International students at Humber College in Canada are finding it difficult to obtain campus jobs due to a government work-study program that provides subsidies to the school to hire domestic or permanent resident students. This means there is no funding to hire international students, so departments must pay their full salaries without subsidy. While international students are allowed to work on campus for their first six months in Canada, there are far more students than jobs, and jobs are given preferentially to work-study eligible students. As a result, international students feel they are missing out on opportunities for valuable Canadian work experience and that their previous qualifications are not being fully recognized.

1. No Campus Jobs for International Students
Chelsea Scherer
International students at Humber College are finding themselves squeezed out of
campus jobs by a work-study program that makes it cheaper for campus employers
to hire domestic students.
The work-study program, funded by the Federal government, gives money to the
school to hire domestic or permanent resident students. This means there is no
subsidy for employing international students, resulting in the school’s lack of hiring
them.
If a department chooses to hire an international student, then the money will need
to come completely out of the departments’ funds to pay for it.
The only place that permits international students to work within their first six
months of living in Canada is at their school. Without the opportunity to work, they
are unable to gain Canadian work experience that would benefit them down the
road.
“There are a lot more students on campus than jobs, and the jobs go very quickly,”
said Kristina Mathias the international student advisor at Humber College.
This year there are more than 19,000 full-time students enrolled at Humber College
and about 16 per cent of them are international students. There are roughly 200
student jobs at the college at the start of the school year.
Besides the work-study program, there are other factors contributing to making
employment difficult for international students.
“I think as an international student they often need time to adjust to their new
surroundings and get familiar with campus,” said Mathias.
“Another issue they face is timing. They show up on campus a day or two before
classes start so they are not aware of on campus jobs,” said Linda MacDonald a
Humber College career advisor.
Oftentimes, students employed have kept their jobs from previous semesters and
the turnover becomes infrequent.
“If the international student does not have their [English] language skills and
communication skills up to par then that might also be an obstacle,” said MacDonald.
She said that the application process is the same in regards to submitting a cover
letter, resume, and timetable, but whether or not they are work-study eligible is
when the employer decides if the faculty can subsidize for the student.

2. “Although, recognizing the international students’ previous experience is always
applicable,” said MacDonald.
ShivanieMangal, a third year student from Guyana, South America, disagrees.
“Employers on campus did not count any international experience I had. However,
when a department is looking for a diverse team they look for international
students. Quite unethical in my view,” she said.
Mangal has already graduated from the American University of Peace Studies in
Georgetown, Guyana with two diplomas and two certificates.
“It makes me feel as if I lack something. It is always disappointing when I see a
position for which I qualify for and it says work-study only,” she said.
For the past two years, Mangal worked for the‘First Year Experience’ program,
which helps to integrate new students into Humber College when she was turned
away from a promotion.
When the program was hiring a new senior peer mentor to work throughout the
summer months, she applied hoping her previous contribution to the program
would be enough.
She was denied the position because she was not work-study eligible,which was a
requirement to be hired.
“It feels like taking a trophy away from someone after they have won it,” she said.
International students can work on campus for the first six months of study, to
which they can then apply for an off campus work permit and work up to 20 hours a
week.