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."