What Newcomers Are Up Against
The Canadian technology sector draws talent from around the world, but the path from immigration to stable professional employment in tech is rarely straightforward. According to Thirukumaran Sivasubramaniam, the barriers are not primarily about skill. They are about access: to networks, to references, to the institutional knowledge that native professionals often absorb through proximity and time.
Sivasubramaniam arrived in Canada from Sri Lanka at the age of nine after his father was killed during the civil war. His family relied on welfare for years while establishing themselves in Toronto. He went on to earn a Computer Science and Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo and built a career at Amazon, Redknee, RBC Global Asset Management, and ultimately Fintex Inc., which he co-founded in 2023.
The Access Gap That Credentials Cannot Fix
Sivasubramaniam has spent years working informally with young people and newcomers navigating the professional landscape in Canada. He describes a consistent pattern: qualified individuals with strong technical foundations who cannot get past the early gatekeeping stage because they lack domestic professional contacts or prior Canadian work experience.
The gap is not academic. It is relational. Young immigrants with strong technical skills often cannot get their first meeting without a referral. That first meeting is everything in this sector.
What He Does About It
Over the past several years, Sivasubramaniam has helped a number of immigrant youth and new Canadians secure their first jobs in technology. He has served as a volunteer judge for Youth Leadership Programs in Canada, specifically evaluating technology-focused categories. He also organizes annual fundraising efforts among his personal network, raising close to $5,000 per year to support individuals and families in need, and has coordinated clothing donation drives for international communities for approximately a decade.
A Practical Approach for Those in the Field
For organizations and professionals who want to improve access for immigrant talent, Sivasubramaniam points to a few practices that cost little but produce consistent results: formal mentorship programs that match newcomers with domain-specific professionals, structured internship pipelines that accept candidates without prior Canadian experience, and awareness among hiring managers of how their requirements may inadvertently screen out qualified immigrant applicants.
About Thirukumaran Sivasubramaniam
Thirukumaran Sivasubramaniam is the Co-Founder and COO of Fintex Inc., a Toronto-based financial technology company building wealth technology platforms for major Canadian financial institutions. He holds a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and has more than 20 years of experience in software engineering, R&D leadership, and solutions architecture. More information is available at fintexinc.com.
Media Contact
Contact Person: Thirukumaran Sivasubramaniam
Email: Send Email
City: Toronto
State: Ontario
Country: Canada
Website: https://www.thirukumaransivasubramaniam.com/
