Mentoring Skilled Immigrants

November 30 2004 - A new mentoring program that matches skilled immigrants with established professionals who share the same occupation has been launched at a meeting of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC).

The Mentoring Partnership, an alliance of corporate partners and community agencies, will provide occupation-specific mentoring to skilled immigrants in the City of Toronto, Peel Region and York Region. Mentoring is regarded as an important part of the settlement process for new immigrants, helping to:

* Close knowledge gaps

* Create links and relationships

* Support immigrants so that both they and Canada's labour market can benefit from their immense talent.

"Most people have had a mentor at one time or another, and know that it is very important in the working world," said David Pecaut, a member of the Circle of Champions, a group of prominent civic leaders who are themselves mentoring skilled immigrants. "For immigrants, who come here without any networks or connections, it can mean sink or swim in their job search. If we want to use the expertise and knowledge that immigrants bring with them to Canada, there has to be a way to get them into a job, and past the barriers they face. Mentoring is one way to do this."

Deloitte is one of the corporate partner bringing mentors to the program. "Strength from diversity is an important value at Deloitte," said Yezdi Pavri, GTA Managing Partner at Deloitte. "We are excited about being a part of The Mentoring Partnership and how our people are helping immigrants improve their access to employment and fully participate in the community."

Joe Volpe, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, who announced funding for The Mentoring Partnership said: "HRSDC is committed to this initiative. We will continue to support projects like the Mentoring Partnership which improve connections and networks for skilled immigrants and lead to enhanced access to the Canadian labour market."

A complete list of the Mentoring Circle of Champions, corporate partners, and participating community agencies, is available at: www.thementoringpartnership.com.