Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada continues to be a safe and welcoming destination for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Immigration continues to be the government’s top priority program as it serves as one of the major drivers of the country’s economic growth, and it will remain so in the future. Newcomers and immigrants bring their culture, but also their skills, talents and ideas. In 2019, Canada welcomed over 340,000 permanent residents, including 30,000 resettled refugees. Over 402,000 study permits and 404,000 temporary work permits were also issued.
The re-opening of the economy and the lifting of COVID-19 related restrictions will potentially hasten the coming of new immigrants to Canada. This would mean more resources from the community is needed to help them settle with their families. This is when they are going to need our help. You can help by volunteering as a mentor for the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC).
TRIEC addresses the persistent problem of immigrant underemployment – when highly skilled immigrants come to Toronto and end up in low-skilled jobs. They make sure that Toronto benefits from the untapped potential of immigrants, rather than not utilizing the skills and experience that they have to offer. Among the TRIEC’s programs, the Mentoring Partnership program is the most proven successful strategy to get skilled immigrants closer to meaningful employment. The program matches recent skilled immigrants with mentors in their field, and has now facilitated over 10,000 mentoring relationships between skilled immigrants and established Canadian professionals.
To learn more how to become one of their mentors, visit their webpage at triec.ca.
