United
Way funds 200 community agencies that help one in three people in Toronto.
This is a story about one of them.
Before coming to Canada in 1994,
Costel Ignat was an engineer. But when he arrived here, he had difficu1ties
finding a job in his chosen field. However, he found help through a
mentorship program at Skills for Change — a United Way member agency.
Skills For Change provides
immigrants and refugees with a range of skills development and training
programs, as well as information and referrals, advocacy and counselling.
Programs and services are intended
to help clients to participate effectively in their new homeland.
"We offer English upgrading
programs for people who have recently arrived," says Cathy Callaghan,
regional development co-ordinator at Skills for Change, "and we do a
lot of an-site training for individuals headed towards employment."
Ignat says, "I was involved in
an engineering internship program. It was helpful because through them, I
was able to get some training courses."
It was the beginning of the process
of getting a better job in Canada.
Ignat learned such skills as
creating an effective resume and he took part in mock interviews to practise
his job search skills.
Since August 1997, Ignat has been at
his current job as a quality engineer.
"That’s what I trained
for," he says. "It’s not much different from what I did back
home."
Because his experience was so
successful at Skills for Change, Ignat has also become a mentor in the
program.
"It’s my turn to help other
people," he says.
Now he spends a few hours every week
with someone who was in a similar situation as he was just a few years ago.
Currently Ignat is helping someone
who has come here from China.
"Presently the program serves
foreign-trained engineers, accountants and engineering technicians and
technologists," Callaghan says. "This program serves 75 people
annually."
The 1998 United Way campaign goal is
to raise $58.25 million for causes like this one.
For more information, call
416-777-2001. "Without you, there would be no way."
United
Way funds 200 community agencies that help one in three people in Toronto.
This is a story about one of them.