Immigration has long been one of the pillars of Canada’s strategy to diversify and grow its economy. The government’s #ImmigrationMatters campaign highlights its advantages, chief among which are contributing to the economy and creating jobs for Canadians, supporting an aging population, and filling labour-market needs. It’s no surprise, though, that due to unforeseen circumstances of the past year, 2020 saw a record drop in immigration to Canada: after border restrictions took effect in April, Canada’s population saw its lowest growth in a first quarter since 2015.
In October, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marco Mendicino tabled the government’s 2021‒2023 Immigration Levels Plan, which sets out a path for responsible increases to immigration targets to help the Canadian economy recover from COVID-19, drive future growth, and create jobs for middle-class Canadians.
With over 95% of Canadians living within 50km of their local college or institute, many of those newly arrived in Canada can benefit from specialized language-training, skills upgrading, bridging programs, and special services offered by colleges and institutes to strengthen their potential for success:
- Humber College offers specialized short-term training programs to help newcomers upgrade their skills and connect with hiring employers, including bridging programs such as the .NET Developer Program (for information technologies), the Supply Chain Bridging Program, and the Engineering Bridging Program.
- The School of Immigrant and Transitional Education at George Brown College offers specialized programs and services that help immigrants prepare for next steps to employment or further education. The college’s Mentoring Partnership also connects students who are recent immigrants with a Mentor in their field.
- The four-week Automotive Installer course at Nova Scotia Community College is a fast, customized training program for new Canadians designed in collaboration the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia.
- The new Ready to Teach program at SAIT is designed to create a skills bridge for internationally educated post-secondary educators who wish to continue to their teaching careers in Canada in just eight weeks.
- The Newcomer Booster is a two-week program that prepares international and newcomer students to start their studies at NAIT: students engage with self-paced online learning materials, build on their learning in facilitated online sessions, and engage in community building through peer and staff interactions.
- Designed as part of the joint Refugee Employment Development Initiative, the Manufacturing Production Worker Program at the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology helps newcomers in Winnipeg improve their English language skills and provides them with a pathway into employment.
- Just last month, College of the North Atlantic received funding to establish an Economic Immigration Ideas Lab that brings together leaders in communities, business, labour and post-secondary education to incubate new approaches to recruit and retain immigrants to the province.
- At Collège Boréal, new immigrants to Canada can take advantage of specialized language training in both English and French with the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC), and Occupation-Specific Language Training (OSLT) programs.
- The French for new immigrants program at Collège Montmorency provides language training as well as an introduction to the unique history, geography, economy, and social and cultural lives of their new host communities.
- And, in partnership with the regional municipalities of Sources and Val Saint-François, Cégep de Sherbrooke has been working to facilitate work and study placements that encourage international students in high-demand fields like industrial technologies to stay and work in the region after graduating!
When newcomers are given the tools to succeed, all of Canada benefits. In the context of the pandemic, newcomers to Canada – including those who came to Canada as international students – will be especially important to kickstarting recovery efforts and meeting current and future labour-force needs across the country.
- Ahead of the federal government’s next budget, we recommended investing $75M over three years to maintain Canada’s competitive position as an international study destination and facilitate student transitions to the labour market and citizenship.
- Our white paper, COVID-19 and Beyond, also highlights how Canada can leverage the full capacity of colleges and institutes to build a recovery-ready workforce, drive innovation, and support sustainability.