Despite economic turmoil in 2022, Canada continues to experience a very tight labour market. And in many professions — from healthcare to engineering — jobs continue to go unfilled. The answer to this challenge, according to many: Strengthen the pathways from classrooms to citizenship, and leverage the growing presence of international students — now totalling some 600,000 — to meet Canada’s pressing labour needs.

In this episode of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, hosts John Stackhouse and Trinh Theresa Do speak with two women leading the charge to foster and retain top international talent. In the first half of the show, they speak to Larissa Bezo — the president and CEO of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE). The CBIE is a national, non-profit organization helping Canadian education institutions achieve their internationalization goals. 

And in the second half, they chat with Pat Chaisang, a former international student from Thailand (now based in Vancouver) who has launched Isempower: a job-search platform for international students hoping to secure meaningful work in Canada. 

To learn more about the work of the Canadian Bureau of International Education — and its advocacy for international students — check out its website.

Isempower describes itself as “Canada’s first job search platform for international students.” To find out more, follow this link.

In the episode, Theresa and John reference a new report from RBC Economics and Thought Leadership called “Course Correction: How International Students Can Help Solve Canada’s Labour Crisis.” You can read it here.

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