“I am from Argentina and I would like to know Toronto and I [would] like to improve my English, I could [take] a course there…I need something cheaper…Maybe you could give me some information about that?” 

 

There are many possibilities for learning English as a second language (ESL) in Toronto.  There are numerous schools and organizations offering a variety of rates. 

Visit the website www.toronto.com to get a feel for the culture of Toronto.  You can also look up the many ESL schools in Toronto.  One that I found on Toronto.com might be of interest to you.  The organization is called Community MicroSkills Development Centre and they are not-for-profit so they probably have reasonable rates for their classes.  You can visit their website for yourself, or call them at 416-247-7181 ext. 227.

There is also a possibility that there will be private tutors who would be willing to work something out with you in terms of reasonable rates and a flexible schedule.  For example, the University of Toronto’s school of continuing studies offers EFL (English as a foreign language) courses for students who wish to teach advanced English.  Perhaps some of these students would be willing to offer their services to you, in turn, giving them a chance to exercise their newly learned skills.  U of T can probably connect you with a list of private ESL tutors and their rates are probably lower than what you’d get at a school.  The possibilities are endless.

When considering studying English, or improving English skills, you should look for a tutor who is able to focus on industry specific terms that apply to your trade or profession.  Basic conversational English will benefit you, but in terms of your career, it is very important to become familiar with the English words that apply to your profession or trade specifically.

 

“We are a young, Jewish, engaged couple who [live] in Turkey – Istanbul with our parents. As you know in Turkey we have a big economic crisis… The government realized a devaluation of [the] Turkish Lira against all foreign exchanges. In connection with [the] devaluation a lot of companies are firing employee[s] and we do not know what to do…We are ready to leave this country forever and build our future in Canada, but we do not have any relatives and also do not know a person who can help us for the immigration to Canada…”

“…It must be frustrating to want to start a new life and not know where to begin.  As an Employment Counselor with Employment Assistance Services, many of my clients have told me that looking for work in Canada is like a 'science'.  There is a lot to learn, but once you understand the 'laws and formulas', looking for work becomes much easier.  I would like to share with you what these 'formulas and laws' are so that you can begin to build your future here in Canada.

The first step in looking for work in Canada is to have a focus.  By having a focus, I mean identifying an occupation (or, occupations), which you are qualified to do.  How do you determine an appropriate occupation?  Before anything else, take an inventory of all of the duties which you carried out in your past work history.  Once you have completed this, turn to an online resource called the National Occupational Classification (NOC) at www.worklogic.com:81/noc.  The NOC outlines the job duties for thousands of occupations in Canada.  Using your own employment history as a guide, start selecting those occupations from the NOC that match your background.  Another way to select occupations that match your background is to view advertised job postings.  A good website for this is http://jb-ge.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/.  This site is especially useful because each job posting has a four-digit code that matches the codes in the NOC.

Once you have identified the occupation(s) that you are qualified for, the next step is to determine whether or not these occupations are experiencing growth and what part of Canada these occupations are in demand.  Canada is a very large country with vast resources, so although marine biologists might be in huge demand off the coast of British Columbia, you would find very few of them in Saskatchewan.  Some excellent resources for tracking labour market trends include:

- www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca (national site)

- http://www.on.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/ (provincial site of Ontario)

- http://www.on.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/toronto/ (municipal site for Toronto)

(On each website, clicking on either Labour Market Information or Labour market Trends will get you to the appropriate place)

When researching the labour market, it is best to begin at the national level and work your way down to the municipal level.

Other online resources for researching trends at the national level include:

- http://www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/JobFutures/english/index.htm

- www.strategis.ic.gc.ca

After you have determined where your occupation is in demand, you are now ready to start developing your C.V.  In Canada, these are usually referred to as resumes.  How do they differ?  A resume is usually shorter (anywhere from 1 to 2 pages) and it does not include your entire work history.  In fact, your resume should be as targeted to your identified occupation as possible.  If this means having to remove information from your resume, that is considered completely acceptable.  (Just a word of caution.  Although it is completely acceptable to remove information, be careful not to include false information.  The resume is considered a legal document and creating a false resume can be cause for dismissal).

A good online resource for helping you develop a targeted resume is:

- www.workopolis.com

On the homepage, look for a section called 'Worknet'.  In this section, click on a link titled 'Need help with your resume?'  This page will give you tips on how to write your resume and help you determine what style to use.”

 

“…I’m Argentine…I have a degree in political science and a master’s in international relations with a specialization in economics…I have been working in the B to B department of a company…for 6 years…My wife is a musician…We also have a son who is 10 months old… Nowadays the things are not so good in this country. There is a big rate of unemployment (17%) and there [is] so much violence in the streets. [These] days we are applying to get the visa for permanent residence [in Canada], but I’d like your help for this huge change in our lives…”

First of all, I would suggest that you might want to get your educational credentials assessed.  There are several services available in Canada that will assess your credentials and provide you with documentation to present to potential employers.  You can visit www.settlement.org and this site will direct you to WES (World Educational Services).  At WES you can explore their services such as Evaluate My Credentials, Required Documents and Give Me Instructions.  WES is working to standardize the evaluation process of foreign trained professionals and trades people.

 If your occupation does not require specific credentials in order for you and your wife to pursue that education in Canada, it might not be as important to have these evaluations done.  However, it’s in your best interest to investigate what is involved in pursuing your profession or trade in Canada.

