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tive careers, educators and employers
have a role to play in this as well.
Career colleges form an impor-
tant link in the process. As a result of
assessing foreign credentials and help-
ing newcomers decide on alternate ca-
reer paths, career colleges are respon-
sible for putting place a lot of the steps
that go into supporting newcomers
when they come to their new country.
The National Association of Ca-
reer Colleges (NACC), with its close
to 500 member career colleges across
the country, is mobilizing to work with
settlement agencies, organizations
helping immigrants and others with a
vested interest in easing the transition
for newcomers to Canada. This pro-
cess will identify those who may need
some support and lead them through
the system.
The work done by career colleges,
along with the work done by other
educational partners, will help guide
newcomers through a process that
could direct them to alternative, but
meaningful, careers in a domain that
they had initially chosen back in their
original country.
The other part of the equation is
the employer sector.
Employers are concerned about
the shortage of skills in our country.
They have raised this through a num-
ber of organizations that have made
their views known. Many organiza-
tions representing employers have
also advocated for better rules for the
Temporary Foreign Workers program.
In 2012 there were over 210,000 tempo-
rary foreign workers admitted to Can-
ada. However, the program will likely
see a decrease in the number of entries
in the next few years due a public
backlash following media stories ear-
lier this spring.
Therefore, other solutions have
to be found. Employers need to work
more closely with the education sector
to possibly identify the skills short-
ages and then remedy the situation by
helping some newcomers to our coun-
try bridge the required gap from their
foreign training to the occupations that
need to be filled.
The Government of Canada will
be helping with the soon to be defined
Canada Job Grant”. The Grant ($300
million per year) will encourage em-
ployers to invest in training programs
for new employees. They will see their
investment matched by the federal
and provincial governments (one-third
each). While details are still to come, it
is expected that this funding will be in
place by 2014. This guarantees that em-
ployers will be getting qualified and
properly trained employees for their
businesses.
To make all this successful, what
is required is effective partnering. For
many years, career colleges in Canada
have successfully partnered with busi-
nesses to develop programs that fit the
needs of particular sectors, including
specialized training.
Career colleges are perfectly
suited to address the evolving and
developing needs of businesses. As
businesses themselves, career colleges
understand the need for flexibility, de-
liverability and responsiveness. They
are able to work directly with com-
panies and entire industries to ensure
that the programs developed meet the
needs of the employers who keep our
economy humming.
The National Association of Ca-
reer Colleges is launching into an am-
bitious project that will see career col-
leges reach out to employers and work
with them to identify skills gaps and
help them work with our members to
bridge them. Should employers be
interested in more information, please
contact me at
.
NACC