![]() “Oftentimes, immigrants wait a long time to get a job in an area that ’re looking to work in,” says Udiaver. He landed the job, and quickly moved his family to Mississauga, where he still resides today. Udiaver’s credentials - having worked in Dubai at KPMG and for the ANZ Banking Group - made him a solid candidate. ![]() Udiaver says he was lucky within days of landing in Canada, a friend connected him to a headhunter looking to fill a job at TD Bank in the wealth management area. “I wouldn’t say it was a barrier in my case … but for many folks that come from different parts of the world, be very challenging.”įinding a job came next. “It’s really about establishing yourself from a financial perspective, even establishing a credit history,” he says. He was expected to come up with 120 per cent of the credit limit on his credit card, and to pay several months’ rent upfront versus just the standard first and last. ![]() In both cases, he found that he needed an established credit history in Canada, which he didn’t have - a hurdle many newcomers face, he says. Settling in downtown Toronto at first, Udiaver faced two initial challenges: getting a credit card and renting an apartment. “And, in general, I think the economy has always done really well relative to many other parts in the world.” “What we really liked about Canada was the openness, the diversity,” says Udiaver. The immigration process went quickly, and Udiaver landed in Toronto in January 2001 - “at the peak of winter,” he says, laughing - just shy of his 30th birthday. The couple heard positive stories about the Canadian immigration experience, which prompted their decision to apply to come to Canada when they were expecting their first child. Two years earlier, in 1999, Udiaver and his wife, Maithili, got their first taste of life in Canada while visiting family here. “ great example of things we take for granted here that many people don’t have access to.” “I was thinking about back in India - there are no doors,” says Udiaver, explaining the significance the seemingly mundane, everyday occurrence had on him. The train was stopped because the doors wouldn’t close due to a technical issue. Photo by Saajid Motalaīeing on a stalled GO train is one of Invisor CEO Pramod Udiaver’s most vivid memories after immigrating to Canada from India by way of Dubai, 15 years ago.
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