Improved understanding of the newcomer & employer experience

93% of participants say that their understanding of both the newcomer and employer experience has increased

Improved understanding of the newcomer experience:

“The greatest value for me was learning more about the perspectives and experiences of various participants. Knowing more about the situation in the field allows me to take initiatives that can be more productive.”

“If we don't create environments that are welcoming for those who choose to move to NB, it will be very hard to keep them here. And that welcoming begins with a message of acceptance and highlighting the aspects of the local culture that immigrants are arriving to that should also be appreciated (oftentimes, because there are things that we left our countries to come and enjoy here, such as the value of one's profession, the respect of human rights, the rule of law, and equal opportunities for everyone).”

“I am now more apt to approach a newcomer in my workplace.”

“There is no one experience, you have to be careful with generalizations.”

Improved understanding of the employer experience:

“The Lab was extremely helpful to get employers' and provinces' perspective. Was empowering to see how quickly our prototype is moving through approvals thanks to our individual contributions.”

“It gave me a more comprehensive look at immigration across streams”

“I learned that most newcomers struggle, settlement agencies seem to be propositioned as the solution to fixing all problems but they lack the support to provide the attention needed, and that many newcomers become isolated the longer they take to integrate and some never do.”

“I learned that contrary to the mainstream narrative, many newcomers do want to stay in New Brunswick, instead of using NB as a bridge into becoming a permanent resident in Canada and move elsewhere.”

95% of participants say that they were given the opportunity to analyze opportunities and barriers to immigrant attraction and retention within New Brunswick

The biggest value of the lab is as a tool for multi sectoral stakeholder engagement and innovation. The lab is a concentrated opportunity to see the broader system and work through a rigorous process to develop and prototype solutions. - Rob Kelly, Assistant Deputy Minister for the Atlantic Immigration Pilot

“We are too often rushed to identify solutions quickly to issues. This process allowed us to take more time and collaborate and fully explore a very concise issue and identify and create a solution for that issue”

“I learned that our prototype/pilot is already "somewhat" in place in Ontario so may have something we can re-apply from that it also provides more backing for our proposal.”

“Connections were made between businesses and the immigration sector that didn’t exist before. A new understanding of how we can better work together was born.”

*Lab participant quotes