PROJECT PARTNERSCatholic Community Services of York Region, COSTI, Job Skills, Ministry of Training, Colleges and

Universities, Seneca College, Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council & York South Simcoe Training and Adjustment Board, March 3, 2010

Employment Ontario programs are funded in part by the Government of Canada

Welcome Project’s goals Information we gathered Key findings Commitment to action

Get ahead of the rapid changes in York Region so we can continually improve local supports & services

Improve employment outcomes for newcomers in York Region as one key to increased prosperity

Build on information already available from other reports, studies and coalitions to broaden our understanding of issues and identify potential partners in action

Involve many groups (government, newcomers, agencies, employers, others with an interest in labour market issues) in identifying systemic factors behind employment challenges

Develop commitment from a range of groups to act on our report’s recommendations and improve employment outcomes for newcomers

Fast growing community in Ontario - between 2001 and 2006, York Region’s labour force grew by 22% (163,458 people

Immigrants accounted for almost 60% of this growth or 96,735 people

Nearly half of the growing population are recent immigrants who arrived between 2001 and 2006

In 2006 and 2007, York Region had the 3rd highest number of total immigrants in Ontario after Toronto and Peel

Places of birth for immigrants in York Region – Eastern Asia (26%), Southern Europe (14%), Southern Asia (12%), Eastern Europe (10%), West Central Asia & the Middle East (9%)

Top 5 occupational groups for immigrants that came to York Region in 2007:Natural & Applied Sciences, Engineers and Related; Managerial, Administrative, Government & Financial; Medicine &Health; & Literary, Artistic, Cultural and Related Fields

Top industries in which York Region residents worked in 2008 – Business Services (21%) Manufacturing Industries (13%) Retail Trade – includes all retail stores, retail

auto and building supply dealers, gas stations, and non-store retailers (12%)

Health care Social assistance F.I.R.E. (finance, insurance, real estate) Business services Retail trade Education services(all sectors listed doubled their employment totals

over the last decade)

In 2008, estimated 495,000 jobs and 29,500 employers

By 2031, the Region estimates that there will be 780,000 jobs (annual increase of 2%)

Why the continued growth – area (space) to grow in, skilled workforce, tax incentives, York Region heavily promotes York as a great place to do business, investments in transit, housing and other social services

The following 10 key findings came from the interviews, focus groups, community meetings that we have held – they are the top areas of change that people thought have to happen in order to improve employment results for newcomers.

1.Access to programs and services (transportation and time of day and days per week when services are provided)

2.Settlement and integration (including employment that reflects education and experience) is a long term, multi-year process

3.Need for accurate, comprehensive information on programs and services that is easily accessed and available to the newcomer at an appropriate time in their integration and career development process

4.One lead staff person for each newcomer – to help with navigating through the steps -requires a well sequenced (little or no lag between each service) range of services

5.Employment staff need specialized knowledge of common occupations of newcomers

6.Increased co-ordination, collaboration and communication among services providers to prevent duplication, share program and research information, fine tune referral processes and to address emerging needs

7.One time client assessment that is portable or a shared database of client records

8.Connections to employers in all services offered to newcomers ( internships, co-ops, volunteer placements as a component of programs)

9.Supports in the workplace to help newcomers keep and grow in their jobs

10.Involvement of newcomers in the planning, design and delivery of newcomer services

1.Business Connections: Broaden and enhance activities which bring businesses in regular contact with agency staff and newcomers – goal of helping businesses to better understand how newcomers play a role in economic success.

2.Information Access: Improve access (for newcomers, businesses, agency staff and the general public) to clear, current information on newcomer programs and services that will meet the employment needs of newcomers and recruitment and staffing needs of businesses.

3.Community Connections: Improve communication and co-ordination among settlement and employment service delivery professionals through the use of proven techniques (tools, professional development and other processes).

4.Occupation –Specific Services: Offer select support services focused on the most common newcomer occupational groups (examples include: Financial Services, Information and Communications Technology, Health Care and Applied Sciences).

Enhanced Language Training programs Immigrant Information Services (mobile) Mentoring Partnership & Hire Immigrants Practice Firms (Simpressions & Pieces of

History) Welcome Centre, Vaughan

The workshops held between January and March 2010 help to address several of the report’s recommendations.

To download the report, please go to:http://www.ysstab.on.ca/english/

We have heard that there is a need for staff in service provider agencies with specialized knowledge of the common occupations of newcomers – what do you think about this? And how would we go about making this kind of change in York Region’s employment sector?

Clients should be provided with one case manager to help them achieve their employment goals? Is this happening in the organization you work at – yes or no? If not, how would such a practice be implemented – what changes would organizations need to make in order to do this?