Canada Helps Foreign Credential Holders

Are you Internationally trained? Need information to get your foreign credential assessed and recognized more quickly? The Government of Canada’s new Foreign Credential Referral Office (FCRO) helps internationally trained find the information and resources they need to have their credentials assessed and recognized.

The services would be a great help for internationally trained individuals looking forward to work in Canada. The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, while inaugurating the services said, “Internationally-trained individuals can now walk into Service Canada centres across the country and receive in-person help on how to get their credentials assessed and recognized. Newcomers want to contribute to our country by working in the fields for which they’ve been trained, and we want to help them do that.” In addition to the in-person services, the FCRO’s approach also includes:

Recently 129,100 Indians made Canada their home

Every fifth Canadian today was born abroad. The Toronto region scores even higher as every second person here is foreign-born and the highest percentage of these are Indians, followed by Chinese and Italians. According to the latest census (2001-2006) figures released Tuesday, foreign born people constitute about 19.8 percent of the Canadian population of 31,241,030. Only Australia has more foreign born residents (22.2 percent) than Canada today. Of the about 1.1 million who moved to Canada during this five-year period, Indians constituted 11.6 percent, Chinese 14 percent, Filipinos seven percent and Pakistanis 5.2 per cent. And they came from 224 countries.

Voices of being a Canadian

source: www.thestar.com

Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world, driven by economic policy and family reunification. In 2001, 250,640 people immigrated to Canada. Newcomers settle mostly in the major urban areas of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. By the 1990s and 2000s, more than half of all of Canada’s immigrants came from Asia. Canadian society is often depicted as being a very progressive, diverse, and multicultural. Accusing a person of racism in Canada is usually considered a serious slur. All political parties are now cautious about criticising of the high level of immigration, because, as noted by the Globe and Mail, "in the early 1990s, the old Reform Party was branded 'racist' for suggesting that immigration levels be lowered from 250,000 to 150,000."

Tips on Canadian Real Estate

As with most countries, Canada offers a wide variety of options when it comes to choosing a place to call home. The choice you make will depend on several factors, including your budget, your space needs, and your desired location. Below are some of the options you may want to consider:

* Room for rent: Some individuals who own a house or an apartment may rent out separate rooms in those dwellings. All of the tenants share the bathroom(s) and the kitchen.

* Studio apartment: These apartments are small and were primarily designed for just one person. Most consist of a single large room that contains the kitchen and bedroom and a separate bathroom.

Canada opens for 2, 65,000 in 2008

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration announced today that Canada expects to welcome between 240,000 and 265,000 newcomers in 2008. The target is set out in the 2007 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration tabled today in the House of Commons. The report provides information on immigration activities in 2006 and outlines the immigration plan for 2008. “Our government believes that immigration plays an important role in building our communities and growing our economy,” said Minister Finley. “The immigration targets tabled today will help ensure that Canada continues to grow and benefit from all that newcomers and their families bring to our country.” The Canadian Experience Class, first announced in the 2007 budget and a key element of the government’s long-term immigration plan, will be implemented in 2008 for certain skilled temporary workers and international students with Canadian degrees and Canadian work experience. Once the class is established and for the first time, individuals meeting specific criteria will be able to apply for permanent resident status from within Canada.

Job-Specific Language Training is the Key

Newcomers in Ontario will have a better chance at success thanks to new English-as-a-Second-language training programs that put the focus on learning workplace terminology specific to their field. Fifteen Ontario school boards are currently receiving Ontario government funding through the Specialized Language Training Pilot Project to provide language training that responds to the needs of local employers. Key occupational sectors for this program include:
- Accounting, business and finance
- Information technology
- Hospitality and tourism
- Health and home day care
- Manufacturing and service industry

"Job-specific language training programs are a win-win for Ontario newcomers and business," said Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Michael Chan. "Language skills are the foundation of success for newcomers. These programs give newcomers the language skills they need to land jobs in their field, improve their ability to communicate in the workplace and provide employers with highly trained employees." This pilot project is expected to assist up to 2,100 newcomers with occupation-specific language training. Over half of newcomers to Canada choose to settle in Ontario each year. By 2011, immigration will account for 100 per cent of net labour market growth. The Ontario government invests more than $50 million per year in adult non-credit ESL/FSL language training. Funding will be increased by $4.2 million for the 2008-2009 school year, bringing the funding increase to school boards for non-credit language training to approximately 22 per cent since 2003.

ESL v/s LINC programmes in Canada

ESL (English as a Second Language) is funded by the Provincial Government. One of the differences with ESL is that eligibility is not determined by resident status. These classes are open to permanent residents of Canada, convention refugees, refugee claimants who have a Study Permit issued by CIC, and Canadian Citizens. ESL classes and Private ESL schools are also open to tourists for a fee.

While, LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) is funded by the Federal Government under Citizenship and Immigration. The difference here is also in eligibility. LINC classes are intended for permanent residents and convention refugees only. In order to enroll in LINC classes, students are required to take an assessment test in order to determine the appropriate level to be placed in. Futher, LINC classes are free of charge. At most of the LINC locations there is on-site childminding for children 18 months to 5 years old. This service is also available for free.

The other difference is that LINC is a general program and provides basic language skills. Unfortunately, it is difficult to say which program is better than the other. However, you can find some additional differences and benefits of each in these articles here:

Different kinds of ESL programs are available? See link here

What is Language Instruction for Newcomers (LINC)? See link here

Expansion of Foreign Credentials Referral Services

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced the expansion of services to help immigrants from India and China get their professional credentials assessed and recognized in Canada as quickly as possible with the assistance of the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO). While in India, the Minister announced the opening of a new office of the Canadian Immigration Integration Project in New Delhi. The new office, which is centrally located, is in response to increased demand in the region. “The Government of Canada is committed to helping newcomers succeed, and one way to do that is to help them before they get to Canada,” said Minister Finley. “Too many newcomers have come to Canada only to learn after they’ve arrived what credentials are needed. By expanding our FCRO programs overseas, we’re helping prospective immigrants to get a head start by providing information on the foreign credential recognition process and the Canadian labour market.”

Today’s announcement adds service on a rotational basis in the states of Gujarat and Punjab, which are major sources of skilled immigrants from India. In China, rotational services have been added in Beijing and Shanghai so services are available to more potential immigrants. Until now, the orientation sessions have been available in three cities in India, China and the Philippines. To date, more than 1,200 prospective immigrants have registered, and benefited. Overall, participants say they are more confident about being able to settle successfully when they arrive in Canada. When the Foreign Credentials Referral Office was launched in May of 2007, the Government of Canada committed to expanding overseas services. Today’s expansion is another step towards meeting this commitment. The sessions are funded on a pilot basis by Human Resources and Social Development Canada’s Foreign Credential Recognition Program and delivered by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges’ Canadian Immigration Integration Project.

The Foreign Credentials Referral Office was established following consultations with provincial and territorial governments and other key stakeholders, including regulatory and assessment bodies, post secondary education institutions and their national organizations, employers, sector councils, immigrant serving organizations and newcomers themselves. While credential recognition in Canada is a provincial and territorial responsibility, the federal government plays a facilitative role, funding projects and providing a range of information, path-finding and referral services to help internationally trained persons navigate through the foreign credential assessment and recognition processes and obtain up-to-date information about the Canadian labour market.

Boosting Family Immigrants

The federal government says it will allow more family members living abroad to join their relatives already here in Canada. Canada will accept up to 71,000 immigrants in the family class next year – spouses, partners, dependants, parents and grandparents of immigrants already here, according to the immigration department's newly released annual report. That's 2,000 more than will be allowed into the country this year. Vancouver-based immigration lawyer Richard Kurland said there are a lot of good reasons to open the doors to family members of immigrants already here in the country – including politics. "Nothing is more personal than immigration in terms of community," Kurland said yesterday. He said the increase, though modest, could help Tory fortunes in the multicultural ridings around big cities like Toronto and Vancouver, where residents have family members living overseas. "It is not done willy-nilly, happenstance. It is a calculated political marketing move," he said of the increase revealed this week. "It's a direct response to the challenge faced by a minority government lusting for majority. It's good politics to let Mummy and Daddy into Canada."

The department's annual report reveals that 251,649 permanent residents were admitted in 2006. And 109,524 newcomers had been admitted this year up until June. Overall, Ottawa intends to hold the line on immigration levels in 2008, accepting 240,000 to 265,000 people, the same range as this year, according to the report. In a surprise move, it will allow fewer skilled immigrants to settle in Canada next year, despite a booming economy that has left some regions of the country begging for workers. The cut to so-called economic-class immigrants – a maximum of 154,000 next year, down from 158,000 this year – is raising eyebrows among opposition MPs and immigration experts. New Democrat MP Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina) said Canada should set a goal of accepting 1 per cent of its population – or about 330,000 immigrants a year – to meet labour demand and the potential shortage of workers caused by an aging workforce. "I think we need to take a bold step," Chow said yesterday. "I think we need a national debate."

