News Release

November 6, 2006

MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT PROVIDES NEWCOMERS WITH GREATER ACCESS TO CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, TRAINING
Employment Ontario Is Ontario’s Employment And Training Network

MARKHAM — Employment Ontario will provide newcomers and internationally trained individuals with employment training where and when they need it, Chris Bentley, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, and Mike Colle, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, said today.

Bentley and Colle were attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Markham, where JVS Toronto is opening one of three new sites providing Employment Ontario services for adults, with a special focus on helping newcomers.

“We’re on the side of newcomers who want the opportunity to succeed,” Bentley said. “We want newcomers to our province to be able to quickly pursue their chosen careers and strengthen our communities.  Employment Ontario provides a single point of access to coordinated training services that help people achieve their goals.”

“Our goal is to provide user-friendly access to employment training for newcomers,” said Colle.  “When newcomers arrive with global experience in Ontario, Employment Ontario will be available to help them contribute their knowledge and expertise to our economy."

Approximately 125,000 newcomers arrive in Ontario each year. The majority are highly trained — more than half of those arriving in the past two years have university degrees — but many struggle to find jobs that match their skills and abilities.  Employment Ontario’s job services help over 15,000 newcomers a year develop pathways to employment commensurate with their education and skills.

Employment Ontario provides seamless, coordinated training, apprenticeship and labour market services, bringing together about 470 service providers in almost 900 locations funded by the government of Ontario.  Today, the McGuinty government is launching:

• A new program name – Employment Ontario, Ontario’s employment and training network – to better reflect the integrated nature of the system and what it will deliver
• An easy-to-use new website [www.ontario.ca/employmentontario] with updated training and employment system information and access to a database of programs and services in communities across the province
• A toll-free hotline number – 1-800-387-5656 – with expanded call centre capabilities for all related services
• New multilingual web access, with program information in 21 languages in addition to English and French

“Every year, a growing number of skilled immigrants decide to call Markham their home,” said Mario G. Racco, MPP Thornhill.  “Employment Ontario’s expanded services will give newcomers the tools to contribute significantly to our province’s economy.”

Helping newcomers find the training and jobs they need are just two of the ways the McGuinty government is breaking down barriers impeding internationally trained individuals in Ontario.  Other initiatives include:

• Negotiating the first ever Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, which quadruples federal spending on language training and settlement services to $920 million over the next five years
• Investing over $34 million in more than 60 bridge-training programs, helping thousands of newcomers improve their language skills, prepare for exams and work in their field sooner
• Introducing Bill 124, the proposed Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act which, if passed, would help break down barriers facing newcomers seeking to work in their fields by mandating fair and transparent registration practices for 34 regulated professions
• Investing $130 million annually in services that help newcomers settle, find jobs and housing, learn English or French, and access community resources – more than any other province

“By helping newcomers used their skills and talents we help them succeed,” said Bentley, “and that makes Ontario succeed as well.”

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Contacts:
Sheamus Murphy
Minister’s Office
(416) 325-7215

Tanya Blazina
Communications Branch
(416) 325-2746

Public Inquiries:
416- 325-2929 or 1-800-387-5514
TTY:  1-800-263-2892