₦airaland Forum

BusinessHub1:
This forum has “education” section please, the argument can continue there. Here the topic of discussion is clearly about the living condition of those that successfully migrated to Canada please,thanks guys.

ceemac:
I love Nigeria, I miss those days I stay under some cool breezy dusk with those local pots of full catfish and mortuary standard drinks doing it in the African way.. Nigeria gave me and what I needed at the times and for the fact that I am a global citizen, I had to embark on adventure, it could be the Kenyan Safaris soonest! This is me just globetrotting!


Thank God y’all weren’t born Canadians, y’all would have have been very mean supremacists!

ceemac:
Get the skills from even YouTube from wherever on the globe, you are good for many roles that doesn’t necessarily require academic qualification benchmarks!

ceemac:
Aunty Western Education, some of us have had the grace to study on both divides.. Its easier in the so call ‘West’ with max of 4 courses per semester!

ceemac:
You can kindly return all the certificates the Nigerian system gave you and see how you can apply for express Entry Na.. Oga statistics.. Speak for yourself..

If the so called Western Education is the best, I can see how the lacuna for professionals have been created by the seemingly best education that they are now soliciting international professionals to fill the spaces!

joo2018:
I really think it is time to round up this discussion. We are starting to derail the thread.

joo2018:
I really think it is time to round up this discussion. We are starting to derail the thread.

Ugosample:
You see the problem we have in Nigeria?
we don't like to tell ourselves the TRUTH

I went to a "Tier 1" university in NIGERIA and I'm telling you that what we learn in Nigeria are mostly USELESS

You know it, and I know it

when was the sylabus updated last?
What is the quality of research work coming out of the schools,?

why don't the elite in the country have faith in the system in place?

How many of the so called academics are up to date with the trends with their fields?

how many of them do MCPE?

The system needs to br over hauled and changed COMPLETELY to have proper quality products

Asides that, we will continue to lie to ourselves

I go to universities elsewhere and I see what Is obtainable

einsteino:
PART 2 of My RAMBLINGS
When we land we all want to get into our career as quickly as possible, but the reality is that for a good number of people this dream would elude them for quite some time. You should plan for how you would survive the transition period between landing and dream job. Believe it or not, many people even find it challenging to get a survival job, mostly because they do not know how to go about it. In my experience getting a survival job early on allows you to preserve your POF and invest it into more profitable things like career advancement, education or property.While you're on it, you could learn about canadian workplace culture, improve your communication skills and confidence, and possibly make some networks. Sure you could learn those on a dream job but the peculiarity is that a survival job lets you learn all these when the stakes are lower and allows you to mess up without the consequences being dire. I would share my experience so far, I am on my third survival job now and have worked both fulltime and part time positions.

What is a survival job? I think a survival job is one that requires low level/general skills and atimes physical dexterity, with just a means of income rather than passion/career as the motive for taking up such a job. So if you take up a job solely to pay bills while trying to find something better, then it may be your survival job while it is a career to others. There is nothing wrong in turning a survival job into a career especially if there is room for progression, some survival jobs pay well too.

The easiest survival job to get is warehouse job, but they could be quite tedious. There are several entry level roles in-demand here, I would just touch on a few to let you know what it involves.
Forklift drivers or Operators Industry pay ranges from $16/hr - $25/hr depending on experience, equipment and employer. Forklift drivers often need to be licensed before applying, in my case I hadn't any license or forklift experience. I was given a 3hours crash course training and had to pass a drive test immediately. Wage was $15.75/hr but since I was working nightshifts I was paid an extra $1, then an extra $3 i think for working a contract/backend position. That brought my total pay to $19/hr for 40hrs per week. I also worked an average of 20hrs overtime hours per week and as such got paid $28/hr for those hours. The nature of the job varies depending on the exact type of forklift you have to drive and the warehouse setting. There seems to be always forklift jobs, but if you are spending money on getting your license, I would say try to make sure its a type of forklift that is indemand and that you have the aptitude for.