But Kurland said that Ottawa is helping meet the labour needs by boosting the number of foreign workers allowed into Canada on temporary permits. And a new program known as the Canadian Experience Class, will allow those temporary workers as well as international students studying here to apply to become permanent residents, perhaps as many as 12,000 next year. Also, the government is boosting the number of immigrants allowed in under the provincial nominee program, which allows provinces to fill specific labour needs. The report shows that the backlog of immigration applicants has swelled to more than 850,000. Kurland said the government needs to "come clean" and tell would-be newcomers about the long delay they likely face to come here, as long as five years for an economic-class immigrant, he said. In 2006, according to the report, the 138,257 economic-class immigrants made up 54.9 per cent of the new arrivals. Just over 28 per cent – or 70,506 immigrants – were in the family class; 32,492 refugees and asylum seekers were admitted; and 10,223 were granted permanent resident status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

No cure for this disability

by Medhi Rizvi

A physical or mental deficiency that prevents normal achievement is known as a disability. "Type I" congenital disability arises from defects during prenatal development. "Type II" occurs due to mental, physical or emotional stress in childhood. Now we observe a new type of disability, as yet barely acknowledged. Newly arrived qualified immigrants in Canada– accountants, chemists, doctors, engineers, scientists and other professionals – suffer from this disability, despite having passed rigorous medical examination before receiving immigrant visas. It is not a genetic disorder or a contagious disease: The growing feelings of unacceptability, increasing mental stress, alarming financial pressures, repeated rejections of academic qualifications, and failures to find a career-oriented job are the causes behind it. We can call it "professional disability." It kills self-confidence, inducing an inner feeling of worthlessness. A petroleum chemist ends up working at a gas station instead of an oil refinery. A child is embarrassed when asked about what his parents do for a living: How do we measure the pressure exerted on this young developing mind?

According to a Statistics Canada report in 2006, 36 per cent of immigrants aged 25 to 54 years had at least a bachelor's degree, compared with 22 per cent among native-born Canadians. But the unemployment rate is 11.4 per cent among immigrants and only 2.9 per cent among native-born Canadians with the same qualifications. What steps are we taking to face this challenge, or do we simply not care? The Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006, which is aimed at helping immigrants find jobs within 34 regulated professions, became law in March 2007. The act requires Ontario regulators to have a quicker, fairer and more open process of recognizing foreign credentials. It is a step forward but needs a little acceleration. Immigrants are granted residency or citizenship by the federal government based on their expertise, but provincial regulatory bodies close the door on them. Regulatory bodies appear unwilling to hand over the recognition of credentials to Ottawa, leaving immigrants caught between a rock and a hard place.

We should agree on a national standard for the recognition of credentials to end the friction between the federal government and provincial regulatory bodies. The Federal Credentials Referral Office should be given an additional responsibility to advise prospective immigrants to obtain recognition and equivalence of credentials before a resident visa is granted. The professionally disabled immigrant sinks to a level where economic survival and securing basic needs for his children is a challenge. When a foreign-trained PhD goes looking for a job, he is sometimes asked: "How heavy a load can you lift?" No one in this highly educated society seems to want to ask these experts about their research papers, publications or professional experience. Instead, newcomers are asked immediately about Canadian experience. Is this Canadian experience served with the meals during the flight to this country? A large number of qualified foreign doctors end up driving cabs and delivering pizzas. At the same time, we hear about a shortage of doctors and the need to import doctors from abroad.

Are these cheap, abundant reserves of high quality immigrants just being stockpiled to fill the needs of a vast labour market, supporting our economy with their crushed egos, shattered dreams and destroyed careers? It is like fuelling cement kilns with diamonds instead of coal: Both have the same chemistry but different market value. It would be illuminating if Statistics Canada published a report on the number of qualified professionals who have been forced to change their occupation and take any available job to make ends meet over the last 10 years. This country needs a new, comprehensive plan for qualified immigrants based on Canada's actual manpower requirements so immigrants can be assimilated quickly into their own fields. Further, the present generation of immigrants should be integrated into the economy on a priority basis to save them and their children from deep and lasting psychological scars.

Citizenship for International Adoptees

In December 2007, Canada’s citizenship law will be amended to allow Canadian citizens who adopt a child from a foreign country the option of applying for Canadian citizenship for their adopted child without first having to apply for permanent residence. Adopted persons who are adults may apply for themselves. This amendment will only apply to persons adopted after February 14, 1977.

More information on this change will soon become available. When this new law comes into force, the existing interim policy that allows for the possibility of a discretionary grant of citizenship for foreign-born adopted persons living outside of Canada will no longer be in effect. This special, interim policy only applies to persons residing outside Canada who were adopted by a Canadian citizen parent.

If you are covered by this policy and were adopted by a Canadian citizen before February 15, 1977, you may wish to apply for citizenship, before the interim policy expires on December 22, 2007.

After December 22, 2007, foreign-born persons adopted by a Canadian citizen before February 15, 1977 who wish to apply for citizenship must first obtain permanent resident status in Canada and then apply for citizenship.

Phantom Residents to Lose Status

Renewing the Residency Card
Cards issued since 2002: 2.2 million
Holders who become citizens within four years: 60-75%
Projected renewals July 2007 to March 2008: 77,500
Renewal applications received to date: 13,819
Processing time: 6-8 weeks
Renewal requirement: Must be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days (the equivalent of two years) in every five-year period.
Exemptions: People working full-time overseas for Canadian companies or governments, or accompanying a Canadian spouse abroad, or with compelling humanitarian or compassionate reasons, may be exempted.
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Cut-off looms for workers in Gulf states who have Canadian landed status but don't actually live here. As the first of Canada's new Permanent Resident cards hit their expiry date, immigrants who haven't spent the required length of time in Canada – 730 days out of five years – face losing their landed status in the next few months. The looming cut-off means hundreds, perhaps thousands, of "phantom" residents – some of whom settled their families here and then went back to well-paying jobs in China, India or the Middle East's Gulf states – will be out of luck.

A large number of them came through a single Canadian visa office: Abu Dhabi. A government internal report estimates that a whopping 98 per cent of "permanent residents" processed in Abu Dhabi, which serves the Gulf region, had no intention of remaining in Canada after their initial landing. Currently, 80 per cent of the permanent resident travel applications in the United Arab Emirates capital are for people who have failed the residency requirement. As a result, they must return to Canada to appeal the revocation of their status. "Unless something major happens in the region to make the Gulf less attractive for expat workers, there is not a pool of professionals who are serious about settling in Canada," notes the mission's annual overview, obtained under the access to information process. "The high application rate is related to what Canada can do for them, not the other way around."Since its June 2002 launch, the PR card, often called the Maple Leaf card, has become official proof of landed status for Canada's permanent residents, who must carry it to re-enter Canada on a commercial carrier (airplane, boat, train or bus).The wallet-sized plastic card, which must be renewed every five years, was introduced after 9/11 to increase border security and improve the integrity of the immigration process.

It supplements the old IMM 1000, which allowed landed immigrants to return to Canada within an unspecified time span. Under the new policy, those who don't meet the residency requirement by the card's expiry date will be stripped of their landed status.Figures aren't available for the number of lapsed PR cards, but a Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokesperson said the department and the Canada Border Services Agency have systems in place to detect fraudulent documents.The PR card situation mirrors the phenomenon of Hong Kong parents who deposited their children in Canada during the anxious run-up to China's 1997 takeover. And it reignites the debate over how much time today's highly mobile skilled immigrants should spend in Canada to earn and keep resident status – an issue that flared last summer, when millions were spent to rescue Canadian citizens and permanent residents from Lebanon during the Israeli bombardment. "It irks me with their absence of contributions to our country," says Quebec immigration lawyer Richard Kurland, who obtained the Abu Dhabi report. "They are basically using the PR status as an insurance passport without living in Canada, so their kids can be exempted from foreign-student tuition fees and their spouses (in Canada) can get the GST credits."News that PR cards are being revoked has been trickling in over the past few months. Kurland predicts it will get worse as more people try to return to renew them (renewals can be issued only in Canada).Dubai-based Canadian immigration lawyer Carter Hoppe has been getting calls regularly from expatriates working in the Gulf.

Hoppe says today's "best and brightest" immigrants are different from those of the past, who wanted to stay permanently. Unlike the old rules, which stipulated that newcomers must spend half of each year in Canada, the new ones give people more time to decide – what Hoppe calls a "trial engagement." "I don't think permanent residents who don't reside full-time and work full-time in Canada, and may even end up abandoning their PR status, are abusing anything at all," Hoppe argues. "That sort of thinking about immigrants is very much a 20th-century view and completely outmoded in today's global human capital marketplace."

