SfCeNews Vol 02 No. 06 (July 2001)

Time to spread wings, time to say goodbye
by Peggy Edwards, SfC Executive Director

For a number of our team mates, Skills for Change has very special meaning in that it has been the place where they got their start-up support to build a new life in Canada. Over the years, they developed and strengthened their "wings" in many ways. In the process, Skills for Change became like "home".

But, as we all know, there comes a time when we have to leave home - to spread our wings and move on to new journeys.

That time has come for our dear and very much valued colleague, Barbara Budzynski, who has been with the Skills for Change staff team for nine years (ten years with SfC, counting her one year as a client). Barbara has an opportunity which she, with a great deal of mixed emotions, has decided to take.

It is important for her as it will be a bold step forward in terms of personal and professional growth - to apply all her acquired skills, learning and experiences through Skills for Change in a new setting, meet and work with different people and take on, perhaps other challenges.

Yes, on the surface, I would say that it is a loss for Skills for Change. Getting past that, it is a tribute of recognition and success, and to the significance of what Skills for Change is all about for the dreams of immigrants, whether they be clients or staff of the agency. We help pave the way and open up doors.

So, it is with regret, and yet with much admiration and celebration, that I congratulate Barbara and wish her every success in her new career journey. Her contribution and dedication to the work and sound financial management of Skills for Change is invaluable; the agency owes her a great deal for the integrity and credibility we have gained over the past years with respect to our accounting practices.

Barbara's positive, warm and caring personality as a teammate makes our environment a healthy and pleasant one in which to work and for our clients to enjoy. I cannot begin to tell you how much working with her has meant to me, on different levels. I will miss her sorely.


Around and about the Province
by Asha Chakkalakal, ACCESS Coordinator

The Access program has been extremely busy for the month of June. The program focused on two projects.

"Making a Change Together"
The first of these projects is the "Making a Change Together" Handbook workshops. These workshops feature a resource handbook designed to help foreign-trained people promote better access to professions and trades. The handbook was developed in partnership by the Centre for Research and Education in Human Services and Skills for Change. Our funders are the Access to Professions and Trades Unit at the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities, and Canadian Heritage.

The emphasis of the workshop is on making a change to the professions and trades system, not on helping individuals move through the system.

Using an interactive format, participants learn:

The nature and ways of making systemic change

How the professions and trades system works

Step-by-step strategies for foreign-trained people to improve the professions and trades system

They also receive a free copy of the Handbook.

Our most memorable time was our time in beautiful Thunder Bay. We missed our flight home to Toronto by five minutes and D.O.O.R.S. to Refugees took us in and gave us a place to sleep for the night. We are grateful to all the hosts and participants of the workshops for your hospitality and warmth. Although it has been tiring, we're having a ball delivering the workshops! We still have nine more workshops to do, however we are taking a break for the summer and will resume the workshops in the Fall.

Strengthening Employment Services for Foreign-trained Professionals
This research project is funded by the Maytree Foundation to determine ways in which front-line staff in the employment sector can be supported in their work with foreign-trained professionals. The research project will identify the needs of front-line staff and initiatives to respond to these needs; it will also gauge the level of management support for initiatives to assist these workers.

We have completed all the focus groups for front-line staff and are now working on a summary for the participants. Managers of front-line staff will have an opportunity to attend their own focus group and specific initiatives will be presented to them for their response. The focus groups have provided an excellent opportunity for staff to network with others in their community, share resources, and participate in a developmental project that will lead to initiatives to assist them in their work with foreign-trained professionals. Look for our report on the project in August, 2001.

Editor: Read Francine Volker's review of the "Making a Change Together" seminar here.


Looking for work in the IT field
by Ouliana Baisa, Resource Officer

The Dufferin Mall Employment Resource Centre is offering a splendid opportunity to learn about the IT industry from every angle possible.

The July Speakers’ Series is designed for those who are interested in the field of Information Technology.
Various aspects of the IT industry will be covered by a distinctive collection of experts including business owners, a representative of the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS), and co-ordinators of programs and services for foreign-trained professionals.

