers about what I learned – how the company can work on
being more culturally aware so we can hire people from all backgrounds
Revisiting and discussing this working with colleagues and friends
Being more sensitive to the issues that newcomers face
Using the verb exercise in team meetings, explaining some of the cultural
differences to managers, writing down some of the unwritten rules in our
organization
Including in our program, policy. And working with other departments and
community
Not making assumptions, clarify before judge
Promoting my program with more deep understanding on the importance of
these issues
Applying what I learned
Understanding how our students need to be assisted in bridging gaps and getting
ourselves ready for their employment
Being more aware of & looking closer at possible cultural differences that present
themselves and ensuring that any assumptions I may have are checked.
Creating a part of our orientation program to include some of these training – but
especially for managers as they progress through the recruitment
process/coaching process.
Being more aware of the content of the DIT program – I promote it and happy to
have had a full day of it.
Helping the university and other organizations accommodate new immigrants
My personal objectives were:
Not met
Met
Sort of met
Exceeded
9
11
27
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Appendix D
Cultural Awareness Workshop for Supervisors
Feedback Summary from the Evaluation Forms
Date: December 5, 2009
My personal objectives/goals for today’s workshop are:
- Learn more about the IEAP program and how it is working
- Better understanding of immigrant employees that I manage in my supervisory
role
- Learn something useful
- Contribute to discussion and the value other attendees get from the session
- To learn more about what Agrologists actually do and how they could fit into our
workplace
- Improving personal cultural awareness in workplace
- Improve perspective in foreign recruitment and settlement. Understand cultural
integration
- To be in a better position of dealing with organizing immigrated foreign
employees
- Learn ways to overcome communication/cultural barriers between cultures
- Learn to better use IEAP students to the best of their abilities and to make them
more comfortable
- Find out from industry their concerns/attitudes on working with immigrants
- To become better skilled in communicating with coworkers from different
cultures/diverse backgrounds
- To gain a greater appreciation of some of the issues I/we should be aware of and
how to deal with them especially re: communication styles/expectations
28
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Content
Excellent
Good
Needs
improvement
Covered useful
material
Practical to my
needs and
interests
Well organized
8
3
7
4
9
2
Presented at
the right level
Effective
activities
Useful visual
aids and
handouts
Facilitators’
knowledge
Facilitators’
presentation
style
Facilitators’
covered
material clearly
Facilitators
responded well
to questions
8
3
9
2
8
2
10
1
9
2
7
4
9
2
29
1
Not applicable
IEAP Program Outcomes 2007-2011
Appendix “D” (cont’d)
Did the workshop meet the stated goals?
a) Have a better understanding of the benefits Internationally Educated
Agrologists bring to the workplace?
b) Have a better understanding of intercultural barriers to communication
and gain strategies to improve communication in the workplace
c) Have a better understanding of challenges faced by newcomers to
Manitoba and gain strategies to help newcomers integrate successfully
d) Have a better understanding of culture in all its forms and the role of
culture in the workplace
e) Gain insight into how our own values and beliefs can affect our
perception of others
Yes
9
No
1
11
10
10
11
Notes Re above:
a) No, already aware
d) Yes, now it’s implementation!
Any comments or suggestions?
- As many specific examples as possible
- Card game was great exercise
- I thought the focus would be on Agrology but it was on diversity in the workplace
which could be used for any workplace or profession
- Thank you very much!
- Even though the industry’s that were discussed were different the information
applies across the board. Loved it!
- I’d like to have visual information that I could use in order to train our employees
about cultural awareness in a relatively short time
- Great presentation! Activities were great
- Great workshop!
- Very informative
30