According to the government report, Canadian resident status is especially attractive to South Asian expatriates who don't want to return to the developing world after living in the Gulf countries, where they can get work permits but find it almost impossible to obtain citizenship. (Typically, residence of 30 years is required even to apply.) However, many, already working in middle-management jobs, are turned off by poor job prospects in Canada, where employers demand Canadian experience and hard-to-get credentials. Plus, they pay no income tax in the Gulf states. To make things worse, immigration consultants abroad lure clients with promises of settlement assistance and help obtaining drivers' licences, social insurance, health and bank cards – with only a minimal absence from their Gulf jobs. "Many immigrants took permanent residence as a means to obtain a subsidized university education for their children while the parents remained abroad, an opportunity for a better passport, a place to go if they cannot stay in the Gulf at retirement, or war breaks out," the annual report says. "All this may become a bigger issue for Canada if thousands of Canadians working in the Gulf, many of whom either stayed in Canada the minimum time possible, if at all, decide to return to Canada in their later years to utilize social programs."

Toronto immigration lawyer Gregory James says people who fail the residency requirement and are turned back at a port of entry can apply for a "permanent resident travel document" at local visa offices abroad, though there's no guarantee it will be granted. Those denied PR card renewal could appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board, which is already facing a growing backlog because of Ottawa's slow pace in appointing qualified adjudicators. A spousal sponsorship could work if one partner has already spent sufficient time in Canada to qualify. In the worst-case scenario, skilled immigrants can reapply from scratch.

Sponsor your Family to Canada- it's FREE!!!

You are a PR and worried about the huge amounts your immigration consultant demanding to sponsor your family?

Don't worry at all!

Here is a great info on a FREE Service to help you to sponsor your spouse, dependent children or parents... (but, regular immigration fees to Govt. apply while submitting application).

Dixie Bloor Neighbourhood Centre
1420 Burnhamthorpe Rd E, Suite 315
Mississauga, ON L4X 2Z9
Tel: 905 629 1873
Fax: 905 629 0791
eMail: pkalra@dixiebloor.org

Contact Person: Mr. Praveen Kalra


Free Services offered by this Organization are listed below:

Family Sponsorship

• Assess eligibility to sponsor members of family class
• Provide assistance in filling forms and filing applications
• Provide information on process, supporting documents to be attached
• Certified translation of documents related to sponsorship

Other Services

• Information, Orientation and Referrals
• Interpretations, Translations
• Counseling
• Employment Workshops
• Mentorship programs
  
• English classes / LINC program

Services are offered for newcomers in English, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Punjabi, Sign Language, Chinese, Arabic, Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian, & Vietnamese

Birthplace & Job: Foreign Trained Professionals

source: CBC News

Where doctors and engineers emigrate from has a big impact on whether they find work in their fields in Canada, according to a new Statistics Canada study. Using numbers from the 2001 census, it found immigrants from Western Europe, China and India were more likely to practise medicine in Canada while foreign-trained engineers had better luck getting a job if they were accredited in North America, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Underemployment in both professions was most notable for individuals coming from other Asian countries and Eastern Europe.

In 2001 there were 5,400 individuals living in Canada who had studied medicine at a foreign institution, but only 55 per cent were working as a medical doctor. About 33 per cent were in jobs completely unrelated to the medical field. There were also 34,100 foreign-trained engineers, accounting for one-quarter of the trained engineers in the country. But only 26 per cent of them were working in their profession while 35 per cent found completely unrelated jobs. Meanwhile, 92 per cent of Canadian-born doctors and 40 per cent of Canadian-born engineers find work despite foreigners having spent a longer amount of time on their education, adds Statistics Canada.

Arrival date had an impact: The chances of foreign-trained doctors and engineers finding work in their field in Canada depends largely on when they arrived, the study says. Foreign-trained physicians or engineers who arrived in the early 1980s are more likely to be working in their professions than those who came in the early 1990s due to a slower economy, says the study. Level of education, fields of study, fluency in French or English, and proximity to Canada's largest urban centres were also determined to influence the ability of immigrants to obtain employment in their fields. Foreign-born professionals were more likely to be living in urban centres with about 50 per cent residing in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. One-third of Canadian-born doctors live in those cities.

Going to Canada?

Explore the Going to Canada Web site to discover links to information and services when planning a temporary stay or making Canada your new home. Click Here...

Foreign-trained Professionals Job Depends...

A new study says the chances of foreign-trained doctors and engineers finding work in their field in Canada depend largely on where they are from and when they arrived. Statistics Canada has found that underemployment is most common among foreign-trained doctors born in East Asia, South East Asia, West Asia and Eastern Europe. The agency says foreign-trained doctors born in Western European and South Asian countries are most likely to practice medicine once in Canada.

Among foreign-trained engineers, those trained in a country that has accredited engineering programs recognized by Canada had the same chance of being employed as an engineer as someone born and trained in Canada. The chances were almost as high for engineers born in South Asia, the Caribbean or Latin America, but were very low for those born in South East Asia.

More young adults staying home by choice

by: Allison Hanes

Young adults are living with their parents in ever increasing numbers, according to data from the most recent census released Wednesday by Statistics Canada, but sociologists attribute a large part of the latest rise to choice rather than necessity. Staying in school longer and difficulty finding a stable, full-time job are historical reasons behind a trend that has been on the upswing for the last two decades. But experts believe the most recent rise has been in large part fuelled by shifting family values - both traditional and liberal. On the one hand, newcomers to Canada often expect their children to remain in the family home until they marry, said Marc Molgat, a sociology professor at the University of Ottawa. But on the other, he said, baby boomers often have a relationship with their adolescent and adult children that is more akin to friendship compared to past generations. Once young people have made it through secondary school in particular, there's a lot less control over what time you have to come in, who you're seeing," said Prof. Molgat, who has as studied the reasons why young adults are choosing not to leave the nest. "In many cases young people are able to bring back into the parental home a love or a partner.

"Young people have a lot more freedom to live out forms of autonomy within the family home than in the past." Some are so-called boomerang kids who leave to pursue a temporary job on a cruise ship, break into their chosen field by working contracts or travel the world for long periods, while others just never fly the coop. Twenty years ago, just shy of a third of young adults between 20 and 29 lived with their parents. In 2006, 43.5% of the 4 million Canadians in that age bracket did, up from 41,1% in 2001. The trend held true for those in their early 20s as much as for those pushing 30. The census found that a full 60.3% of 20- to 24-year-olds resided at home in 2006, compared to just 49.3% a decade earlier. Meanwhile 26% of adults between the ages of 26 and 29 lived with their parents up from 15.6% two decades ago. Darlene Wang, a 31-year-old Toronto investment advisor and entrepreneur, said both family values and a hard-nosed business sense have kept her living in her parents home all these years. "I'm Chinese and it's really cultural for us to stay at home until we are ready to be married and then we literally leave our family's home to go to our new home," said Ms. Wang who is engaged to be married in 2008.

She has put her earnings from her successful career in finance toward the purchase of several income properties, her own business ventures and investments. Paying rent to someone else made a whole lot less sense to Ms. Wang than collecting it herself. "A long time ago I decided I was never going to pay rent," she said. "So until I could afford to live on my own, I had to interest in paying someone else's mortgages. So that led me to make the decision that I did not want to waste money on living expenses that were not directly related to my well-being." There have been trade-offs, of course. She's had the means to travel internationally quite frequently, but she had to invite her parents to the parties she threw until she has a place of her own to play hostess. Questions surrounding the phenomenon revolve around whether young adults today are truly benefitting or simply prolonging adolescence. Bigger homes in suburbia and affluence mitigate toward children staying at home. With little or no constraints from their parents, James Ct, a sociology professor at the University of Western Ontario said many kids have no incentive to go live in a ratty little apartment on their own if they would be missing out on the comforts of a large home loaded with amenities like pools, Jacuzzis, big screen TVs, and access to a car. Many have the basement to themselves - while a handful he's heard about even take over the master bedroom from their doting folks, Prof. Ct said.

Lower family income or a large number of siblings are factors that push young adults to move out sooner - either because their parents can't afford to support them anymore or because they are challenged to assert their individuality in a crowded house. Prof. Ct said living at home longer can somewhat delay the full maturation into adulthood. "I think people mature through experience and you're limiting your experience if you stay home," he said. "That's what maturity is about, it's about living life. If it's kind of on hold and you just repeat the same thing over and over again and you just go home to your parents place and never have responsibilities like paying rent and buying food, then you're not going to get that sort of experience to help you grow." Prof. Molgat said young adults living with their parents to freeload are "few and far between." "It doesn't mean that they don't have any obligations," he said. "Many people who live at home pay room and board. In many circumstances there are obligations linked to household chores... The other obligation is more of a moral obligation toward their parents to be doing something, and this comes back often... that young people say well it's expected of me the I'm either working or I'm studying and if I'm not doing either I'm looking for a job and if I'm not doing that then I shouldn't be staying at home." But he said there is a delay to full-fledged independence. "They're not independent, but they're autonomous, but they're dependent at the same time," he said. "They don't feel that they've obtained full adult status because they haven't made that final transition."