Material handler is just a fancy word for something similar to wheelbarrow pusher lol. Though the work environment is much nicer than some so-called white collar jobs in naija. I worked as a material handler for 6weeks or so at The Bricks. I had to lift heavy items like Sofas, Washing machines, 8ft tall Refrigerators etc I'd place them on a 2 wheel dolley and cart it away to a loading cage. On most days I doubled as a loader: loading trailers for outbound shipment. Material handlers can earn from $14 to $20 depending on the employer and the needs/risks of the job. In my case I was paid about $14.45/hr, I could have earned $15.75 if I switched to a loader fully but mehn since I knew I was not going to stay for long I didnt bother to officially switch my roles, so I technically did more work for less money.

Shipping/Receiving Associate: this is almost same as a loader

Packagers box or packs items. it is a job that involves lots of repetitive actions and you often need to do it while standing and at a fast pace. Some warehouses are quite relaxed and may allow you even sit while doing this, but most wouldnt and the targets could be insane. But at least it doesn't involve lifting heavy items.


Other Survival Jobs
Call Centre and Customer Service Reps: Pay is usually minimum wage $14. Call centres could be inbound, outbound or both. Inbound call centre is a chill job, if you are a courteous person it would be as simple as being paid for being you. You just sit beside a phone and a computer, take calls and assist customers with their needs. You don't need to fake an oyibo accent. A couple of callers have complimented my accent and gone on to tell me about themselves. Unfortunately, I do more of outbound calls, lord I hate the days I am on outbound. Time is painfully slow on those days. Outbound calls involves calling and lightly persuading people to buy lottery tickets. its basically unsolicited calls to old customers. More often than not, you get the sense that you are a bother, on the not so bad days you could get the "Bleep you!". On the really bad days, you get a very polite please take my number of your list because my husband whom you intend to speak with just passed away. Atimes people would tell you they can not purchase tickets because they just lost their jobs, this is especially the case when the calls are to people in Alberta and they go on to indulge you in the difficulties they are experiencing. So, it can be a lot to contend with.

Personal Support Worker/Care Giver: PSW involves caring for patients, injured, ill or needy people —this could include changing bandages, turning patients to prevent bed sores, applying medicinal lotions, helping with oral medication, and bathing patients. This job typically requires a certification and police record check.

Uber and Skip the dish: Basically you just taxi people or go pick and drop off food. Uber typically needs your car to be no more older than 7-9years(ie a minimum of a 2010 to 2012 model car) depending on the city, amongst other stringent requirements. You don't need to buy a car to do this! You could hire a car from a dealer that way the wear and tear is transferred to the dealer. from my conversations with people who drive uber and skip the dish, it seems the secret to a profitable Uber driving is making sure your car has a good fuel economy, and most importantly location! Driving Uber in Toronto is far more profitable than driving in somewhere like Barrie. One thing though is that you greatly increase the probability of being in an accident because you are on the road for more hours and under the pressure of meeting schedule.

Bar tenders, servers and waiters: They often pay minimum wage or even less but it could be very lucrative if you are working at a club/hotel especially in downtown Toronto, this is because there is a culture of tipping here. In the end if you are lucky, you could make as much as extra $10 -$15 per hour in tips, over here the law says the employees get to keep 100% of whatever is tipped.

Cashier: you already know what this entails, main skill required is knowledge of POS CASH REGISTER, CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS AND ADMIN. Typical workplace would be fast food and retail stores

Security guard: Job roles under this includes: Security guard, Concierge, Bodyguard, Bouncer, and loss prevention employee. Requirements is typically a security license, cpr and first aid. If you go on to get a weapon's license, you could become a private investigator

Truck driving: pardon me, na crase dey worry me... this one no follow for survival job, na career wey they make way more than many white collar jobs and it takes a great deal of time and training to get a truck driving license.


Factors to consider when picking a survival job:
Flexibility: Some jobs are pretty rigid, you could get fired for being absent/late a few times despite the fact that you wouldn't be paid for those times. When you are still trying to settle and scouting for a better job, the best survival job would be the one that lets you still work on finding your dream job. This may include giving you the convenience to study or attend interviews. I noticed during the time I was working warehouse jobs I had no time for anything else. When I return home, I am too tired to do anything other than sleep and I would wake up with body pain.

