City of Kingston

Client

City of Kingston

Year

2024

Scope of Work

Participated in the project performing user interviews, surveys, UX research and running Design Thinking Sessions.

UX Research + Surveys + User Interviews + Design Thinking +

UX Research + Surveys + User Interviews + Design Thinking +

Objective

To recognize the challenges faced by international students when looking for employment opportunities in the city of Kingston.

Challenge

Streamlining the data recollected from the surveys and interviews and finding common patterns accros them.

Overview

Understanding employment challenges faced by international students in Kingston, Ontario.

For this project we teamed up with the City of Kingston to understand the difficulties that international students face when looking for employment opportunities in the city of Kingston, Ontario.

Research Findings

“It’s difficult, they hire most Canadian people no matter your experience.”

28 Participants for our surveys

06 Participants for our Interviews

We started the project by conducting primary interviews and surveys with students from Queen’s University and St. Lawrence College. These research efforts helped us gather both qualitative and quantitative data, enabling us to better understand and empathize with the students.

Based on our findings, we identified the top five issues faced by these students. Which were:

International Symposium

Design Thinking Sessions

15 Participants for our sessions

The City of Kingston kindly provided us with a space during the first-ever International Student Symposium hosted by the Kingston Government. This event helped us identify and understand the unique challenges faced by international students when looking for employment.

My team and I ran two-hour Design Thinking sessions with both students and community partners that provided us with a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by the community. We came up with 4 activities focused on the 5 different issues we found: Brainstorming Sessions, Start, Stop and Continue, 4Ls (Learned, Liked, Lacked, Longed for) and Empathy maps.

Insights

Key Takeaways

According to the Design Thinking session we tackled five big challenges international students face when trying to find work. We worked together to figure out what the main problems are and how we can contribute to the city of Kingston for solving them. The outcomes we came up with are all about making things better for students like us, from getting the right data before international students arrive to making sure that they have fair chances at jobs once they are here. We came up with the following requirements:

  • Establish comprehensive pre-arrival services, offering clear guidance on credential recognition and professional skill requirements.

  • Create online platforms for real-time job and skills updates tailored to prospective international students.

  • Introduce robust remote training programs emphasizing language proficiency and professional skill development.

  • Enhance collaborations with industry professionals to align international students' skills with Canadian employer needs.

  • Advocate for work permit reforms and end discriminatory practices to improve international students' work opportunities.

Final Presentation

We presented our findings to the City of Kingston, KEYS Employment & Newcomer Services and Kingston Immigration Partnership.

Our research highlighted key insights and recommendations aimed at improving the user experience for newcomers and residents in Kingston. The City of Kingston is now considering these findings to inform and shape future public policies, ensuring they are more inclusive and responsive to the needs of the community.

By integrating user-centered design principles, the city aims to enhance service delivery and foster a more welcoming and supportive environment for all its residents and newcomers alike.