Canadian House Prices at Risk of Dropping

A hot Canadian housing market has lifted prices above their long-term trend, raising risks of an eventual drop in prices, says Scotiabank. The evaluation is made in the latest Real Estate Trends report, released Thursday by Scotia Economics. "There is little doubt that current trends are unsustainable," said Adrienne Warren, senior economist for Scotia Economics. "Affordability is becoming increasingly stretched for many would be buyers after almost a decade of rising home prices. "More recently, economic risks have increased in the wake of the intensifying financial market turmoil stemming from the U.S. subprime mortgage problems." From a long-term perspective, the report says there is growing evidence of overvaluation in home prices in some parts of Canada - a common precursor to a period of softening conditions. In all 15 cities examined, with the exception of St. John's, current inflation-adjusted price levels are above their long-term trend. The national average deviation at mid-2007 was about eight per cent.

Despite the deviation, price growth remains consistent with short-term supply-demand dynamics. Most major markets in Canada are still "sellers' territory," in which prices are expected to rise faster than inflation. "The further domestic home prices climb above underlying economic fundamentals, the greater the risk of an eventual correction," said Warren. "The 1976 and 1989 housing peaks were both followed by some adjustment in real prices. In the past, this adjustment has normally occurred though a period of inflation erosion as opposed to nominal price declines." Still, Warren said the fundamentals underpinning Canada's housing market remain quite strong. ""Unemployment is low, immigration is high and apartment vacancy rates are tight. There is little evidence of overbuilding or speculative buying," she said. "The industry also has relatively little direct exposure to subprime lending, with these loans accounting for only about five per cent of domestic mortgages in recent years compared with about 20 per cent in the United States." The report follows a release Wednesday that found more Canadians than ever before owned their dwelling. Statistics Canada said about 68.4 per cent of Canadian homes were owned by their occupants, up from 65.8 per cent in 2001. The Royal Bank of Canada also released a report Wednesday, which showed the cost of owning a home in Canada continued to rise in the second quarter of 2007.

Oil boom equals Acute Skills Shortage

The oil boom in western Canada is exacerbating the skills shortage, which is most acute in the western part of the country but is being felt across Canada, according to the latest research. People considering Canadian immigration are likely to be in high demand in many industries and regions in Canada. The latest C-Suite Survey of Canadian executives shows that the shortage of skilled labour is now the number one challenge for business leaders and the economy. Survey respondents called for Canada's human resource challenges to become one of the government's top priorities. Finding available, qualified employees is "difficult" for a huge 84 per cent of survey respondents. Newfoundland cable television chief executive, Dean MacDonald, told the Globe and Mail: "The west has become the great big vacuum cleaner of talent in the country." Licensed tradespeople such as electricians are the most difficult type of worker to hire, along with the workers in the service sector, where the labour crunch is described as severe. More than 90 per cent of survey respondents said it is tough to get service workers.

Resource companies and manufacturers are also finding it hard to hire staff, with 81 per cent and 71 per cent of executives in those sectors respectively reporting it "somewhat difficult" or "very difficult" to find qualified, available employees. Other factors blamed for the skill shortage are Canada's aging population, with retiring workers not replaced by enough people coming into the work force. The failure of the education system to teach young Canadians the skills employers require was also criticised. The quarterly survey was conducted for Report on Business and Business News Network by the Gandalf Group, and sponsored by KPMG and law firm Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg. The survey interviewed 150 executives across the country between August 13th and August 31th, 2007. Respondents were spread across company size, geographically, and across industry sectors.

Am I Non-transferable?

by: Erika Barootes

Imagine being told that there is a “land of opportunity and equality”, where anyone’s dream can come true. A place where you can be recognized and rewarded for the skills you possess. The preachers of this wondrous land refer to it as North America, known as the land of milk and honey, a location that is envied by many for their lifestyle possibilities. North America is a continent that travelers come thousands of miles to experience first hand. Immigrants come to Canada in hopes of seeking the most remarkable career opportunities. Upon their arrival, many are discouraged to find out that the education received in their native countries is not credible here. These individuals also find that language barriers keep them from receiving the recognition and prestige they deserve. They come with expectations and dreams of what they will aspire to be, only to be limited to jobs people with no education or experience are eligible for. The question at hand is how would you feel if you dedicated time and money to receive a Bachelors of Arts Degree or an Accounting degree, you learned a second language and upon these accomplishments you were told that your efforts would not be taken into consideration when applying for a job? It is plausible to assume that, 'disappointed' might be the tamest word held in your thoughts. Now imagine leaving your friends, your family, and your life back home and have nothing to show for it.

This is a coast-to-coast problem in Canada. Many immigrants could be great assets to companies but a majority of degrees or diplomas do not transfer over. It is also unjust that these individuals were not informed prior to their venture to a new land they hope to call home, that their years of education would be irrelevant. Experience in their fields of expertise and their learning exceeds many of those with six figure salaries, however, they are left working in warehouses, washing dishes, and driving taxis, depending on minimum wage and tips in order to provide for themselves and loved ones. Not only is previous education omitted, many immigrants have trouble finding jobs that deal with customer service or communicating with people in person or by telephone. The reasoning behind this is because of their thick accents and how corporations do not want to send out the message that their companies hire people that cannot “properly” speak English or French. These voyagers from foreign lands try to adopt the Canadian culture, language and lifestyles while still maintaining some or all roots of their old country. Who are we to say how much or how little of “Canadian” ways these residents need to adopt before being considered one of us?

ESL is an enormous obstacle. Once an individual has hurdled the first obstacle, and he or she is recognized as fluent in English, they then have to be accepted into a program, similar to their training back home ,in order to receive the Canadian recognition for previously obtained knowledge. This process seems tedious and irrelevant considering the information is embossed in their brains. In the CTI application prospective students are asked their education history. Many of the students who have immigrated to Canada, have beyond high school educations but cannot find a job due to the language barriers or non-transferable degrees. These individuals enroll in the CTI program, which is perhaps not ideal for them, because they do not have employment prospects in their field of expertise. They choose to receive industrial certifications in hopes of working in a warehouse, driving a forklift or working on the oil rigs. CTI offers these people the requirements to find permanent employment but nothing that is on par with what they deserve for their post-secondary education. That is not to say that immigrants traveling to Canada will find little or no success. There are several colleges offering programs to assist immigrants in receiving rightful recognition for their qualifications in Canada. The question is, how can these Canadian newcomers become informed of these opportunities? It is up to the city of Calgary, and the communities within to encourage everyone to be the best that they can be and to have access to these opportunities.

Manitoba calling You!

by Murray McNeill

Manitoba has one of the highest success rates in the country when it comes to immigrants finding work after they arrive here, according to the results of a new Statistics Canada study released Monday. The agency's Canadian Immigrant Labour Market in 2006 study found immigrants living in Manitoba had among the highest employment rates and the lowest unemployment rates of any province in the country. That was true even with very recent immigrants - those who have been here five years or less who traditionally have the hardest time finding work because of language barriers, lack of Canadian work experience or lack of recognition of foreign credentials. Statistics Canada said the employment rate among those immigrants in Manitoba was a country-leading 73.1 per cent. They also had the second-lowest unemployment rate, at 6.8 per cent. It said most new immigrants to Canada struggle to find work in the first decade after they arrive, particularly in the first five years. But the problem is most acute in Quebec, where the unemployment rate for even established immigrants - those that have been here longer than 10 years - remains at 9.2 per cent, it added. For Meharban Singh Gill, an engineer from India who arrived in Manitoba in June 2005, the search for work lasted a mere 10 days before he landed an engineering job at Buhler Manufacturing's Versatile tractor plant in Winnipeg. "I was very surprised because I was anticipating it would be very hard in the beginning," Gill said in an interview Monday. "I was prepared to do anything for survival. But I did not have to do that. Now I have a good start and I can build on that." Gill said the reason he was hired so quickly is because Versatile needed a quality engineer and he had worked as an engineer in a large tractor plant in India. So he had the skills they were looking for, he added. Tayeb Meridje, a labour market specialist with Success Skills Centre who helped Gill find the job at Versatile, said Gill was lucky to have found an engineering job so quickly. He said many professionals who immigrate to Canada often end up having to take a lower-paying, unrelated job until they can complete the additional training they need to obtain their Canadian accreditation. But even at that, Meridje said, the employment success rate among new immigrants is still much better now than it was even seven years ago when he first joined Success Skills Centre. He said there are a number of reasons for that. One is that many of today's immigrants are better trained and better qualified than they used to be, he said. Also, many of them who come to Manitoba are looking for jobs in the manufacturing and biotech industries and Manitoba has a lot of those types of companies.

