Viva Recruitment International

For those that have hired a Temporary Foreign worker, the pool of diverse candidates has been slim. Recently, the choice has either been for Filipino, Chinese or Indian workers. There is another choice that potentially makes more economic and logistical sense than the Asian countries listed above. Employers should look at Mexicans.

Economically it is less expensive to hire a foreign worker from Mexico. Flights from Mexico City generally range from $500- 800 dollars, whereas the cheapest flight from Asia (Hong Kong departure) and the Philippines typically is $1300 -$1500.

Temporary Work Permit application processing times according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is remarkably different as well. Below is an example of Canada’s most common locations for sourcing and hiring TFW and their associated processing times for temporary work permits.

Hiring from Mexico is much more expeditious resulting in a speedy solution to employers labour shortage problem.

As Mexico is a North American country the adaptation to Canadian culture is easier for the Mexican worker. Many Mexican’s have traveled to either the US or Canada in their lifetime. They also have a greater understanding of North American pop culture due to their exposure to music, television and movies. Many Mexicans have studied in bilingual schools in Mexico and a great number have family living in either US or Canada.

Mexican’s are more often accustomed to a similar set of employment values, beliefs and perspectives as Canadian and US born people. As quoted by go2hr article on “Watch for Cultural Biases in Assessing Employees” written by (Canadian HR Reporter, June 19, 2006, excerpt by permission of Carswell, Toronto, Ontario) that “Typical group and individual behaviours in countries such as Canada and the United States are not commonly seen or understood by people from other cultures.” This is not the case for Mexican’s, who are more acclimatized to these beliefs systems due to closer proximity and exposure to the cultures.

Mexicans are well known for their hospitable and friendly personalities. Mexican employees remind people of past pleasant travel experiences. As quoted by employers who have chosen to hire Mexican workers.

“The majority of Mexican workers are generally young, able bodied, reliable, trainable, motivated and productive.”
- Employers participating in SAWP

We are all interested in fitting the most qualified and skilled person into jobs that demand them. For this reason, it is ideal to look for the person that makes the most sense when hiring. In the end, the Mexican temporary foreign worker makes an ideal choice for Canadian businesses. They are adaptable, pleasant and energetic. The processing time for their temporary work permit is considerably faster than many other visa offices. Finally, they incur a more economical travel expense for the employer. An employee that will arrive quickly, adapt quickly and cost less is a competitive advantage.

Tags: Mexico, temporary foreign worker

This entry was posted on Friday, November 28th, 2008 at 10:50 pm and is filed under Recruitment Strategies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.