NEWS

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

QUOTES

“This initiative gives newcomers the language skills they need to land jobs and excel in the workplace,” said Michael Chan, Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

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. 

LEARN MORE

Find a language training class that suits your needs here.

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Contacts:
Coralie D'Souza,  Minister’s Office, (416) 325-6204
Michel Payen-Dumont, Communications Branch, (416) 314-7010

• Backgrounder - Occupation-Specific Language Training