I am sure many of us would like to take advantage of this program:


Career Bridge called success
Foreign-trained interns hired in Canadian organizations

One likens experience to finding `glass of water' in desert


NICHOLAS KEUNG
IMMIGRATION/DIVERSITY REPORTER

An internship program that's designed to provide foreign-trained professionals with Canadian work experience has proven so successful that it's here to stay.

The pilot project, called Career Bridge, will be officially launched at Toronto's National Club on June 17 by 150 company CEOs and Toronto Mayor David Miller.

The program helps newcomers get their feet in the door of Canada's job market, its program director says.

Twenty-six of the 51 interns have completed the Career Bridge program that was started last November by the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council. Among them, 85 per cent have secured permanent employment in professional fields related to their previous training and experience.

"We are really delighted with the result and our hosts (the employers) are telling us how happy they are with the skills and value the interns have been able to provide and add to their organizations," said program director Barbara Nowers.

Of the 26 interns who completed the program, 14 have been hired by their Career Bridge host organizations and eight have found employment elsewhere. Although the remaining 25 internships are incomplete, many of the interns have had their placements extended up to one year.

Career Bridge ended a six-month pilot project in the spring that involved screening 1,300 people to fill paid internships offered by 30 employers. Participating employers included Bell Canada, BMO Financial Group, the Hospital for Sick Children, Motorola and Procter & Gamble. Municipal governments, including Toronto, Markham and York Region, are also participating.

Nowers said an eight-year veteran banker from Indonesia described her job search experience as "wandering on a desert" and the internship opportunity as "a glass of water" she found in the desert. The woman has completed the program and has been hired as permanent staff at a big-five Canadian bank.

The program was designed to break that "no Canadian experience, no job; no job, no Canadian experience" cycle that hinders many of the qualified and skilled immigrants in gaining employment related to their training and education.

It is open to any foreign-trained professionals with a minimum three years of international work experience who have lived in Canada no more than three years. All candidates have to go through a stringent screening process, including language and technical knowledge in their respective fields, to have their credentials certified.

The initiative, with a $550,000 start-up fund from the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, plans to offer a minimum of 150 new internships by March 31, 2005. It is supposed to be financially self-sustaining when the government aid ends in 2006. After that, the program will be fully supported through a delivery fee paid by each participating employer.

The program's Web site is at http://www.careerbridge.ca.

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"Change before you have to" : Jack Welch

Arre Biomed Bhai,

Good info yaar, but jara dekh ke chalo, website is not working yaar.

Is the program working?


Timon

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"The grass is not, in fact, always greener on the other side of the fence. Fences have nothing to do with it. The grass is greenest where it is watered. When crossing over fences, carry water with you and tend the grass wherever you may be"

oooops I did not check the web site.. maine socha sarkari site hai to chal hi rahi hogi

Anyways keep this information in your records, I am sure website would be up and runnnnnnning sooooon.

Thanks and regards.
Biomed

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"Change before you have to" : Jack Welch