This blog was written by Heather Brothers, Project Coordinator of Career Pathways for Women at the Centre for Education and Training.
The Centre for Education & Training along with Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) and the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) are in partnership together to provide enhanced job search support to visible minority newcomer women to Canada. Through this unique pilot project, 420 women will participate in a program model over a two-year period. This initiative is available to highly skilled newcomer women with a CLB of 7 or higher and who are either a Permanent Resident or Convention Refugee.
The following resources are offered to selected participants:
- Essential Skills assessment and skill gap enhancement
- 2 weeks of training and job search workshops
- Portfolio and career development support
- Employer connections and networking events
- 10 weeks of one-one assistance from a Workplace Development Coach
- Transportation and childcare support available to those who qualify
Steffi Simiona's Story
Steffi Simiona landed in January of 2020. She immediately began searching for work upon her arrival however, after 4 months she did not receive any responses from employers nor did she have invitations to attend job interviews, even though she was highly engaged in work search activities.
By early April, Steffi began to feel as if she was doing something wrong in the job search process. She came across the Career Pathways for Women Program via a Facebook advertisement and quickly decided to apply as she needed help and professional guidance.
The main factor that complicated matters for her, was not having any Canadian work experience as well as a lack of understanding about how to successfully navigate the local job market. Finally, she would she obtain the critical support that she needed to move forward with her job search and enter into her field which happened when she was selected to participate in the Career Pathways for Women Program on April 27th.
Steffi received two weeks of group workshops and 3 weeks of individualized job search coaching that led to her landing a full time, permanent position as an Algorithm Design and Development Engineer with General Motors. During her participation in the Career Pathways for Women Program, she learned skills that were integral to the successful outcome of finding a job. These skills included how to job search for specialized professions, how to match a resume to a job description, how to apply the STAR interview method and how to address employer requests during the interview process. Steffi feels strongly that this program provided her with proper direction and goal setting tools that she needed in order to successfully find employment in Canada.
Interested in the Program?
If this sounds like you and you are a visible minority newcomer woman looking to build confidence in navigating the job market, and expanding your professional network, please contact [email protected] and register.
Our program team is here to help by offering support, professional tools and connections to networking and mentoring activities as well as employer introductions in your field.
