SfCeNews
Volume III.  Issue 06. June 30, 2002

Skills for Change (SfC) is a non-profit agency based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Our mandate is to provide learning and training opportunities for immigrants and refugees so that they can participate in the workplace and wider community.
In this edition...
 
Volunteer Recognition Evening
Success Strategies for Foreign-trained Professionals
Access and Options for International Health Professionals
IT Careers in Finance and Health
My Story - Start a New Life
FYI - Immigration and Refugee Act
Computer hardware for sale
Programs and Services Updates
 
On May 30, 2002 the Skills for Change Alumni group hosted a recognition evening for SfC volunteers in 2001 - 2002. 
Photos can be found here.
Thank you for all the 2001 - 2002 volunteers!
 
Keria Abdu, Nafeesa Afridi, Zandra Alcaide, Sabra Ali, Carmen Apostolesco, Sandra Arcos, Armita Arshak, Rouhi Arshak, Rama Bhat, Tom Bianchi, Rezarta Bicja, Cynthia Boateng, Tatiana Borovik, Michael Boyd, Suellen Boyd, Franz Branschat, Anita Byrne, Darlene Byrne, Ismael Cala Lopez, Mario Calla, Katarina Canic, Bonnie Cao, Viviano Carvelho, Becky Chan, Peter Chan, George Chelvanayagam, Howard Chen, Jing Cheng, Amy Chong, Rochelle Cole, John Cox, Carmen Davila, Luis De Faria, Rene Dela Cruz, Amit Deodhar, Joe deSouza, Iurie Dmitrenco, Moshe Dobner, Tenzing Dolkar, Aiping Dong, Mohan Doss, Afshin Ebtekar, Bob Fanning, Robert Ferguson, Eduardo Fernandes, Derek Fernandez, Gerald Fitzgerald, Barbara Flewelling, Mark Franklin, Lubosh Frynta, Norman Galt, Angela Gao, Noemi Garcia, Jaime Gatawa, Bill Gentiles, Jim Gerrard, Etleva Gjermeni, Sathya Gnaniah, Myrtle Gordon, Maha Hanalla, Idris Hassan, Wayne Haymer, Sandra Hewitt, Yustyna Holovchak, David Hui, Liliana Hurtado, Titilayo Igor, Wendy Irwin, Kim Jeffery, Judith John, Gail Johnson, Marcello Kai, Kaura Kanchan, Debbie Kanga, Valentina Karapici, Dan Karim, Catherine Kenwell, Chitwant Kohli, Rishi Kumar, Pradeep Kurgaraj, Adil Lalani, Lois Langlois, Mary Ann Lara , Sueanne Le, Janette Lee, Elida Lelaj, John Leung, Cherry Li, Martin Li, Kissoon Lildhar, Helen Lin, Silvia Litvin, Cydrike Lorberg, Irene Lourduraj, Dave Lovelock Brenda Jean Lycett, Bill Lynch, James Maclean, Nerman Abdel Malik , Jayne Manriquez, Andrea Marcus, Lewanna Mashaud, Cathy Mauro, Jim McConnach, Edwina McGroddy, Subash Mehta, Patricia Melgarejo, Fredy Mendoza, Ujjal Mondal, Elena Nachkova, Rosemin Nanji, Barbara Nawrocki, Lucy Oliveira, David Ostos, Lata Pada, Mohd Pasha, Umesh Patel, Firdos Pathan, Krystyna Pawelkiewicz, Claude Payne, Colin Petit, David Quennville, Carla Rosario, Elvis Rose, Ellice Rustia, Mark Salvador, Anil Sambhi, Orlin Saratchinov, Sam Sathiamoorthy, Lyla Satok, Peter Schubert, Rohan Sequeira, Joy Seth, Hesham Shafi, Bharat Shah, Bharti Shah, Vinayak Shanbhag, Rohith Shivanath, Kok-Kwan Shum, Albert Singh, Claudia Small, Luckshman Soma, Ravi Sreedharan, Romeo Stanescu, Slavak Strzemieczny, Carmela Tancioco, Susan Tang, Hong Tao, Tina Tian, Barbara Titherington, Moyuko Tomita, Howard Trotman, Jason Uppal, Myrna Valesco, Anna Vatavu, Lourdes Vincente, Nat Vora, Anton Vukas, Silvana Waicus, Stephen Waicus, David Wang, John Ward, Kirby Wong, Jack Wu, Sherry Yang, Irma Zaja, Rugang Zeng, Wendy Zhang, Gosha Zwyno.
Success Strategies for Foreign-Trained Professionals

Foreign-trained professionals face unique barriers in accessing their occupations in Canada. Skills for Change has pioneered a sector-specific job preparation model that has proven to be an effective method in overcoming these barriers.
 
