Backgrounder

Para los que están a punto de irse a Vivir apara Canadá o a los recién llegados, creo que le puede servir de algo este artículo tomado en la siguiente dirección.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/press/04/0411-pre.html

Saludos

BACKGROUNDER

Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Enhanced Language Training Initiative

In 2001, 60 percent of immigrants to Canada had post-secondary education compared to 43 percent of Canadian-born adults.
However, one year after arriving in Canada, university-educated immigrants earn less than half the salary of Canadian-born
workers with a post-secondary education. It can take up to 10 years for university-educated immigrants to match their
Canadian-born counterparts in earnings.

Research has shown that language proficiency is a determining factor in how quickly immigrants integrate into the labour
market. Current training provides immigrants with the language skills required for social interaction and employment in service
and industrial contexts where advanced language skills may not be required. The Enhanced Language Training (ELT) initiative
will provide higher levels of language skills that will help immigrants enter and remain in the labour market, especially in
information intensive positions for which many skilled immigrants have training and experience.

Higher levels of language training will be offered in large centres and will expand to many small centres that are currently not able to offer these services. This will support Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s objective to encourage immigrants to settle in smaller centres. ELT projects must include a cost-sharing and partnership plan that will contribute at least half the costs in the form of funds, in-kind contributions, services, tools or facilities. Service delivery projects must also include access to internships, or temporary or permanent work placement opportunities, and a mentorship component to enable skilled immigrants to meet peers and begin developing a network in their chosen field of employment.

Permanent residents, refugees and individuals granted temporary resident permits to facilitate their early admission to Canada
are eligible for training under this initiative. Newcomers are encouraged to speak with settlement service providers who can
properly refer them to delivery agencies in their region.

The 2003 federal budget allocated $5 million a year for the ELT initiative. The 2004 federal budget invested an additional $15
million a year to expand ELT projects, for a total of $20 million a year. The ELT initiative is an important component of the
Government of Canada’s efforts to attract highly skilled workers and ensure more successful integration of immigrants into the
economy and the communities. Other measures include facilitating the development of effective processes for the recognition of
foreign credentials and prior work experience, and the provision of better information to prospective immigrants.

EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS FUNDED IN 2003–2004

Many of the projects funded in the first year of the Enhanced Language

Training initiative involve research to provide a national picture of the language training needs of newcomers. They also address language training in specific fields, such as accounting, engineering and nursing.

Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, British Columbia.

The project, Skilled Immigrants and Labour Market Access in the Capital Region, will conduct a needs assessment, environmental scan, and facilitated strategic planning process involving a broad range of stakeholders to build regional capacity to address the labour market integration of skilled immigrants in the Capital Region District.

SUCCESS, Richmond, British Columbia.

The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive strategic plan to increase the employment of skilled immigrants among
construction contractors.

Young Women’s Christian Organization (YWCA), Calgary, Alberta.

Twenty-two skilled immigrants will enrol in the Canadian Employment Skills Program under this project. The program provides training in English language skills, cross-cultural communication skills, and the soft skills necessary for immigrants to obtain and maintain employment. The program includes six weeks of classroom training, a 10-week unpaid work experience placement, and job search assistance.

Success Skills Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Three courses for professional engineers, managed by a training contractor, are delivered out of Success Skills Centre, Winnipeg. Internationally trained engineers enter at Canadian language bench levels 7/8. Most of the participants plan to register
at the university in the courses required by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geophysicists of Manitoba. The course focuses on the English needed to meet the expectations of an academic setting as well as on professional communications skills. In addition to class room instruction, the course materials are available to another group of 20 engineers
who receive Web-based tutoring.

Graybridge-Malkam Cross-Cultural Training, Ottawa, Ontario.

This project will analyse the recruitment needs of the Ottawa Police Service, create assessment tools covering four language
competencies and develop curriculum guidelines for police officers.

Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks, Ottawa, Ontario.

This project will provide a national tool to help internationally educated nurses determine if they are ready to take the Canadian
English Language Benchmarks Assessment for Nurses, which is required by provincial nursing regulators.

Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Ontario.

This project will develop and test a comprehensive nursing-specific language curriculum.

Inter-Cultural Neighbourhood Social Services of Mississauga, Ontario.

This project will develop a curriculum for customer service, entrepreneurship or managing a small business, administrative and
clerical assistants, and environmental careers. The curriculum will include components of English language instruction specific
to professions in the four identified areas of the labour market, job search preparation, work placement and mentoring.

Halifax Immigrant Learning Centre (HILC), Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The HILC will manage two pilot projects. The first will help international nurses find jobs and settle in Nova Scotia, while the second will collect data on the gaps and needs of the health care sector in the province and examine resources, programs and
best practices.