Welcome to Canada: Get Newcomer Employment Services

So, you’ve arrived in Canada. Welcome. Let’s get you started in your life here whether you’ve already got some plans in place or you need help getting settled in your new community.

If you’re not sure what you’re supposed to do once you get to Canada, there’s help for newcomers in eastern Ontario. It can be scary moving to a new country. That’s why Ottawa’s YMCA in eastern Ontario has developed post-arrival programs for newcomers to Canada. If you don't already have a job lined up, you can get help to find work within your skillset or train for something new to fit what’s available in the community you choose to live in.

Skilled Trades Can Provide Fulfilling Jobs for Immigrants

In Ontario, you can be an apprentice in trades, getting paid for in-class work and learning on the job. Pre-apprenticeship programs in horticulture and landscaping and home renovation qualify you for joining a team or eventually running your own business in these booming sectors (underemployed current Canadian citizens are eligible for these apprenticeship opportunities, too).

As a pre-apprentice, you can also upgrade your English-language skills within the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board so you can better communicate in the community. 

Here’s how the free home renovation and horticulture and landscape pre-apprenticeship programs prepare newcomers for work in these skilled trades:

1. Twenty-four weeks of technical training (home renovation) or 10 weeks (horticulture and landscaping) plus eight to 12 weeks of paid work placement so you can get experience and get paid;
2. Technical, academic and pre-employment preparation so you understand the theory and develop hands-on skills while gaining general workplace knowledge; and
3. Training that includes First Aid & CPR-C, WHMIS, Working at Heights, and Worker Health and Safety Awareness so you’ve got these transferable skills that are essential to many different trades and workplaces.

Even better, your textbooks, toolkits, and safety equipment are provided, and if you need to complete a high school diploma you can do it too.

Other Programs to Qualify Immigrants for Work Here

The Power of Trades is a free program that offers non-technical, pre-employment training over six weeks to help newcomers find jobs and keep working in a skilled trade.

If you’re not interested in a trade but want to train for work as a newcomer to Canada, you can choose from these two programs as well:

• The Destination Employment Training Program gets you ready for a hospitality job with training that prepares you for work in Canadian hotels so you’re up to speed on expectations and standards here. It’s free too.
• Your Job Story - Youth Employment Program is for youth ages 15 to 30. Over 10 weeks, marginalized youth will be guided through overcoming barriers to employment or pursuing life goals. You’ll learn how to search for a career you want while developing life and leadership skills. Plus, you’ll get paid while you plan for your future.

Download this guide to help you find programs to reskill for the job you want as a newcomer to Canada.

1. https://www.ymcaywca.ca/employment-immigrant-services/services-for-job-seekers/pre-apprenticeship-horticulture-training-program/
2. https://www.ymcaywca.ca/employment-immigrant-services/services-for-job-seekers/pre-apprenticeship-home-renovation-training-program/
3. https://www.ymcaywca.ca/employment-immigrant-services/services-for-job-seekers/power-of-trades/
4. https://www.ymcaywca.ca/employment-immigrant-services/services-for-job-seekers/destination-employment-training-program/
5. https://www.ymcaywca.ca/employment-immigrant-services/services-for-job-seekers/your-job-story-youth-employment-program/