Job market in Sudbury, Ont. tough for international students, says newcomer

When Vinay Khokhar arrived in Sudbury, Ont., as an international student two years ago, he says it took him a month to get a part-time job at McDonald's.

"I was so desperate to get a job, I was literally handing off my resume everywhere," he said.

"Every shop, every restaurant like McDonald's, Tim Hortons, every food court, construction companies. Everywhere."

Khokhar came to Sudbury from India to study at Cambrian College. He now works as a personal support worker, but has also stayed at McDonald's, where he's a hiring manager.

He says four to five people drop off their resumes at his McDonald's location every day. Many of them are international students.

"When I did the interview the last time, there were almost 40 to 45 international students who were looking for a job," he said.

"And almost every one of them, they have been here for the last four to six months and they haven't gotten a job yet."

Nancy Rivest is the general manager of employment and immigrant services at the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario. She says there are currently about 5,000 international students in Sudbury, and a large number of them are looking for work.

"We see, I would say approximately 500 students per month, at least," she said. "And at times that number is higher."

Rivest says some students are looking for work the entire time they're in Sudbury, while others are able to find jobs relatively quickly.

At the YMCA she helps those international students better understand the Canadian labour market and local expectations from employers. 

"Their resumes often need help just because again, different countries have different ways of doing their resumes," Rivest said.

Dhwani Bhatia is the organizational change manager at Spark Employment Services in Sudbury. 

She says international students looking for work need to be patient and should look into upgrading their skills, where necessary.