Statistics Canada said Manitoba's highly successful Provincial Nominee Program, which tries to match skilled workers with jobs before they arrive, may also have contributed to the province's strong showing. It noted that in 2006, Manitoba received 50 per cent of all the provincial nominees who came to Canada. Ben Remel, assistant deputy minister of the immigration and multicultural division of Manitoba Labour and Immigration, agreed the nominee program has contributed to Manitoba's success in finding jobs for new immigrants. He said the nominee program accounted for 6,600 of the approximately 10,000 new immigrants that arrived in Manitoba last year. And the plan is to continue growing that number each year as the province works towards meeting its long-term goal of attracting 20,000 new immigrants a year by 2017. But he noted that only about one-third of the Manitoba nominees have jobs waiting for them when they arrive. Most are in occupations the province has identified as high-demand occupations, including skilled tradesmen, biotech workers, information-technology workers and truck drivers. That increases their odds of finding jobs. He said it also helps that the Manitoba economy has been quite robust in recent years, which creates a demand for more workers. As well, the provincial government has invested a lot of time and resources into developing programs and services aimed at helping immigrants find work after they arrive. "We don't just leave it to chance." Not surprisingly, Winnipeg also stacked up favourably compared to seven other mid-sized Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) included in the Statistics Canada survey. The agency found that recent immigrants - those who have been here between five and 10 years -- living in Winnipeg had the second-highest employment rate (83.1 per cent) in the country. Only those living in Halifax had a higher rate, at 88.9 per cent. Winnipeg also had the narrowest gap in employment rates between very recent immigrants and Canadian-born Winnipeggers, at 12.7 per cent.

Quebec says: No job for you, Newcomers!

by Tavia Grant

Newcomers are facing severe challenges finding work in Quebec, while they tend to gain employment much more easily in Manitoba and Alberta, a national study showed Monday. Immigrants throughout Canada struggle for work in the first decade they arrive, especially in the first five years. But nowhere is the problem more acute than in Quebec, where they experience “substantially” higher unemployment rates than Canadian-born people — regardless of how long they'd been in the country, Statistics Canada said. The government agency used immigration data gathered last year from the labour force survey to analyze the immigrant labour market, focusing on people aged 25 to 54. The resulting study paints a contrasting picture of how immigrants fare from province to province. Most immigrants who've lived in Canada for a decade or longer find jobs at the same rate as Canadian-born people as they become more integrated. In Quebec, however, even established immigrants can't seem to find work — their unemployment rate was 9.2 per cent last year compared to 6.3 per cent for the whole province. On the flip side, the jobless rate for established immigrants in Atlantic Canada was just 4.1 per cent – less than half of the province's 8.9-per-cent rate. Several reasons exist for the employment gap in Quebec, the study says, among them that many immigrants tend to attend school or stay home to take care of their families. “Another factor that could explain higher unemployment rates among immigrants in Quebec could be related to the countries of birth of immigrants living in Quebec compared to other provinces,” the study said, adding that the topic will be discussed in a future report.

By last year, most of the country's immigrants came from Asia, particularly India and China. About a fifth of Canada's population is born outside the country, one of the highest proportions in the world. Immigrants will take on an even greater importance in the years ahead, as Canada copes with an aging population and looming labour shortages. If current rates continue, immigration could account for virtually all net labour force growth by 2011, the report said. Overall, newcomers to Canada are much more likely to have a university education than Canadian-born residents, Statscan said. Thirty-six per cent of working age immigrants had at least a bachelor's degree, while among those born in Canada the proportion was just 22 per cent. Gender differences are also stark, the report showed. “Labour market outcomes were better for immigrant men than their female counterparts, and ... young immigrant women in particular have struggled,” the analysts said. Regardless of how long they'd been in Canada, immigrant women had higher unemployment rates than both immigrant men and Canadian-born women. The unemployment rate for women who'd been here for five years or less was 13 per cent last year, higher than 10.3 per cent among men in the same group and the 4.6 per cent for Canadian-born females. Immigrants are more likely to work in factories as well as professional and technical services, and in accommodation and food services. Immigrants who've been in Canada for less than 10 years, meantime, struggle to establish themselves here. Very recent arrivals have a jobless rate of 11.5 per cent, more than double the Canadian average of 4.9 per cent. The need to adjust to a new life in Canada, get credential recognition and get retrained are some reasons for the gap. Immigrants themselves say the most serious difficulties in entering the work force are a lack of Canadian experience, lack of recognition of their credentials and language barriers, Statscan said, citing a 2003 study. Immigrants tend to find work the fastest in Alberta, where a strong economy has created labour shortages, and Manitoba, which has a program that matches skilled workers to employment before they land. Integration is so successful in Manitoba that even recent immigrants had higher employment rates than Canadian-born people in other provinces. Ontario is still the largest provincial destination for immigrants, with British Columbia in second spot. Among cities, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are home to most immigrants. Job-wise, newcomers tend to fair better in Toronto and Vancouver than in Montreal.

Alberta: Best Place for New Immigrants

by Alexandra Zabjek

Recent immigrants in Alberta have unemployment rates nearly half those found on the national level but still lag far behind their Canadian-born counterparts when it comes to landing jobs, figures released by Statistics Canada Monday indicate. In 2006, the unemployment rate for Alberta's Canadian-born workforce was 2.6 per cent, compared to 5.8 per cent for recent immigrants. The study also showed significant differences in how newcomers fared in the province's two biggest labour markets. Recent immigrants living in Calgary had a 73.6-per-cent employment rate, the highest in the country in 2006. In Edmonton the same group had an employment rate of around 67 per cent, ranking the city sixth among eight major metropolitan areas. Alberta's relatively low unemployment levels could help ease the province's labour shortage by luring newcomers away from traditional immigration settlement cities such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, said Michael Haan, from the University of Alberta's department of sociology. "This can only be a good news story for Alberta," Haan said. "Given that a good part of settlement choices are based on word of mouth, it won't take long for an immigrant in Toronto to find out his or her cousin in Edmonton is doing better."

But Haan noted the statistics do not reveal what kind of work immigrants are doing, which is especially telling, considering the data showed newcomers are more likely to have university degrees than their Canadian counterparts. "What the figures aren't capturing are whether a person is appropriately employed," Haan said. "I suspect you'll see many of (these educated people) driving taxis." Those who work with immigrants say barriers to employment for recent arrivals have remained the same for years - immigrants don't have their foreign credentials recognized, they don't always have enough language skills and Canadian employers are often unwilling to consider foreign work experience. "This has been a long-standing and complex challenge for immigrants and refugees for 25 years," said Alice Colak, director of immigrant and settlement services at Catholic Social Services in Edmonton. But Alberta's labour shortage has tilted the tables slightly in favour of newcomers looking for work, she said. "Employers require that elusive thing called 'Canadian work experience,' but in Alberta with the labour shortage, employers seem to be less stringent around that," she said. The Statistics Canada study looked at different groups of immigrants between the ages of 25 and 54. It found that in Alberta and across the country, immigrants who had spent more than 10 years in Canada achieved employment levels on par with those of Canadian-born workers, while the most recent arrivals had the lowest employment levels. "A lot of people see hope because they do see immigrants who succeed," said Colak. "There's a lot of frustration but there are a lot of success stories." You can count Fausi El-Al among those experiencing the frustration of a Canadian job search.

What is Bridge Training Program?

The Ontario government supports programs that can help newcomers get their license or certificate in their profession or trade so that they can work in Ontario.