Relevance to your Career: basically, the more closely related your survival job is to your field, the better. You could also try to pick a survival job that equips you with skills you may not have the opportunity to develop in your field but would need all the same. In my case, my engineering career has been overly focused on technical skills but my call centre experience has helped me horne a lil people skills( at least I am quite good at faking a smile, a polite and warm voice tone now ) that could even help me in my engineering career esp when it comes to liasing with clients, so yeah think of transferable soft skills. . .

Reliable work hours: When picking a survival job, be careful to go for one that gives you reliable hours. Some employers would send you home early or cancel your shift if there isnt much to do. This means you would forfeit your pay for the remaining hours. E.g lets say you got a job that you are scheduled to work 6 hrs per day for 5days a week... In the end you could get sent home after 3hrs of work in each of the 4days and have the fifth day shift cancelled. Meaning instead of getting paid for 30hrs of work, you would only get paid for 12hours! This makes your income very unreliable as you would have difficulty predicting how much you would actually earn in a month. Companies like Amazon give you reliable hours of work.

Reviews: Before taking a job, always read reviews of the firm on indeed and glassdoor. These reviews could give you insight on the work culture, pay, and much more. Sometimes ex-employees who write these reviews may exaggerate the cons but its better reading what they have to say than blindly accepting an offer.

Safety/Physical requirements: Some survival jobs require physical dexterity and also put you at risk. You want to be sure you have assessed the requirements of the job and can take it.


How to get a survival job
Like all other jobs, the internet is a good place to start. One advise I would give is do not be discouraged if you do not meet the job requirements, apply all the same. Most employers are unable to fill staff for survival positions, so they may not even find a qualified person to apply and end up taking whoever applies. You could search the websites below. create two indeed accounts, one for your survival job and the other for your dream job.

www.indeed.ca
www.monster.ca
www.workopolis.com
www.craiglist.com

1. Be attentive! whenever you are out, dont just get lost marveling at beautiful buildings and taking pictures to impress people in 9ja with the illusion that you have made it. look out for signs that say "help wanted" and "we are hiring", though be careful not to fall into the hands of scammers. Also try to spot out businesses, fastfoods, retail shops and factories/warehouses around you(find out where the industrial area is). You do not always need to wait for them to list a vacancy, you could just walk in with your resume and ask if they have a job you could do. Yes! Many survival jobs are gotten this way. Inshort you could even ask your neighbours if you could mow their lawn or plough their snow if you dont find any job at all, people get paid for that.

2. Be on the look out for Job fairs. Most job fairs would be filled with openings for good jobs and survival jobs, if you dont get hired at one, you would at least be able to learn what they are looking for and how you could get in.

3. Some jobs have season, for amazon warehouse it is typically October/November, during this time they hire almost anyone they can find without even bothering to interview them.. This is because this is when business is at its peak, so do your research find out which job type is on season.

4. Make friends, join whatsapp groups and tell almost anyone you know that you are looking for a survival job., no shame, you no thief...shame no dey pay bills here. also ask people how they got the job they are doing and what it entails.

5. If you havent time to waste on all of the above, then go register with an agency. They should be able to fill you in especially if you are available for fulltime positions.


Resume tips for survival jobs: Scrap out your professional experience that doesnt align with the survival job, its best you only state High School diploma if that is all they stated as requirement. This is because doing otherwise may suggest you wouldnt be with them for long. As crazy as it may sound, some companies actually want someone whose only ambition is to work in a warehouse all his/her life, you have to act like you are that person. While I was interviewing for a warehouse position, a HR person asked me what I found passionate about the job.

mrhumandelis:
Guys free this Nigerian Education argument abeg.

If you love it so much, send your kids to Nigerian schools...There's nothing stopping you really: They can stay with relatives or/and be in boarding house etc.