The STIC Program (Sector Terminology, Information & Counselling) assists foreign-trained professionals by providing a strategy of integrated services targeted to specific professions. These include sector-specific information workshops and language training, as well as skills enhancement opportunities. Post program support is offered in the form of individual counselling, job development, work experience placement and mentoring.

Skills for Change has developed a workshop presenting the sector-specific job preparation model with the objective of highlighting its success in supporting the integration of foreign-trained professionals into the workplace and wider community. The workshop also discusses ways in which this approach can be incorporated into existing services being provided to newcomers by agencies across the country.

The workshop entitled "Success Strategies for Foreign-Trained Professionals" was presented at NATCON 2002 (National Consultation on Career Development Conference) on January 22, 2002 in Ottawa and was co-facilitated by Roland Rhooms, Coordinator STIC Program and Farida Zuberi, Coordinator Mentoring for Employment Program.
 
The workshop participants represented educational institutions and social service agencies from across the country interested in learning about this unique approach to job preparation. The workshop has also generated interest on a national level within agencies working with foreign-trained professionals.

This workshop was presented by Skills for Change at the Opportunities Conference in Hamilton last month. The facilitators were Roland Rhooms and Jane Cullingworth, Manager Programs & Services.

For more information please contact Jane Cullingworth
Ph: 416 658 3101 ext.224
cullingworth@skillsforchange.org
 
Access and Options for International Health Professionals
 
Skills for Change is involved in a new bridging program to help international health professionals access health care technology fields. The program is called
ACCESS and OPTIONS for INTERNATIONAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

ACCESS & OPTIONS is a program that provides landed immigrants with the industry-specific language and skills training, clinical experience, personal support and guidance they need to pass the regulatory body certification examinations and ultimately achieve employment in their chosen field.
 
In partnership with George Brown College, Skills for Change and GED Achievement, Michener’s Access and Options program assists professionals in the following fields:
 
· Medical Laboratory Technology
· Diagnostic Cytology
· Radiological Technology (X-Ray)
· Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
· Respiratory Therapy

FACTS
Ontario is facing a critical shortage of health care technologists. Yet landed immigrants trained in these fields are unable to practice, due to barriers such as language, Canadian work experience and certification requirements. The Michener Institute’s personalized program helps international health professionals identify these barriers and overcome them.

STUDENTS WILL LEARN…
· Language support – spoken and written English, as well as profession-specific terms
· Occupation-specific theoretical and practical skills
· General knowledge of the Canadian health care system and how it functions Canadian work experience
· How to prepare for and write certification exams

PROGRAM LENGTH
Access & Options is a personalized program, tailored to the needs of each individual. Beginning with a prior learning assessment, a customized plan is developed for each student.

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS
· Landed Immigrant
· A prior learning assessment or evaluation by the regulatory body

HOW TO APPLY
Contact the Office of Access & Options at 416 596-3154 [Download flyer in .pdf format]

TUITION FEES
Based on individual courses
IT Careers in Finance and Health
 
Skills for Change is involved in a new bridging program in partnership with George Brown College and COSTI. The program is geared to immigrants interested in careers in Information Technology in the Financial and Health Sectors. The program is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

The one year program gives graduates the equivalent of a two-year diploma. Students will learn programming using Java and C++ Business Applications, up-to-date programming techniques, software development and testing methods, and database concepts for ACCESS, Oracle and SQL servers.
 
The teaching environment is team-based and students will learn in industry-sponsored labs. In addition to the technical skills, students will learn about technical terminology, English for the workplace, workplace culture and work search techniques.

To be eligible, students need a Bachelor's Degree or equivalent from a country other than Canada; good computer literacy; the equivalent of Ontario grade 12 high school math, and an intermediate level of English (Canadian Language Benchmark of 6-8). Tuitition is approximately $4,400. Financial assistance may be available.

For more information, contact Myriam Zitouni at George Brown at (416) 415-5000 ext 2579 or ext 4834. [Download flyer in .pdf format]
My Story
A regular series of stories, written by SfC clients and graduates, that describe the immigrant experience.

Start A New Life
by Rodrigo Lema

I came to Canada in 1994 with my wife and our two children. They are 14 and 16 years old now. We came largely to ensure a good education for our children. I also hoped for the opportunity to continue to improve my skills and training. We wanted to start a new life here. We were sponsored as immigrants by a family member.

I didn’t really know much about the possibilities of working in my field. When you make the decision to move, you have to be prepared for what can happen. It’s frustrating when you don’t have the level of fluency in the language to work in your profession. This reduces your opportunities.

Getting by
Three days after arriving in Canada I got a factory job. I worked there for a little over a year, making eight to nine dollars an hour. When that job ended, I devoted my time to studying English to try to improve my possibilities.