These programs have been put together by employers, colleges and universities, occupational regulatory bodies, and community organizations. They are called 'Bridging Programs.' Each Bridging program is different and may provide you with:

• An assessment of your education and skills
• A clinical or workplace experience
• Skills training or targeted academic training programs
• Preparation for a license or certification examination
• Language training for your profession or trade
• Individual learning plans to identify any added training you may need

Contacts of Bridging for NewComers

---

Occupation or Employment Sector Served	Area Served	Project Name	Organization(s) Name and Contact Information
Accounting	Greater Toronto Area, Oakville, Mississauga	Halton Support Services for Internationally Trained Accountants and Bookkeepers	Halton Multicultural Council Karen Rockwell Project Coordinator Phone: (905) 842-2486 Email: krockwell@cogeco.net
Agricultural Industry	Guelph , Hamilton, Ottawa, Toronto	Assess Skills, Provide Training, and Lead to Accreditation and/or Employment	Ontario Institute of Professional Agrologists Phone: (519) 826-4226 Email: Registrar@oia.on.ca Website: www.oia.on.ca
Architecture	Greater Toronto Area	Group Mentoring, Online Mentoring and Employer Outreach for Internationally Trained Architects (ITAs)	Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) Lorraine Kelly (416) 658-3101 ext. 259 Brigid Elmy (416) 658-3101 ext. 263 Email: oaamail@oaa.on.ca Website: http://www.oaa.on.ca/
Carpentry	Greater Toronto Area	Building on Their Skills: A Project to Expand the Skills of Internationally Trained Workers in Ontario’s Construction Industry	Carpenters’ Local Union 27 Joint Apprenticeship Training Trust Fund Inc. Cristina Selva Director of Training Phone: 905-652-5507 ext. 234 Email: cselva@thecarptentersunion.ca
Construction	Greater Toronto Area	Construction Management Graduate Certificate – Bridging Program	George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology Advising Phone Number for all programs (416) 415-5000 ext. 2949 Email: info@georgebrown.ca Website: www.georgebrown.ca
Construction Trades(i.e., electricians, plumbers, etc.)	Ottawa	Projet d’intégration des immigrants formés à l’étranger dans le domaine de la construction	La Cité Collégiale – Institutes des métiers Nicole Desnoyers Project Director Phone: (613) 742-2493 ext. 2782 Email: ndesno@lacitec.on.ca Website : www.lacitec.on.ca/
Credential Assessment	Ontario	World Education Services (WES)	World Education Services (WES) Phone: (416) 972-0070 or 1-866-343-0070 Email: Canada@wes.org Website: www.wes.org/ca
Dietician	Toronto	Internationally Educated Dieticians Pre-registration Program (IDPP)	Ryerson University - The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education Phone: (416) 979-5035 Email: ce@ryerson.ca Website: www.ryerson.ca/ce
Early Childhood Educators	Greater Toronto Area	Access to the Early Childhood Education Field in Ontario	Association of Early Childhood Educators, Ontario Laura Sheehan Project Manager 416-487-3157 ext. 21 Website: www.cfc-efc.ca/aeceo/
Employer Outreach	Toronto	Bringing Employers Onboard	Toronto Region Immigration Employment Council Phone: (416) 944-2627 Email: triecinfo@triec.ca Website: www.triec.ca
	Ottawa	Hire Immigrants Ottawa: Creating Opportunities for the Integration of Immigrants into the Ottawa Labour Market	United Way Ottawa Carole Gagnon Project Lead Phone: (613) 228-6700 Email: cgagnon@unitedwayottawa.ca
Employment Counsellors	Greater Toronto Area	Career and Work Counsellor Bridging Program	George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology Advising Phone Number for all programs (416) 415-5000 ext. 2949 Email: info@georgebrown.ca Website: www.georgebrown.ca
Engineers	Greater Toronto Area	Bridging Engineers into the Workplace	Accessible Community Counselling and Employment Services for New Canadians (ACCES) Joan Atlin Project Manager Phone: (416) 431-5326 Email: jatlin@accestrain.com Website: www.accestrain.com/
Engineering Technology	Greater Toronto Area	Fast Track to Technology Occupations (FTTO): A Fast Track Program for Integrating Internationally Trained Individuals (ITIs) in Key Technology Occupations in the Ontario Labour Market	Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (905) 845-9430 x5013 Email: ftto@sheridaninstitute.ca Website: http://ftto.sheridaninstitute.ca Programs start in the summer of 2007
	Greater Toronto Area	Fast Track to Technology Occupations (FTTO): A Fast Track Program for Integrating Internationally Trained Individuals (ITIs) in Key Technology Occupations in the Ontario Labour Market	Centennial College (416) 289-5000 x8256 Email: ftto@centennialcollege.ca Website: www.centennialcollege.ca Programs start in the summer of 2007
Environmental Planners and Geoscientists	Greater Toronto Area, Peel Region, York Region, Durham Region	Professional Access and Integration Enhancement Program (PAIEP)	Toronto and Region Conservation Authority Jeff Birchall Program Co-ordinator 416-661-6600 ext 5583 Email: info@trca.on.ca Website: www.trca.on.ca
Health Care Positions	Ottawa	Algonquin Connecting Expertise of the Internationally Trained (ACE IT)	Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology Jo-Ann Aubut, M.Ed., B.Sc. Chair 613-727-4723 ext. 5581 Email: aubutj@algonquincollege.com Website: www.algonquincollege.com
Hospital Administrative Positions	Ottawa	Connections Ottawa – A Mentorship Program for Internationally Educated Professionals (COMP)	Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology Faculty of Health, Public Safety & Community Studies Mary O’Donohue Phone: (613) 727-4723 ext. 7215 Email: odonohm@algonquincollege.com Website: www.algonquincollege.com
Massage Therapists	Greater Toronto Area	Improving Access: An Assessment and Bridging Program for Internationally Trained Massage Therapists	Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology Amanda Baskwill Phone: (416) 289-5000 ext. 8265 Email: abaskwill@centennialcollge.ca Website: www.centennialcollege.ca
Midwifery	Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Ottawa, Thunder Bay	The Distance International Midwifery Pre-Registration Program (DIMPP)	Ryerson University International Midwifery Pre-Registration Program Alison Gaul Administrator (416) 979-5000 ext. 7681 Email: agaul@ryerson.ca Website: www.ryerson.ca/continuing
Multiple Occupations	St. Catharines Welland	A Project to Move Internationally Trained Individuals toward Licensure, Certification and Employment	St. Catharines Unemployed Help Centre, Inc. Phone: (905) 685-1353 or 1-800-685-1353 Email: info@employmenthelp.org Website: www.employmenthelp.org
Nursing	Greater Toronto Area	Assess Knowledge and Skills and Provide Required Education and Workplace Experience for Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) that will Lead to Licensure and Employment in Ontario	York University School of Nursing Phone: 416-736-5271 Email: aknurs@yorku.ca Website: www.atkinson.yorku.ca/NURS/
	Hamilton	Bridging for Internationally Educated Nurses (BIEN)	Mohawk College - Institute for Applied Health Sciences Jennifer Rath Continuing Education, Health Sciences Phone: (905) 540-4247 ext. 26737 Email: jennifer.rath@mohawkcollege.ca Website: www.mohawkcollege.ca/dept/cehs/bien
	Toronto	Creating Access to Regulated Employment (CARE) for Nurses Project	CARE Centre for Internationally Educated Nurses Phone: 416-226-2800 Email: info@care4nurses.org Website: www.care4nurses.org
	Toronto	Access to Baccalaureate Nursing Preparation	York University School of Nursing Phone: 416-736-5271 Email: aknurs@yorku.ca Website: www.atkinson.yorku.ca/NURS/
Optometrists	Waterloo	Looking Forward Toward Optometric Practice in Ontario	University of Waterloo - School of Optometry International Optometric Bridging Program Phone: (519) 888-4567 ext. 7882 Email: ioginfo@optometry.uwaterloo.ca Website: www.optometry.uwaterloo.ca/iobp
Physiotherapy	Greater Toronto Area	Building Exam Writing Skills for Registration Successes in Physiotherapy	College of Physiotherapists of Ontario Phone: (416) 591-3828 Email: info@collegept.org Website: www.collegept.org/
Social Workers	Toronto	Bridging to Employment and Registration for Internationally Educated Social Workers	Ryerson University - The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education Helen Wong Project Director Phone: (416) 979-5000 ext. 7406 Email: h9wong@ryerson.ca Website: www.ryerson.ca/ce
Teaching	Greater Toronto Area	College Teachers’ Bridging Program	George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology Advising Phone Number for all programs (416) 415-5000 ext. 2949 Email: info@georgebrown.ca Website: www.georgebrown.ca
	Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa	Teach in Ontario	Ontario College of Teachers Jaclyn Luebke Intake Consultant (416) 961-8800 ext. 454 Email: info@teachinontario.ca Website: www.teachinontario.ca
	Windsor	Teach in Ontario – Windsor	Ontario College of Teachers Jaclyn Luebke Intake Consultant (416) 961-8800 ext. 454 Email: info@teachinontario.ca Website: www.teachinontario.ca
Tourism Sector	Greater Toronto Area	Ready to Work: Tourism Careers for Internationally Trained Individuals	Ontario Tourism Education Corporation (OTEC) Sathya Gnaniah Manager, Employment Development Programs Phone: (416) 622-1975 ext. 236 or 1-800-557-6832 Email: info@otec.org Website: www.otec.org
University Professors	Ottawa	Promoting Successful Integration of New Immigrant University Professors into Ontario Post-Secondary Institutions	University of Ottawa Prof. Aline Germain-Rutherford Phone: (613) 562-5800 ext. 3403 Email: agermain@uOttawa.ca
Veterinarians	Toronto	Veterinary Skills, Training and Enhancement Program (VSTEP)	College of Veterinarians of Ontario Dr. Alec Martin Program Manager Phone: (519) 767-6564 Email: amartin@vstepontario.org Website: www.vstepontario.org

Skills shortage a 'Significant Problem'

Canada's skills shortage is heading for a crisis, with newspapers all over the country reporting severe shortages of skilled workers. Shortages in many sectors of the economy can only be met in the short term by people taking up Canadian immigration. Finance minister Jim Flaherty has described Canada as being on the precipice of a major shortage of skilled workers, reported the London Free Press. "It's a significant problem. We're talking about thousands and thousands of vacancies for skilled workers across Canada," he told a meeting near Toronto. In Ontario, St Lawrence College has warned the government it must increase student enrolment by 30,000 in the next four years or there will be serious skills shortage.

