Newcomers hope to fill workforce gaps
Immigrants Working Centre preparing some to take part in Hamilton’s LRT construction
The Immigrants Working Centre is training newcomers to fill gaps in the local workforce, with an eye to preparing some to be part of Hamilton’s planned LRT construction.
Participants in the WorkLINC construction program — a sixweek workplace preparation course for newcomers — are learning about the $1-billion project and what jobs might be available in the five years it’s expected to take to build.
“We see newcomers as being a really important part of that (LRT) workforce,” said IWC’s assistant director Elizabeth Webb. “Newcomers are ready to work. They’re bringing tons of experience and skills.”
Where the settlement service organization comes in is to help build soft skills and knowledge of the English language, with a focus on industry terminology in particular.
Another goal is helping newcomers get access to employment opportunities and land jobs once they graduate.
Since WorkLINC launched in 2016, 161 participants have finished the program and 67 have found work afterward at local companies including Niko Apparel Systems, Solid Welding Inc. and Miska, said Eman Elmasri, employment specialist for the program.
Seventy-six per cent of the program’s participants are Syrian refugees who have arrived in
Hamilton since 2015, said IWC executive director Ines Rios.
Finding a job in the local workforce is the key to newcomers putting down roots in the community, said Uzma Qureshi, IWC’s director of employment services.
“They’re coming here so appreciative and thankful to be in a country like Canada, and they want to build their roots here,” she said.
Sami Alakal is eager to do just that.
The 34-year-old Syrian native
arrived in Hamilton from Jordan in February 2016 with his wife and now three-year-old son.
Having previously worked for 11 years as a home renovator, Alakal wants to get back into the industry and perhaps start his own company where, one day, he could hire other newcomers.
“Now I need help. In the future, (I’ll) help anybody.”
Alakal said he would jump at the opportunity to work on the LRT project, with construction expected to get underway next year, because it would make him
“feel that he really built Hamilton” — the city that will offer a “safe future” for his son.
The Immigrants Working Centre is part of the Hamilton Community Benefits Network, which is negotiating with provincial transit agency Metrolinx to ensure skilled marginalized populations, including newcomers, make up a portion of the workers hired for professional, administrative and technical roles on the LRT project.
The Hamilton-Brantford Building and Construction Trades Council is also a member of that group and working alongside IWC and Mohawk College on a provincially-funded initiative to provide training to newcomers based on gaps in the local job market and the skills they have to fill them.
This recent funding from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration will help expand on what’s being taught in WorkLINC, which is also offered for the food and manufacturing industries, and take training for newcomers to the “next level,” said the IWC’s Webb.
“We have funds to provide training based on what the participants specifically need,” she said.
The up to $570,000 in provincial money will cover courses in trades numeracy, workplace communication and required certifications like operating forklifts and other heavy equipment, Webb added.
What’s unique about this new partnership — set to launch in May — is that it is open to refugee claimants, where WorkLINC is only available to permanent residents.
This will fill a gap for those who have made a claim but are waiting for it to be processed, which can take up to 18 months, said Webb.
“We see people who really want to work.” she said.
“They want to build their life here. They want to build their financial independence. They want to contribute.
“That’s a long time to sit and wait if you can’t access this type of service.”
Those interested in the new program have to apply.
For more information, contact IWC’s main office at 905-529-5209.
‘‘ Newcomers are ready to work. They’re bringing tons of experience and skills. ELIZABETH WEBB,
IWC’s assistant director