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#ImmigrantsWork: A Collective Approach to Co-Designing Solutions for Immigrant Inclusion

Closing the talent gap and ensuring skilled immigrants and refugees successfully transition from arrival to settlement and employment is critical to economic competitiveness and social cohesion. Communities that put the unique experiences and needs of newcomers at the centre, taking a collaborative approach that brings together settlement agencies, municipal governments, workforce development stakeholders and industry/employer-facing organizations/employers, are better positioned to welcome newcomers and reap the benefits of immigration.

In 2020, World Education Services launched #ImmigrantsWork, a collective action initiative that seeks to activating employers for immigrant employment in local communities in Canada. The initiative mobilizes employers with community stakeholders in co-design activities that lead up to the identification and development of locale-specific solutions that take roots in the communities in the long run. Following a successful pilot that witnessed the launch of Employer Playbook: Strategies for Immigrant Inclusion in Canadian Workplaces, a digitized and localized employer resource that covers practical strategies to bolster immigrant inclusion throughout recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and integrating of immigrant talent, the initiative is now in Phase 2 with five partner communities joined from across Canada.

The panel will explore lessons learned from the #ImmigrantsWork initiative. Panelists will discuss the core conditions that made the initiative successful, and challenges faced in the process. Participants in this session will be invited to share insights on how to develop a roadmap for communities wishing to develop lasting collective action solutions to issues around immigrant and refugee socio-economic integration.

Speakers:

• Jodi Bucholtz, Manager, Local Immigration Partnership, Lanark & Renfrew (TBC)
• David Yan, Senior Manager, Employer Solutions, WES
• Daniel Cervan-Gil, Associate Director, Employer Initiatives, WES

Unlocking Opportunities: Facilitating newcomer and refugee integration through evaluating credentials

With demographic shifts, increasing immigration, and an evolving economic landscape, our cities are changing. As newcomers arrive in our municipalities, they bring with them unique perspectives, skills, and cultural richness. However, there are significant challenges in the economic and social integration of these newcomers into our communities.

Join World Education Services (WES) to discover the crucial role Ontario’s social service providers can play in empowering newcomers, including refugees, to thrive in Canada.

For 50 years, WES has set the standard for assessing academic credentials from over 48,000 institutions across 203 countries and territories worldwide. For those who have faced displacement due to adverse circumstances in their home countries and consequently possess limited proof of academic achievements, WES offers an alternative through the WES Gateway Program.

This session aims to delve into the significance of evaluating credentials and explores how we can work collaboratively across sectors to support newcomers, particularly forcibly displaced people, in building a successful future in their new home country.

Speakers:

• Shamira Madhany: Managing Director, Canada, and Deputy Executive Director of WES
• Beatrice Kohlenberg: Associate Director, Program Delivery and Integration, Global Talent Bridge, WES Canada
• Deborah Childs, Director, Strategic Partnerships, WCG Services
  

Resources

• World Education Services Presentation - Unlocking Opportunities: Facilitating newcomer and refugee integration through credential evaluation