 For your wife, I think pursuing a career as a musician in any country presents similar challenges.  However, Canada is a country that has a deep appreciation for Arts and Culture.  Perhaps she could start her investigations at some of the Universities in Canada that are known for their fine arts (in this case Music) programs.  Some examples are:

-         The University of Western http://www.music.uwo.ca/ (London, Ontario)

-         Concordia University http://music.concordia.ca/ (Montreal, Quebec)

-         York University http://www.yorku.ca/finearts/music/index.htm (Toronto, Ontario)

-         The University of British Columbia http://www.music.ubc.ca/ (Vancouver, British Columbia)

As for exploring opportunities in the B to B sector, you should research what is required to get a position in a business, or industry you have experience in.  One way to determine this is to take an inventory of all the duties that you’ve carried out in your past work history.  Once you have completed this, turn to an online resource called the National Occupational Classification (NOC) at www.worklogic.com:81/noc.  The NOC outlines the job duties for thousands of occupations in Canada.  Using your own employment history as a guide, start selecting those occupations from the NOC that match your background.  Another way to select occupations that match your background is to view advertised job postings.  A good website for this is http://jb-ge.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/.  This site is especially useful because each job posting has a four-digit code that matches the codes in the NOC.

The next step is to determine whether or not these occupations are experiencing growth and what part of Canada these occupations are in demand.  Some excellent resources for tracking labour market trends include:

-         www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca (national site)

-         http://www.on.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/ (provincial site of Ontario)

-         http://www.on.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/toronto/ (municipal site for Toronto)

(On each website, clicking on either Labour Market Information or Labour market Trends will get you to the appropriate place)

When researching the labour market, it is best to begin at the national level and work your way down to the municipal level.

 

I understand that Canada is a bilingual country with two languages spoken (English and French).  Do I need to learn both French and English before I come to Canada?

 

Being multilingual (in this case, speaking both French and English) is of benefit in Canada.  However, it is NOT REQUIRED that you speak both French and English to succeed in Canada.  There are many Canadians, who speak only English or only French fluently, who are extremely successful. 

It is a common misconception to think that most Canadians are fluent in both official languages.  Although this would be the ideal situation, many Canadians speak only one official language.  Because of this, a newcomer who only speaks one of the official languages should consider where they are planning to locate.  For example, if you are fluent in French and have little or no English skills, it might be easier for you to settle in Quebec, or even New Brunswick. 

In addition to French and English, Canada is diverse in its collection of cultural communities with their own languages.  In this sense, it can be beneficial to be fluent in a language other than English or French, especially in large urban centers such as Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver.  There is a small percentage of the population who do not speak either of the official languages fluently.  However, if you wish to pursue a successful career in Canada, it would be exceptionally difficult if you were not able to speak at least one of these languages well.

Being able to speak both languages fluently can open up some opportunities for you that are not available to Canadians who only speak one of the official languages.  For example, you cannot be a flight attendant for Air Canada (Canada’s national airline) unless you are fluent in both French and English.

For more information about ESL (English as a second language) in Canada, visit http://www.village-english.com/.   For more information about FSL (French as a second language) courses available in Canada, visit http://www.centrelinguista.com/. 

 

“…I’m 26 years old, single and live in Israel.  I’m an Electronics Engineering Technician and recently got a Visa for permanent living in Canada…but I still haven’t decided [which province to go to]…I’m afraid of [being] unemployed for a long time…”

Visit the Canadian Society of Industrial Engineers (CSIE) – Ryerson Chapter or University of Toronto Chapter.  These are professional associations presented by specific educational institutions and they might be able to help you get started in your career networking and perhaps provide you with job leads. 

Why not visit the Institute of Industrial Engineers  (IIE)?  They are the parent organization for CSIE.  They have a wealth of information.  However, this site is not specific to Canada alone—it represents the North American Industrial Engineering society. 

Their website also offers a bunch of free services that you might be interested in, such as a career center that displays jobs for Industrial Engineers. They also allow you to post your resume on their site to be considered by employers.

The next step is to determine whether or not your occupation is experiencing growth and what part of Canada your occupation is in demand.  Some excellent resources for tracking labour market trends include:

- www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca (national site)

- http://www.on.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/ (provincial site of Ontario)

- http://www.on.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/toronto/ (municipal site for Toronto)

(On each website, clicking on either Labour Market Information or Labour market Trends will get you to the appropriate place)

When researching the labour market, it is best to begin at the national level and work your way down to the municipal level.

 

 “…I am an Israeli lawyer (got my LL.B degree from the Tel-Aviv University in Israel 11 years ago) practicing Law in Israel for the past 10 years, 8 of them running my own private Law office.

My wife is a social worker (got her B.A. degree from the University of Haifa).

In this stage, I need your consultation and aid, regarding the above mentioned issue, including the very important matter of working in Canada…for me and my wife – maybe in Jewish community…”

 

“…The best and easiest way to get information is through the web.  Here are some sites that will help you:

http://www.settlement.org -- It is very important that you get your academic credentials assessed and recognized for the purpose of employment in Canada.  Often Newcomers can’t practice their professions because they can’t/haven’t gone through the licensing process.  Many professions are regulated by the government (see assessment services in Canada) and the regulations may vary from province to province.  This site has links to the Canadian Certification for International Professions and to your Licensing Body – The Law Society of Upper Canada.

You will also find a link to The Canadian Association of Social Workers. For information about Toronto, look at http://www.communityinfotoronto.org.  It is a detailed site that covers health, education, legal rights, housing and employment.

For information on the Jewish community in Toronto, you can visit JIAS (Jewish Immigrant Aid Services) or http://www.feduja.org (United Jewish Federation)…”