Chris Whitaker, president and chief executive officer of the college, told the Brockville Recorder & Times that the province is facing a "serious skills shortage" in the years ahead with retiring baby boomers and rapid technological changes affecting businesses and industries. Canada needs skilled immigrants: The Canadian Visa Bureau can assist skilled workers interested in Canadian immigration. More information on Canadian visas is available on the website. Anyone applying for a Canadian visa should begin by completing the Canadian Visa Bureau's online Canadian visa application to see if they meet the legislative requirements.

Well-being relies on Improved Literacy Skills

Canada must redouble efforts to address its literacy challenge given the evolving structure of the global economy, according to a report published today by TD Bank Financial Group. The report counters the prevailing view that Canada is largely a literate nation, citing that many individuals lack the adequate literacy skills to fully participate in the economy and civil society. Moreover, this challenge is concentrated in specific regions and among various populations, which can accentuate and entrench economic disparity. "Our place in the world is increasingly defined by its intellectual, rather than political, boundaries," said Frank McKenna, Deputy Chair of TD Bank Financial Group and TD's literacy champion. "High levels of literacy ensure that we all have the ability to comprehend, compute and convey information and ideas necessary to support our future prosperity. Improving literacy levels is a national imperative."

Divides and discrepancies in literacy levels: The report, which was authored by TD's Deputy Chief Economist, Craig Alexander, noted that almost four in 10 youths aged 15 have insufficient reading skills; while more than two in 10 university graduates, almost five in 10 Canadian adults and six in 10 immigrants have inadequate literacy skills in English or French. Francophones and aboriginals also scored lower than the national average in literacy scores. Significant regional differences were also cited. Literacy levels tend to decline from above national average in western Canada to below national average in eastern Canada. Not only do these outcomes suggest many Canadians are ill-prepared to participate in the knowledge economy, they can also lead to a number of pressing societal problems. For instance, poor youth literacy is related to high school drop out rates, long-term unemployment and higher crime rates. Poor literacy in English and French amongst immigrants severely hampers the ability of many new arrivals to integrate into Canadian society and its economy.

Renewed efforts to address the literacy challenge: Concerted efforts must focus on youth literacy, particularly at the early childhood education, primary and secondary levels. The rationale is simple - benefits accrue over a longer time span than for adults. Moreover, literacy appears to be a virtuous circle in skill development. Higher literacy promotes greater education that, in turn, lifts literacy and helps to develop skills. Given the particular need in disadvantaged households, and among immigrant and aboriginal communities, policy makers should treat these challenges with the highest priority. Both the provinces and the federal government support literacy initiatives - and this is most welcome. However, there is little evidence of any improvement in literacy levels in recent years, which suggests that the current approach is not working. It may be that meaningful progress is impeded by lack of coordination. For instance, youth literacy falls largely under the umbrella of education, a provincial responsibility, but immigration is a federal concern. There is overlap too in adult literacy. At the federal level,Human Resources and Social Development Canada runs the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Canadian Heritage, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada also run literacy-promoting activities. Meanwhile, the provinces have their own adult literacy initiatives through a variety of social-economic programs. TD suggests a more coordinated and complementary approach could come about if the federal government becomes responsible for national literacy standards, while the provincial governments are explicitly responsible for program delivery. Both levels of government would need to provide financing for the initiatives. The private sector should also be encouraged to offer employees the opportunity to develop language skills and more basic abilities that could reinforce or bolster their literacy. This can be done in-house or through employer-sponsored training.

The case for improved outcomes: TD estimates that a one per cent increase in literacy rates could boost the national income by as much as $32 billion, noting that an economic payoff of more than $80 billion could be achieved if all Canadians reached the desired level of literacy. Raising literacy skills could also create thousands of new jobs, lower unemployment and significantly raise personal income - all of which could play a big role in combating poverty. It could also be key in reversing Canada's recent dismal productivity performance. Yet Mr. McKenna notes improved literacy rates extend well beyond economic gain. "No price tag can be placed on parents who read bedtime stories to their children. It's an immeasurable but profoundly valuable investment for family, community and society as a whole." TD prepared this report with the intent to shine a spotlight on literacy and provoke discussion about current challenges. This is the first in a series of studies, with future installments focusing on specific issues or dimensions. The bank also invests more than $1.5 million in children's literacy programs annually, including the TD Summer Reading Club and TD Canadian Children's Book Week that encourage children to discover the joy of reading.

New Funding for Mentorship in Ontario

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Canadian Minister of Immigration Diane Finley recently announced the allocation of $1.4 million to fund a mentorship program in the Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge regions of Ontario. The new program will provide newcomers with “one-on-one assistance from volunteers who guide their efforts to find work in their chosen field,” explains John Haddock of the YMCA Kitchener-Waterloo and the YMCA Cambridge. Newcomer professionals will be matched with experienced local Canadian professionals. Currently, the YMCA Cross Cultural and Community Services manages a Host Program which teams up newcomers with Canadian volunteers. The host volunteers practice language skills with new immigrants and help them with finding contacts in their field of work and adjusting to life in Canada. In addition to the Mentorship program, the YMCA also offers a Newcomer Youth Support program, a School Support program, and a Senior Support program, which provide targeted assistance to each of these groups of newcomers. With the increased funding from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, an additional 1,350 newcomers to Ontario will benefit from the Mentorship program.

Blog for LINC

New in Canada?

And would like to learn English free??

See this blog here for the all the information on FREE English Classes in Canada

Tips for Best Air Ticket Deals

Air bound travel has increased to the reason that it is the quickest traveling experience and air travel has made the world shrunk in terms of distances. It has become very easy to start from one corner of the world and go the other part of the world within 24 – 48 hours time. It has become a matter of hours only. It might be a bit costly to avail of this facility but within the reach of the consumer if one plans properly.

The best deals on air tickets can be got when the travel plan is made on certain days of the week for example if it is planned on a Tuesday, Thursday or Friday night till Sunday morning, as the traffic is less and the air lines are forced to fill the seats to get the maximum amount. This is the case for almost all the flights. And also traveling in the wee hours also might get a deal say it you take a late-night flight departure.

Probing the reservation agent from time to time might help you get the necessary information. Some agents do not disclose the lowest air ticket fares unless and until you ask for it as the commission is involved in it. Normally a travel agent does not charge the customer or the person who is traveling but get a commission from the airlines. Some agents may even have the access to information regarding special deals a certain airline Offers. If the travel is bound to a famous foreign destination it is wise to ask the travel agent about the charter flights, as it might offer low price. But before signing the contract one should go through the policies and conditions if any applied on it.

The flight destination can also offer the best air ticket deals. It is good to find out from the travel agent about the destination if it is an airline hub or not. Because the flight charges might be higher than the flight charges to the nearby cities where competition is less. They can minimize their charges by choosing a city nearer to the hub even if he has to go to the city with the airline hub.

Even after the purchase of the air ticket, it is always mandatory to check with the airline or the travel agent even if it takes two or three phone calls to confirm about the reservations and if there is any change in fares. The fare changes occur round the clock, and a few airlines even refund the difference of amount if the air ticket fare gets reduced before travel, but it is not done on it’s own, you ask for it, you get it is the mantra.

Cheap Air Tickets for Vacation
You can get cheap air tickets for the vacation if you are organized well for a vacation. You need to search for related information either from colleagues, friends, travel agents and even on your own through the Internet. All you need to do is to compare different fares of different airlines, about the destination (whether it is an airline hub or not), dates and time period when the fares are low. Normally off-season airfare discounts are available which can be very well utilized for spending on food or stay rather than on the airfare. One might be surprised to find out that they can get a reduction of 25-30 percent on the total travel fare.

We can get a reduced air ticket fare if they plan the date of travel on the holiday itself rather than a day or two after or before the holiday. For example air ticket fares might be cheaper on a new year’s day, which is not the case the day before or after the holiday. The psychology of the people is that on the holiday they might like to spend the special moment with their near and dear ones rather than traveling. This attitude makes the fares go low. Plan a vacation well in advance as almost all the airlines set some seats aside on the flights which is desired the most at low prices. The good bargain seats sell very fast, it might go the other way round too sometimes, to make up with costs when the seats are not sold as expected may result in heavy discount seats for the flight available before the deadline expires.