My personal opinion here sha (I schooled both in Nigeria and abroad: BEng in Nigeria then I went to the UK to start over: MEng before switching to MSc after the first year). I can almost assure you that my first year of MEng (MEng is a 4 year undergraduate program in the UK), I learnt a lot more than my 5 years in Nigeria. This is personal and in no way general.

of all these supposed "sharpness", if Nigeria was wiped out from the worlds map; I assure you that no one, absolutely no one would feel affected. Of the whole sharpness and smartness, what do you have to show for it, what has been invented, created etc. It was in the UK I realised that professors/doctors are first researchers (primary occupation) before being lecturers.

Nigerians may be intelligent but it's a stupid argument because in this modern age, your intelligence as an individual matters very little. Instead, it's your ability to collaborate with others, work collectively (this is something Nigerians lack) and thinking of the bigger picture.



Absolutely!you have made a good point.Nigerian education teaches mostly theory,We are intelligent people but what about practical? What about being functional in your work environment? What about confidence? most graduates from Nigeria are unemployable...This is mostly because of the system.
Interview skills Nkor?These things are taught in the west before you even get into the real world.

Mizwisdom:
Correct your spelling, the word is "woefully"

Guitarlife:
Remove the plank in your eye before talking about the speck in another persons eye.
The word is "sought".

Guitarlife:
Remove the plank in your eye before talking about the speck in another persons eye.
The word is "sought".

Godatwork23:
Happy Sunday Sirs and Mas,
I'd be leaving Nigeria within this week God willing and would lo e to know if an international vaccine card (aka yellow card) is required or will be requested for at the POE

Also love to know the least amount a fully fundedc candidate should present as POF at the POE


Thanks and God bless

mrhumandelis:
Guys free this Nigerian Education argument abeg.

If you love it so much, send your kids to Nigerian schools...There's nothing stopping you really: They can stay with relatives or/and be in boarding house etc.

My personal opinion here sha (I schooled both in Nigeria and abroad: BEng in Nigeria then I went to the UK to start over: MEng before switching to MSc after the first year). I can almost assure you that my first year of MEng (MEng is a 4 year undergraduate program in the UK), I learnt a lot more than my 5 years in Nigeria. This is personal and in no way general.

of all these supposed "sharpness", if Nigeria was wiped out from the worlds map; I assure you that no one, absolutely no one would feel affected. Of the whole sharpness and smartness, what do you have to show for it, what has been invented, created etc. It was in the UK I realised that professors/doctors are first researchers (primary occupation) before being lecturers.

Nigerians may be intelligent but it's a stupid argument because in this modern age, your intelligence as an individual matters very little. Instead, it's your ability to collaborate with others, work collectively (this is something Nigerians lack) and thinking of the bigger picture.

Guitarlife:
I have gotten to learn so much on this thread and Nairaland in General. I just got a job after 2 months of Landing and I have so much to tell people. That would be my own way of giving back to the society, but I plan to deactivate this account, am lost between giving the landing gist with this account that is soon going to be defunct or using the brand new account I am just going to unveil.

To start with, nobody will give you a job on a platter, the offer I got I had 5 interviews for the position. The best way to start in my own opinion is to have an open mind and apply for survival jobs as well as professional job at the same time.

Do not allow your survival job prevent you from attending interview and dont be afraid to take risks . I forwent a decent job offer for the prospect of a better job that I did not have because even the person that interviewed me told me he knew I would get a better offer but if I decide to stay with them I would have to stick with them for a long time.

I rejected the job despite the fact that I did not have any job at that time, but today it was a smart decision. It didn't look so great at the time though.

Lesson 1 : Surround yourself with positive people and those who believe in you.

joo2018:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1022&top=16

IykeD:
No to your first question. You do not need a yellow card to the best of my knowledge.

You can take say $2000 and above in cash and evidence of the balance in either electronic or printed form. You may not even be asked about PoF at all but to be on the safe side, be prepared to show it.

Have a safe flight!

jjohndoe83:
Oga, you sef. It is "person's". Since we're all trying to be funny.

sylokobi:
Please how much did it cost from Edmonton to Lagos?

bLacKGoLd3:
Oh, my bad and sincere apologies.
I thought the emoticon would show that I was only messing around.

Post edited.

hayor2014:
if money is not an issue, I would say you do it before coming, that CPA will open more doors than you can imagine..

einsteino:
PART 2 of My RAMBLINGS
b.