Workshops are open to all and are offered at 900 Dufferin Street, Suite 101, Dufferin Mall, (street level).

Session 1
Tuesday, July 10th 2001 at 1:00 p.m
Our panel of Mohan Doss from Nu-Tech, Susan Galea from Skills for Change and Marguerite Pyron from JobStart will discuss the demands of the IT industry today and programs and services that will assist foreign-trained IT professionals seeking employment in Ontario.

Session 2
Wednesday, July 11th, 2001 at 1:00 p.m
What jobs are available in the IT industry today? Do you have the skills and qualifications required? Is certification needed? Where can you find the right training? If you’ve been asking yourself these questions – you can finally get some answers from Donna Campbell, Manager of the Academy of Learning!
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Session 3
Tuesday, July 17th, 2001 at 1:00 p.m
In the software business, fortunes are made or lost by the talent a company manages to attract. If you have what employers are looking for but don’t know how to let them know of your existence - use the help of a recruiter! Robert Knowles, Resources Manager of ASSET Computer Personnel, will show you how you can capitalize on services such as his company provides.

Session 4
Wednesday, July 18th, 2001 at 3:00 p.m.
The Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) provides leadership in information systems and technologies by developing and promoting quality standards, practices, research, certification and professional development while safeguarding the public interest. Mike Long from CIPS has the answers to all those questions about the IT field that have been nagging you.

Session 5
Wednesday, July 25th, 2001 at 1:00 p.m
Want to know about Career Planning, Technical Jobs vs. Non-Technical Jobs in IT and Skills vs. Certification? Meet Dominic Chan, consultant and IT Manager, who will discuss work ethics for an IT professional and vital points to consider while preparing for an interview
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Session 6
Thursday, July 26th, 2001 at 1:00 p.m.
Did you ever consider starting your own business in the IT field? Is the uncertainty of future market trends holding you back? What are the risks involved and which ones are worth facing? After attending a presentation by Milind Abhyankar, you will get a better picture of the prospects of starting an IT company.


New Pioneers Awards nominations
Have you sent your nominations yet for the 2002 New Pioneers Awards?

Hurry and send in the nominations for any six categories - arts, community service, entrepreneurship, science and technology, youth or the Skills for Change Graduate. Printed nomination forms are available at Skills for Change or on our website.


Staff Changes
Welcome to...
Jack Cunningham, FOAP Instructor


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And this is only the beginning...
by Krystyna Pawelkiewicz, Alumni Project Coordinator

So, everything started on February 20^th, 2001. Or maybe I should say, sometime last year, when The Maytree Foundation provided funding to increase alumni involvement in Skills for Change.

The idea was simple. How could SfC support new immigrants not only during their classes, but also later. When they go on their own. And this "own" can be so difficult. There is no more friendly staff member or another student with the same kinds of problems. When graduates leave this building, they meet reality. Just reality. And this reality can be tough.

I was hired by Skills for Change to coordinate this project. We had a lot of meetings. These meetings brought a lot of ideas. And there you go:

In April, an Alumni Focus Group let us know that our graduates would like to keep in touch with the agency and want to help with everyday operations. So, after this meeting we asked a few participants to share their ideas with us and, slowly but surely, we started a new movement at Skills for Change.

Let me introduce you to the Skills for Change Alumni Committee

It is a group of 14 people, graduates from different programs, who decided to sit down together and along with the staff from Skills for Change to build an alumni organization. They want to do things together, have fun together, and most importantly, help not only each other, but also new immigrants who will come to this agency in the future.

Today we have three meetings behind us. From a small group of four people, we became the "Group of Seven" and finally, after the last meeting, the Committee consists of 14 men and women.

We are looking for a long-lasting future together and for a lot of new ideas we can work on. And for new members who would like to work with us.

