The book presents a research study that examined the retraining and career development experiences of new and professional immigrants in Canada. The study intended to provide an in-depth perspective into the influence of immigrants optimism and self-efficacy on their retraining and career development experiences. Using a qualitative methodology, in-depth interviews were conducted and a grounded theory approach was employed to analyze the data. Central themes within participant narratives emerged and key results were introduced. Participants experiences included a myriad of barriers and challenges, yet many viewed this experience as a positive opportunity for growth and development. The results explored differences between optimists and pessimists retraining and career development experiences, as well as the role of self-efficacy within immigrants career development. Results have implications for career and vocational psychology literature, practice, and career counselling, and include suggestions for future researchers.

Professional immigrants come to Canada with valuable skills, education, and hopes for future career success. However, they are often met with barriers to desired employment which impact vocational, physical, and psychological well-being. During the adjustment process, immigrants strive to fulfill basic needs, both physical and psychological in nature. This study explored the role of a recent psychology theory titled career self-determination theory (CSDT) in the retraining experiences of professional immigrants in Canada. Specifically, this study examined how professional immigrants negotiated, fulfilled, and were influenced by, three key determinants in CSDT: career autonomy, career competence, and career relatedness. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, qualitative interviews were analyzed. Results indicated evidence for the key themes posited by CSDT, as well as relevant subthemes, and suggest the importance of need fulfillment within vocational contexts and a consideration of self-determination in career development. Findings provide preliminary theoretical contributions to the CSDT framework and practical implications for supporting professional immigrants.

To benefit the economy, Canada accepts thousands of professional immigrants each year. However, they often encounter unforeseen hardships in acculturation and employment pursuits which negatively impact self-esteem: a predictor of career success and life satisfaction. Since existing supports for professional immigrants have proven unsatisfactory, the current study aimed to identify and understand impacts of adjustment barriers on self-esteem to inform development of resources including career counselling protocols. Methodologies included analysis of qualitative interviews with professional immigrants who underwent retraining in Canada. Results revealed fluctuations in self-esteem throughout adjustment periods. Self-esteem was highest prior to immigration and upon initial arrival in Canada but significantly decreased during primary attempts at job searching and acculturation. During retraining and post-retraining employment, self-esteem increased but was threatened by remaining adjustment barriers. Eleven key impactors on self-esteem were revealed. By identifying challenges for professional immigrants, results can inform development of resources to encourage health and success.

This study examined the retraining experiences of immigrant professionalâ s in Canada. Using a qualitative research methodology, specifically a constructivist grounded theory approach, the individual narratives of 20 highly educated and professionally seasoned immigrant professionals were explored. In an effort to optimize life-career success, all of the participants completed formal retraining in Canada. Therefore, the results of this study are especially relevant to the broader context of immigrant professionals retraining experiences in Canada. The majority of immigration literature to date has focused on the challenges and barriers of life-career transition. This study aimed to expand present literature through the empirical investigation of the positive side of immigration. Namely, the personal, subjective accounts of the psychological, behavioural, and contextual ingredients of successful life-career transition were explored. To do so, a semi-structured interview format was employed to elicit from participants the individual and contextual processes that facilitated adaptive coping in response to the well-documented challenges and barriers of transition. The results of this study revealed that life-career outcome, within the broader retraining context, is largely mediated by several individual and contextual factors of influence. The research proposes the adaptive coping model of immigrant life-career transition. The model highlights that life-career outcomes involve dynamic and reciprocal interactions between the individually based constructs of agency and resilience, and psychological and action-oriented coping behaviours with several contextually driven supports and resources. The theoretical and practical implications, and the limitations of the study are discussed, and recommendations for future research are proposed.