GLOBAL TALENT UNTAPPED: Temporary Foreign Worker Interview Package

Transcription

1 GLOBAL TALENT UNTAPPED: Temporary Foreign Worker Interview Package

2 GLOBAL TALENT UNTAPPED: Temporary Foreign Worker Interview Package Developed by Karen Hammond & Tara Holmes, Hammond & Associates Inc. & Associates Inc. Project managed by Funded by Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development

3 Copyright 2009: Alberta Food Processors Association All rights reserved. Permission to Copy The material in this book and CD-Rom is protected by copyright. Purchasers will be required to take training in the application of these materials and sign a Corporate User Agreement governing the administration, interpretation and security of the tool. Included in this agreement is permission to make copies of the Oral Interview Guide, Reading Tasks and Writing Tasks for individual interviews as part of an international recruitment process. For all other purposes and all other files included in print or digital form: the reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means (including electronic, mechanical, photographic, photocopying, or recording) without prior written permission of the Alberta Food Processors Association is an infringement of copyright law. To obtain permission to copy in whole or in part, or to order copies of this publication or to view/order other resources in the Global Talent Untapped series, contact: Alberta Food Processors Association Suite 100W Ave. SE Calgary, Alberta T2C 3Z2 Canada Phone: (403) , ext. 22 Fax: (403) info@afpa.com Website: Illustrations by: Brian Meierhofer Cover Design by: STEM Limited Layout/Printing: Just Call Marketing and Graphics

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: Background and Context... 1 Overview: Purpose, Design and Acceptable Uses... 2 Development: Creating and Validating the Tasks... 4 The Canadian Language Benchmarks... 5 Process Flow... 7 Key Components, Administration and Interpretation The Writing Task... 8 The Reading Task The Speaking and Listening Task (Oral Interview) Appendices 1. What a Worker Can Do at CLB 2, 4, Writing Task Form A Writing Task Form B Writing Task Form C Writing Samples Analysis of Writing Samples Reading Task Form A: Living in Alberta: Manuel s Story Reading Task Form A: Answer Sheet Reading Task Form B: Keeping Food Safe at ABC Foods Reading Task Form B: Answer Sheet Reading Task Form C: Safe Lifting Reading Task Form C: Answer Sheet Oral Interview Guide Template Transcripts of Audio Samples Analysis of Audio Samples Hammond & Associates Inc. Consulting Team iii

5 INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT In 2007 the Alberta Food Processors Association (AFPA) partnered with Alberta Employment Immigration and Industry to develop and pilot a process to define the occupational English language requirements for Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) wishing to apply for the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) 1. The project consultants were asked to determine what level of English was required to work safely as and competently as a labourer in a food processing plant without regular need for translation/interpretation. The study defined Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) requirements for routine (typical) daily requirements and for communicative spikes in exceptional circumstances: Major Skill Speaking Listening Reading Writing Task CLB tasks are the typical, daily requirements of the job, where communication is limited to familiar, concrete and repetitive vocabulary, topics and norms of interaction. Communication spikes are points/circumstances where higher levels of proficiency are required. These occur at irregular but important and often unpredictable points, including: new hire orientation training especially formal, classroom instruction medical/health concerns introduction of technical material, specialized content disciplinary/performance or interpersonal problems Based on these results, the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program adopted minimum benchmarks of (i.e., Speaking Benchmark 4; Listening Benchmark 4; Reading Benchmark 4; and Writing Benchmark 2) to apply under the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program. Recruiters, company HR personnel and others who interview applicants for the Temporary Foreign Worker program overseas are now tasked with hiring Temporary Foreign Workers who will be able to meet this minimum standard within months of arrival in Alberta. Where employer-sponsored English as a Second Language (ESL) classes are offered, participants typically receive six hours per week of instruction until they reach the standard. Research suggests it would take this group an average of approximately 350 hours of instruction to progress one Benchmark level across skill areas 2. Based on this estimate, workers may reasonably expect to progress one full level after months (approximately hours of instruction.) Therefore, it is assumed that Temporary Foreign 1 Hammond & Associates Inc., Occupational English Language Requirements for Labourers in Food Processing Plants, September 2007, Alberta Employment Immigration and Industry 2 Watt, D., Benchmarking Adult Rates of Second Language Acquisition & Integration: How long? How fast?,

