Settlement to Employment Program

By Janeen Yusuf

Bangalore, India is a long way from Ottawa, and Rupa Menon knows the toll immigrants like her bear to find meaningful work in Canada.

Menon, now an employment officer for the Settlement to Employment Program at Algonquin, was once in a similar situation to the clients she counsels.

She arrived in Canada from Bangalore in 2004 and has worked diligently to update her skills to Canadian standards.

Menon was a trained counsellor in Bangalore and has now landed a job with STEP as an employment officer counselling clients with similar experiences trying to find work.

She meets with newcomers to Canada to understand their needs and what skills they can offer. Many are disillusioned, trying to find work in Canada. They have held jobs as professionals in their home country and are now working "survival jobs" because they don't have adequate credits transferred from university or an equivalent designation to allow them to practice their career in Canada.

Menon, who has been in their situation not long ago, describes the experience as "frustrating." She assists her clients in building their résumé and portfolio, and providing advice so they can be placed in a job relevant to their skills.

"I have clients that are doctors, cardiac specialists who are downgrading to get a job because they are missing a few credits to practice in Canada. Many of my clients are on social assistance, and they do not want to take free handouts. They want to contribute and use their skills to support themselves as they once were. It's a sense of pride they had in their job."

STEP was created to integrate internationally trained individuals into the Canadian workforce. It's a partnership between Ottawa community organizations and Algonquin. Internationally trained individuals have the opportunity to go through a unique program catered to prepare and help place them in a job relevant to their skills and educational background.

The Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization is a partner of STEP and provides a mentorship program.

Velinka Nevrencan oversees the STEP program at OCISO and knows the value of this program having worked with many newly arrived immigrants looking for employment.

"It's been a long due situation where foreign trained people were not receiving support to work in their field," she said.

Menon has personally benefited from the mentorship program and had the opportunity to connect to someone with a similar skill set able to provide guidance and direction.

STEP offers meetings with employment officers, cultural workshops, résumé building, mentors and other services to aid newcomers. This pilot project was implemented in March 2007 and the success and response has been overwhelming.

Project manager of STEP Colette Garvin said the program initially planned for 100 clients, but currently has 220 clients and 50 on the waiting list. STEP is now communicating with the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and is being considered for a two-year extension. Garvin hopes STEP can to continue this program that is proving to be beneficial to internationally trained individuals.

"People are very happy. They learn how to negotiate their salary, they get help with interview skills and creating a résumé, they receive job training and readiness, and they become knowledgeable about the labour force," she said.

The program provides settlement coaching, mentoring, work placements, employment coaching and other workshops intended to settle and integrate valuable internationally trained workers into Canada's employment economy.

"All these components make for successful employment in their field. The outcomes have been extremely positive to date," said Garvin.