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Skills for Change
Celebrating 20 years of service excellence
to New Canadians
SfCeNews
February 27, 2003
Volume 4 Issue 02
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...
New Pioneers Awards Gala
Saturday Workshops
Black History Month
SfC is Hiring
Accountant & Bookkeeper Course Starts
Tax Clinic
Iranian Employers Network
Programs and Services Update
SfC Changes
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New Pioneers Awards
Gala Evening
Reception: 6 p.m.
Dinner & Awards Ceremony: 7 p.m.
Ticket Sales
Download order
form
Donate to our Silent Auction
Download donation
form
More about the New Pioneers Awards
here
SPONSORS
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NEW!
A Fun Way To Spend Your Weekend
SATURDAY WORKSHOPS
Learn The Basics!
$40 each Workshop
(Includes manual)
Excel Fundamentals
Saturday March 1, 10 am - 3 pm
Word Fundamentals
Saturday March 22, 10 am - 3 pm
Windows Fundamentals
Saturday March 29, 10 am - 3 pm
Create a Web Site Fundamentals
Saturday April 5, 10 am - 3 pm
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Black History Month
More...
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Program Coordinator
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26 week course starts April 7, 2003
More Information |
- Entire Class
Volunteers for Tax Clinic
Skills for Change salutes the February graduates of the Sector
Terminology, Information and Counseling (STIC)
Accounting class. All 18 graduates have volunteered to run
Skills for Change's first ever free
Income Tax
Clinic for Newcomers to Canada.
Filing an income tax return is a complicated process for most
individuals. For newcomers to Canada, the experience can be
daunting because of a lack of familiarity with Canadian income
tax law and language issues. Run in partnership with Canada
Customs and Revenue Agency, the free tax clinic will provide
information and assistance on filing returns for tax year
2002.
All of our volunteers have an accounting background, training
in income tax preparation and a strong sense of wanting to
give something back to the immigrant community. Volunteers
include Titi Oridota (co-cordinator), Erkan Yalinkilic (co-cordinator),
Jon Chen, Mandy Wu, Sam Sambasivam, Irene Lorincz, Olia
Bronnikova, Horace Msimanga, Christina Liu, Luba Fitsalovych,
Alphonsus Santhiyapilla, Natalie Ahshulev, Olga Berezovskaia,
Yelena Demenschonok, Carrie Zhang, Jing Wang, Lin Yuan, and
Usana Boonpattrawong. A special thanks to all!
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Iranian
Employers Network
On February 4, a consortium of employment agencies, including JVS
Toronto, Skills for Change, ACCES, COSTI, Humber College, Job
Start, and Seneca College, held an information evening for the
Iranian Employers Network specifically catering to the needs of
Iranian newcomers.
The evening began with a successful presentation by Terri Hylton
(Project Coordinator of the
EAS program) and Shawn Mintz (Employment Consultant of Acces)
on “How to find employment in Canada”. Following it was a
presentation by employers from the Iranian Community.
Ramtin Sotoadeh, President of LSI Engineering, provided the
audience with some critical insights from an employers’
perspective as well his personal view. "Do not under estimate
yourself – you are very important" he said. He went on to say,
“Speaking English is very important... listen to radio talk
shows... go to the library".
Maryam Aghvami, a past client of EAS and who is now an associate
producer for CBC's "Sounds Like Canada", described her journey
from arriving in Canada to finding an employment opportunity through the EAS
program.
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- COMING SOON!
Cyber Space? The Information Highway? Web-a-what?
Tons of information is available online and sometimes that can
be overwhelming. The Dufferin Mall Employment Resource Centre
is here to help. In April, our Special Speakers' Series will
feature representatives/experts from top job search, training
and group specific web sites.
Learn how to effectively use these web sites to look for work,
training/education and other information.
GET ONLINE AND GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED!
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Programs and Services
Updates
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The next Clerical Employment Services (CES) workshop will begin on Monday March 3, 2003 at 9:30 a.m.
Orientation sessions for the CES program are held weekly, every
Friday, from 9:30 a.m. Call (416) 658-3101 ext. 214 for
information and registration.
n
Together with 45 other delegates
from across Canada, Lynette Joseph (ERC)
attended the LMI (Labour Market Information) Service Delivery
Improvement Project Workshop hosted by Human Resources Development
Canada on February 18 and 19. It's goal is to brainstorm
ways in which labour market information more user friendly.
n Fereydoun Kouhdani,
a former Job Search Workshop (JSW)
client, was a special guest speaker at a JSW
workshop this month. As an electrical design engineer, he
shared his job search experience with other clients. Fereydoun found employment with one of the
leading hydro companies in Canada.
The next daytime JSW will held held March 10 to 14, and the
evening Job Search Workshop March 24 to April 2.
n
Employment Assistance Services (EAS) held an intake session for
fifteen participants. Another session is planned for March.
All eligible foreign trained professionals are welcome to contact
EAS at 416-658-3101 ext 815 for more information on how to join
the program.
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SfC Changes
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n
Roberto Baca joins SfC as a
volunteer with Employment Assistance Services (EAS).
A former volunteer with JVS Toronto, he has a strong
background in Business Management with a specialty in
Marketing. Roberto will be providing administrative
assistance, research additional resources and assist
individuals in the Job Search Centre. |
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n
Agnes Staniusz joins SfC as an
Intake Cousellor with IAT. Agnes brings with her over 13 years of
experience teaching English as a Second Language for adults
specializing in job search.
She will be using her expertise in assessing clients' language
proficiency. |
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n
Carron McCabe joins the
EAS team as a Facilitator/Counsellor. Carron is a graduate of
the George Brown College Career & Work Counsellor Program.
Previous experience includes placements at Youth Employment
Service and LEF. Her long term goal is to build on her BA
from the University of Prince Edward Island with a Masters in
Counselling. |
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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.
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CES - Clerical Employment Services
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EAS - Employment Assistance Services
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EPRS - Employment for Retail Services
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ERC - Employment Resource Centre
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FOAP - Finance & Office Assistant Program
- IAT - Intake, Assessment and
Training
- JSC - Job Search Centre
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JSW - Job Search Workshop
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LINC - Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada
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NPA - New Pioneers Awards
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STIC - Sector Terminology Information & Counselling
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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
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