October 2016  NEWSLETTER
We start the month of October highlighting the achievements of the last fiscal year. On September 22nd we held our Annual General Meeting and Business Leadership and Partner Appreciation Awards at the Toronto City Hall Councillors Member Lounge. The night was marked by amazing stories from our winners and their association with Skills for Change, as well as an increased number of attendees. As part of our commitment to transparency, we make available this newsletter to inform you about our services and finances.

This month we have celebrated ongoing success in our Employment Ontario services. These workshops, job fairs, and information sessions have helped our clients to succeed in their professional lives. We are keen to share one particular highlight with you: our Seasonal Job Fair. At this year's fair, numerous attendees connected with Hiring Managers from diverse companies based in Toronto. Stay informed about our employment related events by visiting our website's calendar.

Meanwhile, our IRCC settlement and language training services continue to advance in providing support to the newcomer Syrian community. Our program for Syrian Refugees Youth and Newcomers has been providing information sessions about education, culture, and workplace environment in Canada.

See below for more details about these programs and services. We also encourage you to contact us at communications@skillsforchange.org for more information about our work.

At Skills for Change we continue to reaffirm our client-centred values. Our programs and services are constantly re-designed to meet the new and unaddressed needs of more recent immigrants and refugees. In the past month, our client-centred focus was specially visible in the Trades Win Support Program and Youth initiatives that you will read about in this message.

Warm regards,

Surranna Sandy
Chief Executive Officer

 Annual General Meeting & 
Business Leadership and Partnership Appreciation Awards
Thank you for joining us at our Annual General Meeting and Business Leadership and Partner Appreciation Awards. Your ongoing participation helps us to ensure transparency in everything we do. This is the third consecutive year in which we were able to maintain a surplus in our finances. We celebrated the success of our Employment Ontario and IRCC settlement and language training services. Read more about the highlights of this fiscal year and previous ones in our  Annual Reports.
Successful Seasonal Job Fair 
Our Seasonal Job Fair, in partnership with the City of Toronto, was held on September 15 at the Golden Mile TESS office in Scarborough. Participants had access to training, education, and various employment programs and opportunities available through the City of Toronto and Skills for Change. The event was a huge success with local job seekers getting the opportunity to meet face-to-face with hiring managers from Old Navy, Winners, Subway, Hudson's Bay, G4S, and OPP.




Syrian Refugee Youth Program: Education Circle 
Skills for Change is running a program for Syrian Refugees Youth and Newcomers between the ages of 16-29 until the end of September. The program delivered a Syrian Education Circle session on September 16, 2016 for 21 Syrian Refugee Youth living in the Mississauga area. This session included topics on Immunization, requirement to graduate from high school (credits, volunteering), school culture and cross-culture communication, volunteering opportunities and after school programs.



The participants were very engaged in the sessions, asked questions and were very interested in continuing to receive support services from Skills for Change. Check out all the pictures of this event on our Facebook.

Link to Employment
LINC
Want to improve your English? Learn Canadian culture and participate in field trips throughout the GTA. Language Instruction for Newcomer to Canada (LINC) levels 4/5 and 6/7 is the answer. Session 3 is in progress (ending October 28, 2016) and Session 4 will commence on October 31, 2015. LINC runs on continuous intake. We offer child care through the Care for Newcomer Children (CNC) program for LINC participants with children from 19 months to 5 years of age. Registrants must be assessed by the YMCA to be eligible for the LINC program.

Please contact  Faduma Muse at
fmuse@skillsforchange.org or call 416-658-3101 ext. 229

ELT
Are you an Internationally-trained Engineering/IT or Retail Sales Management professional? Learn Canadian workplace culture, sector-specific terminology and prepare to secure employment in your profession through our Enhanced Language Training (ELT) program. The current session commenced on September 6, 2016 and will end on October 7, 2016 . The next session will commence on October 11, 2016 . Registrants must be assessed by the YMCA to be eligible for the LINC program.

Contact  Denada Likaj at dlikaj@skillsforchange.org or 
416-658-3101 ext. 206.

Settlement
Are you new to Canada and looking for settlement advice in the GTA? Our Settlement Workers will be happy to meet with you and your family to discuss your settlement needs, refer you to services and appropriate support, and prepare an action plan to ensure you are on track to reach your settlement goals.

Contact one of our Settlement Workers:
416-658-3101

Lynda Davey-Longstreet at ext. 232,
Mentoring for Change
Have you completed an employment preparation program? Need to increase your networks? Still having trouble finding employment? Are you an internationally-trained professional? You may consider getting matched with a mentor in your profession. Mentors can coach and guide you through the Canadian workplace culture or answer questions.

Want to become a Mentoring Champion?
As a Mentor, you can help job seekers in various ways: Enhance communication skills, sharpen job search techniques and provide guidance to access community information and resources. Consider the rewards of helping to develop others through mentoring.

Mentoring for Change: Connecting Professionals
In today's busy environment, it is important for you to establish positive and strong connections that can last a lifetime.

Please join us for a Dynamic Networking event! 

Featured Presentation: "Making the Right Connections"!

Date: Thursday, October 20, at 6:00pm
Contact  Rosaline Graham at
416-658-3101 x264

Trades Win Support Program Update
The Trades Win Support Program provides training and employment support to internationally-trained tradespersons: electricians, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics, industrial millwrights and plumbers. The program is delivered from our Peel (Brampton) and York (Markham) locations and consists of employment preparation (including occupation-specific language training) delivered by Skills for Change and technical hands-on training delivered by our training partners Humber College or Stanford International College. Additional supports include: mentoring, work experience placements and job development support.

We are currently recruiting for the following sessions:
Millwrights (433A) - December
Electricians (309A, 442A) - December

Contact Details
Peel (905) 595 1679 ext 103
York (905) 764-0202 ext 101
Email: tradeswin@skillsforchange.org
Trades Expo 2016
Join us for interactive exhibits, employment opportunities and information on skilled trades training program.

Save the Date!
November 24, 2016
At Metro Hall Toronto
Step Ahead Program Successful Close
Running from February to September 2016, the Step Ahead program provided 24 youth from the Jane-Finch community with dance, leadership, and entrepreneurship training to access employment, business, and volunteering opportunities. The Step Ahead program was made possible through the Toronto Foundation's 2015-16 Vital Youth/Playing for Keeps grant.
You can read about the results of this program on our website's blog.
Kids Greening Toronto
Check out all the pictures from our initiative to bring awareness about sustainability in the Jane/Finch community on our Facebook page!
Skills for Change


       Building Welcoming & Equitable Communities