Ontario removing workplace language barriers

April 22, 2008 12:15 PM

McGuinty Government Supports Newcomer Success In the Workplace

Ontario newcomers can work and learn English or French at the same time through an innovative program funded by the province.

Community agencies and employers are partnering with fifteen school boards across the province to deliver job-specific language training for newcomers. The training will give newcomers the opportunity to strengthen their language skills so they can land jobs that reflect their qualifications or function more effectively in jobs they currently hold.

More than 2300 newcomers will benefit from the training, which is being funded with a $3.4 million Ontario government investment.

This innovative training responds to the needs of employers in a number of sectors, including:

Accounting, business and finance
Information Technology
Engineering and manufacturing
Health care, home care and nursing

QUICK FACTS

Each year, 30% of adult immigrants (about 28,000 people) arriving in Ontario cannot communicate in either English or French, and the remaining 70% have varying proficiency.
Today’s immigrants are highly skilled. Over two-thirds of recent working-age immigrants have post-secondary education or training.
The Ontario government invests more than $50 million per year in adult English and French-as-a-second-language training.