Trying to go back to university
I wanted to try to go back to university because that’s one alternative – going back to school to get a degree in engineering from a Canadian University in order to get a Professional Engineer's licence. I got an assessment of my documents done at the University of Toronto. If they accept me into a Masters program I could get a degree in two years.

More access in the US
I’ve been checking on the internet and trying to evaluate the employment situation in Canada and the United States. It seems to me that there is more access to work in the United States for engineers. Many professionals are going to the US. The Americans are more practical. I’ve seen other engineers who’ve had an easier time finding work there. As a Canadian citizen, you have access to work as a professional in the US under NAFTA. I think the Americans are taking advantage of this situation and recruiting engineers and other professionals from here.

Canadian Experience
I don’t think our experience as professional engineers is being taken into account. It’s difficult even to get a volunteer placement as an engineer. I’ve sent out over 6,000 letters and resumes. And no one has been able to offer me a volunteer placement. A volunteer placement! That’s where the problem is. They ask for Canadian experience, but there’s no way to get it. The only way would be to have companies open up to the people willing to volunteer their skills. It’s true that language can be a problem, but if you know the technology, you can do the work. We want to be working but we can’t get in the door!

I’ve responded to ads in the papers. I’ve used the directories to try to find a volunteer placement and try to work a few months in different places to satisfy the Canadian experience required by the PEO. I’ve also written to the City of Toronto to see if I could get a volunteer placement and they’ve said no. It’s a very difficult situation. It’s especially hard in unionized workplaces. There are the people already inside, and those who are trying to get access. The positions get filled from within the
union, and that’s normal in any democratic system.

Recently I had an interview with a company that seems open to giving me a placement opportunity at the level of technician - not as an engineer. But it would be worthwhile to try to work with them. I’ve sent thousands of resumes and nothing, so if there is a chance as a technician, I’d take it.

We get such beautiful response letters from the big companies saying they will keep our resumes on file for six months. It gets mechanical after a while. You send a resume, they send a response, and that’s it. It’s so difficult to make contacts. When you arrive here, you don’t have any contacts.

Getting a license or feeding the family?
I requested the application information from PEO for licensure. It gives the impression that the requirements aren’t that difficult to fulfill, but I know from the experience of other engineers that that’s not the case. I don’t think licensing is the route for me. Why try? I know I could consider starting my own consulting firm if I had a license, but that’s really a longer term goal.

We have to be practical. We have families to support. My kids need to be fed. They need things. They want to participate in activities. We can’t really wait. We have an immediate economic problem to resolve. So many of us abandon the idea of getting licensed. If I felt there was a real democratic opening in PEO and in the way they evaluate, I would try right away.

Imagine someone like me who was working in a factory job trying to pay the costs of applying for a licence and taking exams. That’s a real problem. How can an engineer who’s working as a labourer to try to cover basic needs cover the costs of applying? It’s really difficult. And imagine an engineer who arrives as a refugee, without any resources. That’s even more difficult.

Taking steps toward long term goals
I’m working very hard to improve my English, because its fundamental for anyone living in this country. Language is really the key to it all, in addition to the background that one has.

Today I’m taking advanced English to take the TOEFL exam and try to get into university. I want to give myself a chance to compete as an equal. Even as a foreign-trained engineer, if I graduate from the University of Toronto, then my experience and background aren’t going to be questioned anymore. I can compete for jobs with Canadian U of T graduates as an equal. Then we’re on a level playing field. And I’m still trying to get a volunteer work placement. In the meantime, we’ve had to rely on social assistance. That’s what has allowed me to continue to study English.

Trying to upgrade your skills with something like AutoCAD costs thousands of dollars. And you really have to have AutoCAD in the market here. It would be wonderful if organizations like Skills for Change could offer those technical courses for people who don’t have the resources to pay for them in the community colleges. I’ve tried to get into some courses sponsored by the government, but it seems they aren’t accepting people into these courses anymore. So now I’m really focusing on trying to get into university, with student loans, because there’s no other way to finance it.
For your information...
HIGHLIGHTS OF IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT

Following are highlights of the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that affect skilled workers and which came into force two days ago on June 28, 2002. You may also view Government of Canada reference materials here.

Applicants will receive 10 points up until they reach the age of 50.

The Age Factor has been adjusted upwards, so that workers between the ages of 21 and 49 will score the maximum number of points (10 points). This is expected to make it easier for older workers to gain entry to Canada under the Skilled Worker Class.

More points have been allocated for applicants with a trade certificate or a second degree.

Government requires a specific number of years of education in order to ensure a minimum standard is met for each credential.

Full-time studies or training will continue to be defined as 15 hours, during the academic year. 12 Hours would be considered part-time.

The maximum number of points available for proficiency in both English and French combined has been increased to 24. Workers who are proficient in both languages will score more points. A new assessment level that recognizes "basic proficiency" has been added to the three existing levels (high, moderate and none). These changes are expected to result in more bilingual (English and French) workers being admitted to Canada.

