Employment centres touted a link between immigrants and jobs.
Mukitul Khan speaks about getting a job through the Skills for Change-Employment Centre while Don Valley West MPP Kathleen Wynne and Glen Murray, Minister of Training, Colleges and University look on during a visit to the centre Friday.
Staff photo/DAN PEARCE
Mukital Khan had faith luck would be on his side when he left Bangladesh and moved to Toronto in August.
A telecommunications engineer in his home country, Khan wasn't deterred when people told him that without Canadian experience, he wouldn't find a job in Canada.
Shortly after arriving in Toronto, Khan learned of Skills for Change, an Employment Ontario organization that helps immigrants and those re-entering the workforce find jobs.
Khan learned how to write a resume for the Canadian market, how to handle himself in job interviews and how to network.
Khan sent out up to 15 resumes a day for four weeks with no luck. Then, at the five-week mark, he received three calls for job interviews.
He found work with Huawei, a global information and communications technology solutions provider, as a telecommunications engineer - the same position he held in Bangladesh.
Khan shared his story at the Skills for Change centre during a visit from Don Valley West MPP Kathleen Wynne and Glen Murray, minister of training, colleges and universities, who were on hand Friday, Jan. 27 to highlight the importance of such centres in the province.
"New immigrants need to be out there," Khan said at the Gateway Boulevard centre. "People do want to help you."
Wynne acknowledged the diversity of people who call the city home, noting services need to be in place to get individuals, especially immigrants, into the workforce.
"Skills for Change is all about practical support people need," she said.
Organizations such as Skills for Change give the sense everyone is working toward a common goal, Murray said, adding 52,000 people have gone through the centre for second career assistance.
"We are here to celebrate that," he said.