6 Workers should ideally be at a minimum benchmark of CLB 3 in Speaking, Listening and Reading and CLB 2 in Writing in order to have a good chance of meeting the standard within 12 to18 months. In interviewing applicants for Temporary Foreign Workers, employers or their agents want to be able to make reasonable judgments regarding approximate English language proficiency. However, few of the individuals involved in overseas recruitment, if any, have training or expertise in the Canadian Language Benchmarks. In response, the Alberta Food Processors Association, with funding from Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, proposed the development of a screening interview package that employers can use to assist them in estimating if an applicant has Listening/Speaking skills at approximately CLB 3 or higher, Reading skills at CLB 3 or higher and Writing skills at approximately CLB 2 or higher. This package would not be a formal assessment but would be designed to provide a general indication or level of confidence that the interviewee is within these ranges of ability or higher. Karen Hammond and Tara Holmes, the consultants who conducted the Occupational English Language Requirements study, were hired to develop the Temporary Foreign Worker Interview Package (TFWIP). An Industry Advisory Committee of employers in the industry who currently recruit or plan to recruit Temporary Foreign Workers advised on all facets of the project. This interview package was part of a coordinated and strategic approach to assist employers in all stages of hiring, orienting, training and retaining these valued workers. These resources have been collectively issued under the Global Talent Untapped banner and include the: ESL Resource Inventory; English in the Workplace Lesson Plans; Clear Language Guide; and Photo Dictionary for Food Processors. OVERVIEW: PURPOSE, DESIGN AND ACCEPTABLE USES The Temporary Foreign Worker Interview Package is designed for a very specific audience and context. It is a resource for employers in the food processing industry or their agents who interview applicants seeking to come to Canada as production workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker program in Alberta. 3 It is designed to serve as the screening interview in a TFW recruiting drive in the applicants home country and, used as instructed, will provide a general indication of the applicant s English language proficiency as at or above CLB 3 in Speaking, Listening and Reading and CLB 2 in Writing. The package consists of: an Oral Interview Guide, designed to solicit/generate evidence of speaking and listening skills as well as information about the applicant s work history, education and suitability for employment 3 2

7 a Reading Task three versions, with answer sheets a Writing Task three versions, with answer sheets Guidelines for Use (this book) including how to interpret results of the Oral Interview and Reading and Writing Tasks A CD-Rom, featuring: reproducible masters of the Oral Interview Guide and Reading and Writing Tasks, and audio-taped samples of speakers at CLB 2 and 3 The interview package was designed to fit within common practices and parameters of Temporary Foreign Worker recruiting missions, based on interviews with recruiters. Assumptions regarding conditions of use include: time the maximum length for the speaking and listening component (oral interview) is 10 minutes; the timeframe for the reading and writing component is more fluid and is intended to be approximately minutes. place the interview takes place in-country, typically in a large meeting room process the interview is conducted one-on-one in private (not necessarily in a separate room but certainly beyond the hearing of other applicants) pre-screening applicants have been pre-selected for qualifications, skills and eligibility and to confirm that they are able to conduct the interview in English; applicants will present a current resume to the interviewer interviewers have a clear understanding of the employer, the worksite, the demands of the work; they likely do not have a background in English language assessment. others are available to assist in calling forward the applicants and overseeing the completion of the Reading and Writing Tasks before the oral interview. security all who administer or assist in the administration of the tool will be trained and will sign waivers to ensure that the tool is consistently administered and secured. The interview package is NOT: a CLB assessment. A CLB assessment requires a minimum timeframe of hours, depending on the tool used and must be administered by trained and certified assessors. This resource is designed to provide recruiters who do not have this time, expertise or tools with a way of gaining a general level of confidence that the applicant is approximately at Speaking, Listening and Reading Benchmark 3 and Writing Benchmark 2 or above. applicable to any/all jobs or positions. This tool was custom-built for individuals applying to work as production workers in food processing facilities. Other positions in the facility or industry or in other sectors would require a similarly tailored approach. 3