3. Which communities do you provide services in?

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1 Semi- Structured Interview Questions for Service Providers/Town Officials * the term immigrant refers to permanent residents, recent citizens, TFWs, refugees and all newcomers to Canada Remind participants: If they do not wish to answer a certain question, they do not have to answer it. They are just as in control of the voice recorder as I am. They can feel free to turn it off at any time, for certain questions. Organization Name: Community: Participant name: Date: Interview Number: Services Overview and demographics: 1. What services are your primary focus? (Health Care, Education, Language Training, Skills Training, Family Services, Youth Services, Mental Health, Settlement, Childcare, Employment Services, Foreign Credential Recognition?) 2. Provide a description of the service(s) you provide specifically for immigrants. 3. Which communities do you provide services in? 1

2 4. How long has your organization been operating in this community? 5. About how many staff does your organization employ locally? 6. About how many staff does your organization employ in southern Alberta? 7. What are your organization s main funding sources? 8. How accessible are your services? (Extended hours, online access, flexible scheduling, remote service provision/do your immigrant clients familiar with accessing on- line services?) Clientele Demographics/Background 9. Approximately how many immigrant clients do you serve? (Month, week, year) 2

3 10. What are the top five countries of origin of your immigrant clients? 11. What are the most common immigration statuses of your immigrant clients (e.g., Permanent resident, Temporary foreign worker, Refugee, other newcomer to Canada). Can you rank them in order of most common to least common? 12. Are there any funding restrictions concerning the types of immigrants you provide services to? 13. Generally, how long after immigrants arrive in Canada do they access your services? 14. Which of your services are most commonly accessed by immigrants? 15. How do immigrant clients find out about your services? (Web, inquiries, advertising, referrals, word- of- mouth) 3

4 16. Are your immigrant clients comfortable using computers and the Internet? (Do they use the Internet to find information?) 17. How do you think your immigrant clients will change in the next 2 years? a. Volume b. Sex c. Age d. Education e. Countries of origin f. Other Other Community Service Providers 18. Do other agencies in your community provide the same or similar services to immigrants as your organization? Y N 4

5 19. Does your organization refer immigrants to other agencies that provide services not offered by your organization? Y N a. Who do you refer immigrants to? 20. Do you receive immigrant clients through referrals? Y N a. If yes, who refers them to you? Community Dynamics 21. How is your community changing with the presence of newcomers to Canada? 22. What programs and services do immigrants in your community express the greatest demand for? 23. Are there persistent skills shortages in your community? (What skills are employers in your community looking for?) (leadership, trades, management, sales/services, 5

6 communication skills, computer skills, PR, I/T/ manual labour, customer service, professional, cold calling). Gaps in Services 24. What barriers prevent service and program providers from meeting immigrant client demand? (Costs, hours of operation, lack of online presence, lack of capacity, lack of client access to personal/public transportation, lack of client familiarity with using computers, lack of awareness of services, lack of flexible delivery, inconvenient physical location, others?) 25. What services or programs, if any, do immigrants need that are currently not offered in your community. Community Strategies 26. Is there a municipal strategy in place for engaging immigrants in your community s local economy? Y N D 6

7 27. What do you think are the key components of an effective community strategy to engage immigrants in the workplace as well as the community? 28. What do you think is necessary for promoting immigrant attraction and retention in your community? Economic Recession and Potential Impacts 29. Has the recent recession impacted your services (demand, resources/funding?) and/or your immigrant clients? (Employment, career objectives/goals, workplace relationships, education and training, economic and job security) Others 30. Do you have an annual community report or self- reported statistics or related information/overviews on your programs and services that you could provide us a copy of? 31. Is there anything else you would like to add? Other: can you recommend any immigrant clients or businesses or other organizations in your community who might wish to participate in this study? 7