2010 ALLIES Learning Exchange: Suzanne Gordon - Bridging Programs
1. Ontario Bridge Training Programs
Building a better bridge:
Working to support newcomer success
Suzanne Gordon
Labour Market Integration Unit
Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
2. Presentation overview
1. Context for bridge training in Ontario
2. Evolution of bridge training in Ontario
3. Key components of successful bridge
training programs: Lessons from Ontario
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4. Immigrants in Ontario’s labour force
30.0%
• 30% of Ontario’s
Ontario ‐ 30%
25.0% labour force are
Canada ‐ 21% immigrants.
Percent of Labour Force
20.0%
• 55% of Canada’s
15.0% immigrant labour force
is in Ontario.
10.0%
• 40% of Canada’s
5.0%
immigrant labour force
is in the Toronto
0.0%
CA NF PE NS NB QC ON MN SK AB BC Census Metropolitan
Very Recent (< 5 yrs) Recent (5 ‐ 10 yrs) Established (> 10 yrs)
Area.
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey – January 2010 5
5. Trends that affect bridge training in Ontario
Immigration trends
• Immigrants arriving in Ontario are highly educated:
– Nearly half of the immigrants that landed in Ontario in 2008 held an
undergraduate degree or higher qualification.
• The proportion of immigrants arriving in Ontario intending to work in a
regulated occupation has declined in recent years:
– In 2008, 8.3% of arrivals intended to work in a regulated occupation, down from
12.1% in 2004.
Economic trends
• Economic outcomes of newcomers have been declining in recent years
– Immigrants are more likely to be under- or unemployed than the Canadian-born.
• The recent economic downturn disproportionately affected Ontario, and its
recent immigrants
– Over half of recession-related employment losses in Canada occurred in Ontario.
– At the peak of the recession, unemployment rates for recent immigrants were
twice that of Canadian-born Ontarians.
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9. Bridge training: Moving towards workforce
integration
Licensure Employment
Pre-Licensure
Workforce Integration
• Retention • Employee and employer satisfaction
• Promotion • Career advancement
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10. Categories of bridge training programs
• MCI funds bridge training programs in the following three categories:
1. Getting a License – Provide training to assist internationally trained individuals to
obtain licensure and employment in regulated professions.
2. Getting a Job – Provide training to assist internationally trained individuals to
obtain employment in non-regulated professions, as well as individuals who have
already obtained licensure and are now seeking employment.
3. Changing the System - Initiatives that create change on a system-wide or sector-
wide basis to improve the integration of internationally trained individuals into the
labour market.
• Since 2003, nearly 200 programs have been funded, totalling over $145 million, serving
more than 35,000 skilled newcomers.
• Wide range of targeted occupations and delivery partners.
• New projects are proposed through an Invitation for Proposals (IFP) process.
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11. Bridge training:
A broad continuum of services
Bridge training for employment
Occupation-
Specific
Language Canadian
Training Job Search
Assessment of: Work
Labour Academic Resume
Prior Learning Experience
Market Training Interview
Work Experience Orientation
Orientation Orientation Networking
Language Skills Job
Workplace Mentorship
Placement
Culture &
Communication
Target
Employment
Workforce Integration Networking Mentorships
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12. Bridge training:
A broad continuum of services
Bridge training for employment Bridge training for licensure
Occupation-
Specific
Language Canadian EXAM
Training Job Search
Assessment of: Work Workplace
Labour Academic Resume
Prior Learning Experience Qualification Practice/ Internship/
Market Training Interview
Work Experience Orientation Recognition Clinical Apprenticeship
Orientation Orientation Networking
Language Skills Job Practicum
Workplace Mentorship
Placement Licensure/
Culture &
Certification
Communication
Target Target
Employment Registration
Workforce Integration Networking Mentorships
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13. Bridge training: Supporting systemic change
Ontario bridge training projects targeting systemic change can involve:
• Research and gap analysis
• Development of assessment tools and procedures
• Capacity building
Regional Newcomer Employer Networks (RNENs) in Toronto, Niagara, Ottawa and
Waterloo are helping more than 500 Ontario employers to attract, hire and retain skilled
newcomers in their communities.
TRIEC model HIO model
• Strategic outreach to raise • Local collaboration
employer awareness
• Direct connection between
• Employer toolkits, workshops employers and immigrant-
and conferences serving agencies
• The Mentoring Partnership • Employment results
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14. 3. Key components of bridge training
programs: Lessons from Ontario
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15. Success factors in developing effective
bridge training programs
• Effective program design
– Target a specific occupation
– Recruit the right participants
– Provide program flexibility and support innovation
– Consider financial access
• Measure and clearly communicate success
• Build and maintain strong partnerships
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16. Effective program design: Key services
• MCI’s Invitation for Proposals (IFP) process sets out a program design model
• Successful programs offer a range of modular components:
– Assessment and recognition
– Academic and technical training (i.e., “hard skills”)
– Workplace culture and communication training (i.e., “soft skills”)
– Occupation-specific language training
– Work experience (e.g., internships, mentorship, clinical placements)
– Employment services (e.g., labour market orientation, job search skills, interview
preparation)
– Licensure exam preparation
– Workforce integration (NEW)
• Target a specific occupation
• Ensure that participants have appropriate language skills
• Allow flexibility to support innovation
• Consider student financial aid options during program design
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17. Effective program design:
Build strong partnerships
PROVINCIAL MINISTRIES
AND AGENCIES
FEDERAL EDUCATIONAL
GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS
NEWCOMERS
COMMUNITY EMPLOYERS
ORGANIZATIONS
OCCUPATIONAL
REGULATORY BODIES
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18. Effective program design: Measure success
• The three IFP application categories have allowed LMI to develop clear,
straight-forward performance measures to better assess and
communicate the benefits of bridge training for participants.
• Key performance measures include the number of internationally
trained individuals who:
– Access and complete bridge training programs
– Get licensed in their occupation
– Find employment in their field.
• LMI can also quantify the individual impact of bridge training programs
targeting systemic change.
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19. Effective program design:
Communicate results
Keys to communicating the impact of bridge training:
• Develop clear, easily understood performance measures
• Use plain language to articulate:
– Program descriptions
– Licensure and employment outcomes
– The benefits of bridge training to Ontario
• Focus on success at:
– The program level
– The individual participant level
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20. Communicating project success
Focus: licensure & employment outcomes, meeting Ontario’s labour market
needs
Pharmacy
• The International Pharmacy Graduate (IPG) Ontario Bridge Training
Program at the University of Toronto has improved the pass rate on the
pharmacy licensure exam from 20% to 92%.
• The IPG program has an employment success rate of almost 100%, helping
to meet Ontario’s demand for qualified pharmacists.
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21. Communicating individual success
Focus: Successful transition from unemployment/under-employment to high-
skilled, professional level employment
Engineering
• Bharat Kumar Karki came to Canada from Nepal with a Master of Science in
Civil Engineering and 15 years work experience. He had been in Canada for 1.5
years and could not obtain employment in his field. Thanks to the Engineering
Connections bridge training program delivered by Humber College, he is now
working as a Highway Engineer for Engconsult Limited In Toronto.
Optometry
• Clara Patricia Hernandez-Luna had a private optometric practice in her native
Colombia and was also a university professor. Thanks to the International
Optometric bridge training program at the University of Waterloo, she is now a
licensed optometrist in Ontario.
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