If you’d like to know a little more about us, please visit our web site for more information about our initiative. We are open for new suggestions. And we welcome new members – because. . .it takes a village to raise a child. And the Alumni Committee is the new kid on the block - we need to take care of it to make sure it grows.

Bound for Toronto

by Maarten Perera, EAS Administrative Assistant

Last month I received a telephone message from an interested client who had heard of our program from another social services agency. Alex was calling from Winnipeg and for the next few days we were to play telephone tag. Finally I was able to reach him and with great enthusiasm he told me his story. He had traveled from Romania, his country of origin, via Milan and London, England and then arrived in Winnipeg to investigate his job opportunities in the fields of engineering and also interpretation.

Alex told his story with great conviction and fortitude. He was truly inspirational and reminded me of the many faces from the past that helped build the Canada we know today. I was somewhat saddened to inform him that although our service was designed for foreign trained professionals, we focused on those newcomers seeking work in Toronto.

I was to hear back from Alex in another week. Again with great enthusiasm he was once more inquiring about our services and the possibility of entering our program. Thinking he had perhaps misunderstood our previous conversation I reiterated that the program was only open to those seeking work in Toronto and wished him well in his job search.

Alex informed me he was aware of this information and after our conversation, with two suitcases in hand, had boarded a plane bound for Toronto to participate in the program.

Needless to say I was astounded by his determination and of course welcomed him with open arms to our next available orientation. Alex is now in the program and with his rich background in not only engineering, interpretation (four languages) but also job search interventions, is being fast tracked through to job development with the greatest of ease.

This experience makes me proud to be an important member of our team. A team that not only offers those like Alex the opportunity to enter the Canadian workforce but gives something important to all newcomers, something that is important to all of us - the bounty of hope.


National Settlement Conference
by Jalileh Helalat, Program Coordinator, Intake and Assessment

Two weeks ago, I attended the 3-day National Settlement Conference at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

As our agency's representative, I joined over 400 invited delegates from the Yukon to Newfoundland. Collectively the group represented the settlement community, sponsorship agreement holders, provincial and federal governments, and other community stakeholders who are directly involved with immigrants and refugees in Canada.

The objectives of the conference were...

To provide a forum for meaningful dialogue around priority policy issues;

To assist in enhancing the overall capacity of the sector to deliver services, therefore strengthening the settlement sector; and

To facilitate learning within the sector via the national forum.

The conference focused on several areas including language training, Access to Trades and Professions and service delivery.

Networking Evening
by Farida Zuberi, Mentoring Coordinator

The Mentoring Program organized a networking evening for engineers on June 14th. The guest speakers were Mr. Ayad Khalid from EnWave District Energy Ltd., and Mr. Ghabi Neame from Litens Group; both are members of the Ontario Chapter of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers). The session was attended by 45 engineers from various disciplines. The speakers shared their experience and expertise regarding job search strategies with the audience.

Mr. Ayad Khalid spoke about the main factors affecting job search for new immigrants, including relevant experience and background, language skills, training and education, and Canadian experience. He listed resources available and also spoke about the need of maintaining an active and positive attitude during this difficult period.

Mr. Ghabi Neame spoke in great detail about the cover letter, resume and the interview. He emphasized the importance of a good cover letter, and gave the participants specific suggestions about tailoring resumes, and tips on interviewing strategies.

The participants of the workshop responded very positively to the information and greatly appreciated having the opportunity to interact with the speakers and each other. They requested the Mentoring Program organize another evening with the same speakers in the near future.


Acronym Soup
Confused? Don't be. Here's a list of our agency acronyms, what they mean and (where applicable) a link to the program web page.

CES - Clerical Employment Services
EAS - Employment Assistance Program
EPRS - Employment Preparation for Retail Services
ERC - Employment Resource Centre
FOAP - Finance and Office Assistant Program
IAT - Intake, Assessment and Training
JSC - Job Search Centre
JSW - Job Search Workshop
LINC - Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada
NPA - New Pioneers Awards
STIC - Sector Terminology Information & Counselling

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