Another thumb rule to be followed is to go for a one-stop flight, which works to be cheaper than the non-stop flight. When planning a vacation where flying is involved, it is necessary to find out the cost involved in reaching the destination nearby by a cheap ticket and then spending huge money for travel by car is not advisable but to travel to the destination with a slightly higher charges by air. Also some major carriers sometime match the air fares with that of the low fare carriers, which flies between the same city, but might be limited to certain number of seats.

When opting for a low fare carrier it is mandatory to find out the value for money. As low cost carriers operate only one flight per destination on a particular day, in case of any delay or cancellation, transfer from one flight to another might not be possible, also they might not give any facility regarding meals, advance-seating arrangements etc. These kind of inconvenience caused will spoil the whole enjoyment of the vacation.

You can get cheap air tickets for the vacation if you are organized well for a vacation. You need to search for related information either from colleagues, friends, travel agents and even on your own through the Internet. All you need to do is to compare different fares of different airlines, about the destination (whether it is an airline hub or not), dates and time period when the fares are low. Normally off-season airfare discounts are available which can be very well utilized for spending on food or stay rather than on the airfare. One might be surprised to find out that they can get a reduction of 25-30 percent on the total travel fare.

We can get a reduced air ticket fare if they plan the date of travel on the holiday itself rather than a day or two after or before the holiday. For example air ticket fares might be cheaper on a new year’s day, which is not the case the day before or after the holiday. The psychology of the people is that on the holiday they might like to spend the special moment with their near and dear ones rather than traveling. This attitude makes the fares go low.

Plan a vacation well in advance as almost all the airlines set some seats aside on the flights which is desired the most at low prices. The good bargain seats sell very fast, it might go the other way round too sometimes, to make up with costs when the seats are not sold as expected may result in heavy discount seats for the flight available before the deadline expires.

Another thumb rule to be followed is to go for a one-stop flight, which works to be cheaper than the non-stop flight. When planning a vacation where flying is involved, it is necessary to find out the cost involved in reaching the destination nearby by a cheap ticket and then spending huge money for travel by car is not advisable but to travel to the destination with a slightly higher charges by air. Also some major carriers sometime match the air fares with that of the low fare carriers, which flies between the same city, but might be limited to certain number of seats.

When opting for a low fare carrier it is mandatory to find out the value for money. As low cost carriers operate only one flight per destination on a particular day, incase of any delay or cancellation, transfer from one flight to another might not be possible, also they might not give any facility regarding meals, advance-seating arrangements etc. These kind of inconvenience caused will spoil the whole enjoyment of the vacation.

How to Get Discount Air Tickets
Due to the competition between airfreight companies the consumers can be benefited by means of getting heavy discounts on airfares. Discount air tickets are available in particular seasons like early autumn or after the new year celebrations. Many airlines put up discount sale for a short period many times a year when the air ticket sales go down. So the consumer has to be widen open to grab the opportunity.

Travel agents play an important role in getting the consumer the discounts needed as they sometimes have a tie up with certain airlines. They can also provide the information on the “consolidators” and other kind of sources, which provide discounts on air tickets, which cannot be got directly from the airlines. Travel agents normally do not charge any fees towards the services they provide the consumer but can get a commission from an airline with which he has a mutual understanding.

With the use of Internet, if a person wishes to find out discount air fares from various airlines, there are certain websites which offer the necessary information within one minute. Many airlines boost and encourage flying by offering air mileage points which can be redeemed for a free air ticket or for gifts and vouchers. Mainly people who travel a lot either for their business or personal purposes benefit the most. It makes them to get heavy discounts due the travel they take up frequently, as he is the potential and consistent customer for the airlines and the airlines in return want to get their patronage by providing the privilege to them.

Companies now have a habit of entering into a tie up with certain airlines due to the discount and special services they offer. Corporate plans usually are clubbed with boarding and lodging along with the airfares from some agencies, as an incentive to their employees. Certain countries for example Singapore and Malaysia provide heavy discounted air tickets during a particular period of the year in order to promote trading in their country and to boost their economy through their purchases by foreign visitors. Travel and tourism departments make it a point to award discounts on air fares to target in receiving tourists to boost their industry and other related tourist services like hotels and spas to get their awaited business opportunity.

The other ways of acquiring discounts on airfares are as follows:
By becoming a member of clubs, which offer discounted air tickets to certain selected destinations as a promotional offer. Another way to get up to 80 percent discount on air tickets is to decide and book the tickets before two – three months time. Also if a person is willing to take a mid night flight, he can get the air tickets at a discounted price, as not many people like the idea of traveling during wee hours. Discounts are offered for students and children in special. However it is necessary to go through the terms and conditions of the airlines for discounted air tickets.

Online Deals for Air Tickets
These kinds of offers are suitable for people who are subject to lot of travel due to their business and sometimes even for personal travel. A lot of people who travel frequently are those who benefit from this kind of schemes to the maximum.

There are a lot of websites, which offers memberships to travelers and intimate on the happenings related to special offers and discounts to them from time to time. The websites, which have a constant watch on the airlines and their offers, may go unnoticed by us. It could be for a particular period of time or exclusively for an occasion. Anyone who is about to travel is advised first to check with the available offers on the internet from the airline you choose to travel and then book the tickets.

Airlines on the other hand to promote the sale of air tickets tie up with certain websites and might give huge discount if booked through the websites. This way both the airlines and the travel agency site gets benefited, the airlines make the sites promote their services to the prospective customers.

Some airlines offer special discounts on bulk purchase of air tickets. Some agencies make good business by providing discounted air tickets with a package of other benefits like hotel stay, meals expenses, pick up and drop facility from the airport to the hotel, sight seeing etc. As all the expenses are given as a package to the customer, it makes the customer free from the hazel of searching for the right kind of the accommodation in an unknown country or city.

Due to the mushrooming of travel agencies, the travel and tourism and the aviation industry has seen a lot of growth, which in turn has boosted the opening of lot of airlines.

The attitude of the people has also changed from a conservative one to an outgoing one. People are fascinated about going to far of places and spend an exotic holiday in a different country, which has boosted the airline industry. Some countries and cities offer discounts on the airfares to make it a famous tourist destination. In addition, off-season bookings too offer special discounts on air tickets. Although the Internet has made air travel and purchase of air tickets at a discounted price to lot of destinations, it has also paved way for fraudulent practices. When booking a ticket via the Internet, care needs to be taken by logging on to the official site of the airlines and travel agencies, which has got a good reputation. It is better not to disclose any information regarding the credit card number or account number of the bank, the customers can opt for a payment on delivery of the air tickets rather than paying in advance and also read the terms and conditions before booking.

Cheap Air Ticket From Major Airlines
Experts in the air travel field say that the travelers are spoilt by discounts and cheap air fares, this had made the customer only to think of a lower price air ticket than about the services the airlines offers for them. price has taken over loyalty among the consumers.

Also it has been found that small carriers for the low cost segment has improved their services whereas the major carriers has reduced the services offered to the customer in the low fare war. The end product is the same when the customer is concerned. Very few airlines accept that customer loyalty is the key to business and say that their frequent flyer programs have boosted the business on the whole.

Airlines make huge money by selling their frequent flyer mileage cards to the corporate or business travelers, hotels, car rental and phone companies. Even though this program is popular when it comes to redemption, it has become very difficult, as there are many travelers. The hard truth is that a customer needs to take more and more number of trips in order to get a free air ticket or to upgrade to a service better than this. Hence, there is a decline in the number of travelers sticking on to a particular carrier. This is mainly due to the low-cost carriers offering better services and the restructure happening among the major airline industry.

This trend is damaging to the airline industry as a whole to maintain and attract the customers the airlines have to struggle a lot in spite of the increase in oil prices and higher salary level of aviation staff. Many of the major airlines have either sold or closed down. Low fare carriers have forced the major carriers to reduce their prices in turn the major carriers have cut down lot of services which they used to offer the consumers like free pillows and free meals on domestic flights.

In view with the above trend to attract customers the major carriers or airlines tie up with other service providers by marketing their products during the flight experience. It is like a freebie to the customers who gets his offer the service provider achieves his advertisement of the product and the airlines making it possible for the customer to get his extra service other than the flight experience.

An iPod company developed an advertising strategy by providing free seat connections which can charge iPods during flight and allowing the customer to view video with a display available on the seat back of air travel for some 6 major airline carriers. This has got more customers to the airlines and in turn boosted the sales of I pods. Thus major airlines are striving hard to get their share of the aviation industry by innovating lot of schemes and offers to their customers.