Applicant would be required to submit proof of language ability.

Immigration Officers will not conduct language assessment tests.

General Occupations List (GOL) has been eliminated.

The total number of points available for "experience" has been fixed at 21, and more points will be awarded for one to two years of work experience. This is expected to attract younger workers who may have higher levels of education but fewer years of experience.

Informal job offer removed from selection grid.

Applicants from within Canada holding a temporary work permit that is validation exempt under NAFTA, General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) will be allocated 10 points.

5 points will be awarded under Adaptability Factor to the applicants who receive points under Arranged Employment Factor.

Applicants need not show proof of funds who receive 10 points under Arranged Employment Factor.

Applicants in Canada holding work permit can apply for permanent residence from within Canada.

Settlement funds to be sufficient to support applicants and their family members for a period of six months after they enter Canada and not one year, using the LICO figures.

All applications for permanent residence to contain a statement regarding requirement for accreditation or certification from a licensing body for some professions and trades.

No points for previous short visit to Canada as it is not likely to contribute to an applicant's successful adaptability as a permanent resident.

The pass mark set at 75 points to respond to concerns raised by the provinces and territories and others that a high pass would bar many skilled immigrants.

Applications for both permanent residence and temporary status to be made at an office that serves the country wherein the applicant has been lawfully admitted. For permanent resident applicants, they must be residing and have lawful admission in that country for at least one year.

Applicants for temporary residence, visitors, workers and students to apply at a mission serving a country where they are present and to which they have been lawfully admitted.

Applicants who applied before December 31, 2001 and who have not had their application assessed by an immigration officer by March 31, 2003, will be assessed under the new selection grid with a transition pass mark of 70.

Applicants who applied before December 31, 2001 and who have had their application assessed, but no final decision made by March 31, 2003, will be assessed under the previous selection grid and the previous pass mark.
 
View Government of Canada reference materials here.
Computer hardware for sale
 
On Saturday, July 13, between 10 am and 12 noon, SfC will be selling used, surplus computer hardware.  The selection will include 15" monitors ($50), 17" monitors ($100), Pentium I computers ($100) and miscellaneous other hardware (including sound cards, mice and keyboards).  While quantities last. Sold as is. No refunds. Payment in cash or by VISA, MasterCard or Interac.
Programs and Services Updates
 
n  CES is currently working with the FOAP students with finding employment placements. Placements are scheduled to begin on July 2, 2002

 n  Joyce N, from St. Stephen's Community and Employment Training Centre completed her volunteer placement with the CES program on June 14th. We wish her all the best with her future endeavours

 n  Maria Garofalo (CES Counsellor/Facilitator) attended the 'Building Trust Relationships' workshop for Job Developers. The workshop is designed to help service providers and frontline staff who assist people facing employment barriers connecting to employers.

n  Marily Molina (CES Counsellor/Facilitator) attended the Job Search Forum at the Ramada. The forum addressed areas such as career counselling, coping with stress, goal setting, the future of office work and motivating clients. Over 150 persons (frontline social services staff) were in attendance.

 n  The next two-week CES Workshops will begin on June 24 and July 8.
 
n  LINC students went visiting several Photo Gallery Exhibits in the downtown area where they viewed local Toronto photographers and artists and their work. This was an annual free display open to the public. Students were greatly interested in the local culture being portrayed.

 n  On June 7, a field trip was taken to Todmorden Mills Heritage Museum & Arts Centre where LINC students were able to view the story of early industry in Toronto.

n  LINC 3, 4 and 5 students went to the YMCA Newcomer Information Centre for a day-long workshop to get information on Settlement Services, Education & Training and Social, Community & Recreation Services.
 
n  Jason Uppal, IT Development Manager with Brewers Retail Inc. spoke June 18 about 'Employers Expectations'. Over 40 JSW clients from the IT field attended this session. Jason has offered to help SfC in the future as a volunteer.
 
n  A new employer, Phantom Industries, a Canadian hosiery manufacturer, contacted the EAS program and a meeting was arranged. We hope to foster this relationship to meet the employer need ands to provide placement opportunities for our clients.
Staffing
 
Welcome to...
n  Petek Vural, volunteer administrative assistant with JSW.
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 Services
EPRS - Employment for Retail Services
ERC - Employment Resource Centre
FOAP - Finance & 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
Comments

If you have a comment or suggestion,
we would like to hear from you. More>
 

 Subscribe/Unsubscribe
 
Search

 WWW Skills for Change only
 
Skills for Change
791 St. Clair Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada  M6C 1B8

A United Way member agency
 
Skills for Change is a
registered non-profit organization

Charitable registration #121471858RR0001
 
Telephone 416 658-3101 · Fax 416 658-6292