Many non-profit and community organizations are actively involved in facilitating the integration of immigrants into the Canadian labour force. These organizations include:
Across Canada, there are over 235 immigrant-serving agencies and community organizations that are actively involved in facilitating the settlement and labour market integration of immigrants. Along with offering traditional employment preparation for immigrants, many agencies provide leadership in innovative partnerships with governments, regulatory bodies, other community agencies, educators and other stakeholders to deliver programming that addresses both systemic and practical barriers to FCR and integration. Immigrant-serving organizations, both individually and collectively, play a critical role in macro-level analysis, advocacy and policy dialogue, as well as micro-level project delivery, training and advocacy.
The following are some national associations of immigrant serving agencies and community organizations that play a role in the labour market integration of immigrants.
The Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
CISSA is an alliance of provincial and national organizations that represent 450 immigrant and refugee settlement agencies from across Canada. CISSA harnesses the expertise of the immigrant settlement sector, and is the sector’s national voice to help build a Canadian society in which all immigrants and refugees are able to participate fully.
The Canadian Coalition for Community-Based Employability Training (CCCBET)
CCCBET is a national, non-profit organization whose membership is comprised of appointees from provincially chartered community-based training associations which provide a range of services in their communities, including vocational and career assessment, job skills training, language instruction, literacy and numeracy training, and employment preparedness and placement. CCCBET organized a Pan-Canadian Sector Council & Immigrant Dialogue in 2005 to enhance the labour market participation of immigrants in Canada. Click here for the report on this event.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada manages a web site, Integration-Net, which has a Links section that provides listings of settlement and integration-related Web sites of organizations in Canada and abroad. These listings can be searched by category (eg. Education), and/or by location (e.g. Alberta).
The provincial listings below provide specific links to agencies that are currently involved in initiatives of note.
Alberta
The Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers provides integrated bridging programs for internationally trained workers.
British Columbia
Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of British Columbia:
AMSSA is an affiliation of more than 80 multicultural agencies providing immigrant settlement and multicultural services in communities throughout British Columbia. AMSSA is involved in The Employment Access Strategy for Immigrants (EASI), a coalition started in 2003 to build a more integrated system to better support the needs of skilled immigrants seeking entry into the workforce. EASI provides counselling, settlement support and referrals, and its immigrant-serving agencies also partner formally and informally with training institutions for specific training services.
ASPECT is a network of community-based trainers in B.C. ASPECT is presently delivering IMMPowerBC, the only province–wide program that is designed for skilled immigrants and internationally trained professionals.
The Multicultural Helping House Society is a non-profit society dedicated to helping newcomers – individuals and families to integrate into the community. Its Bamboo Network program aims to provide a fast track to employment for skilled immigrants
Ontario
The Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) was formed in 1978 to act as a collective voice for immigrant-serving agencies and to coordinate response to shared needs and concerns. OCASI worked with the Access to Professions and Trades Unit at the Ontario Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities to develop 3 E-Career Maps. These maps provide relevant and accurate information to assist skilled newcomers in accessing licensing information for three occupations: architects, chartered accountants, and teachers (elementary and secondary school).
The Consortium of Agencies Serving Internationally-Trained Professionals (CASIP) is a collective of eight agencies serving internationally-trained professionals with the shared vision of improving access for skilled immigrants to employment in their professional occupations. In partnership, it delivers services to support skilled immigrants to access their professional fields of expertise. Some services and programs include sector-specific enhanced language training,The Mentoring Partnership, and Career Bridge internships.
Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO) is a non-profit service agency that has been assisting immigrants and refugees with settlement issues since 1978. OCISO offers Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC), a Settlement to Employment Mentorship (STEP) program, and job search workshops.
Ontario Network of Employment Skills Training Projects, (OneStep) is a province-wide umbrella organization for the community-based training and employment (CBTE) sector. ONESTEP held a conference in 2006 on Skills, Jobs & Immigrants: Who’s Working? What’s Working?
A number of associations have formed to represent internationally-trained professionals who are themselves seeking fair and equitable access to their licensed professions. These include:
Other non-profit organizations also play a role in facilitating the labour market integration of internationally-trained works. These include:
- The Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB)
CCLB is the centre of expertise in support of the national standards in English and French for describing, measuring and recognizing second language proficiency of adult immigrants and prospective immigrants for living and working in Canada.
- Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment (CAPLA)
CAPLA is an association for the advancement of prior learning assessment and recognition in Canada. As the only national organization dedicated to the recognition of prior learning, CAPLA has developed considerable expertise in a wide range of areas connected to PLAR. Its network of practitioners, advisors and assessors can be found in communities of every province and territory in Canada.