ACCES EMPLOYMENT2018-2019

ANNUAL REPORTBUILDING OUR

FUTURE WORKFORCE

LEADERSHIP REPORT

As an organization, ACCES takes pride in the quality of

our services and our ability to innovate and generate

results for all of our stakeholders. ACCES’s role has

always been to bring together jobseekers, newcomer

entrepreneurs, businesses, government funders and

program partners in a model that applies a coordinated

and collaborative strategy to enable employment and

business success. ACCES looks for opportunities to

leverage our expertise and best practices to support

jobseekers looking for work, newcomers starting a

business in Canada, and employers and business

partners seeking skills and talent for their workplaces.

Collaboration between all of our stakeholders has

been key to our success; it has created the foundation

for increasing the effectiveness and relevance of our

services in the context of constantly changing workforce

needs. At the same time, our specialization in serving

newcomer jobseekers and entrepreneurs has never

been more critical than today, as Canada faces growing

skills gaps and shortages in our labour market.

Recently, Canada was recognized internationally

by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD) for our leading model of

economic immigration and for the success that we

have experienced in the management of this model.

Yet despite this leading role, we know that there are

still significant barriers faced by many newcomers

to Canada to successfully integrate into our labour

market. The programs and services offered by ACCES,

funded by the government and supported by a growing

number of corporate partners and donors, remain

critical and essential for newcomers to overcome

those barriers. Furthermore, these services must be

coordinated and seamless between organizations and

across communities, particularly for more vulnerable

populations such as youth, women, and refugees, who

face multiple challenges beyond employment.

ACCES has achieved significant results this past

year, serving over 35,000 jobseekers and newcomer

entrepreneurs across all of our programs and services.

Through our Employment Ontario services, 86% of

our jobseekers found employment or achieved their

training objectives. Collectively, our sector-specific

bridging programs supported 84% of participants to find

employment in their field within one year. This past year,

ACCES has also continued to expand our online programs

and services including our Electrical Engineering

Connections program, Business Connections en Francais

and our pre-arrival program, Canadian Employment

Connections is now serving entrepreneurs before they

arrive in Canada.

This past year was also significant in terms of building

and extending our employer partnerships. Our newest

location in Markham is a collaborative partnership

between ACCES and RBC Meeting Place – helping

newcomers with employment, settlement and financial

advice. We also launched a new program, Women in

Technology, supported by the TD Ready Challenge, which

will help newcomer women to transition into jobs in the

programming and IT field.

Finally, to reflect our ongoing commitment to service

excellence and adapting to change, we undertook a

process to refresh our brand this year. This will ensure that

ACCES remains highly visible and relevant to all of our key

stakeholders. We are excited to introduce our new logo

through this annual report, and new branding elements

and messaging over the coming year.

We would like to acknowledge the support of our current

funders, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities;

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; United

Way Greater Toronto; and the City of Toronto. Thank

you for your ongoing commitment and confidence

in the strength of our services and programs. We also

acknowledge and thank all of our leading employer

partners, sponsors and donors for their generous support

this year.

We are pleased to present our 2018-2019 annual report,

Building Our Future Workforce, to emphasize the active

role that each of us plays in contributing to the success

of jobseekers and newcomer entrepreneurs as they look

for connections to employment and business. Only by

working together can we address the needs of employers

and businesses in Canada where the skills and talent of

those we serve are essential for our country to thrive.

ALLISON POND PRESIDENT & CEO, ACCES EMPLOYMENT

JOHN SHIELDS CHAIR OF THE BOARD, ACCES EMPLOYMENT

VISIT WWW.ACCESEMPLOYMENT.CA TO VIEW THE FULL DIGITAL VERSION OF OUR ANNUAL REPORT.

TORONTO 416.921.1800 SCARBOROUGH 416.431.5326 MISSISSAUGA 905.361.2522 NORTH YORK 416.443.9008 BRAMPTON 905.454.2316 MARKHAM 905.840.2660

HOW ACCES MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE

“Empowering Women

allowed me to meet with

other professional women

in the financial industry.

These individuals have been

through similar challenges.

Listening to these women and

participating in networking

sessions was very encouraging

and helped to build my self-

confidence.”

“Through the YJC program, I

had the opportunity to meet

a lot of hiring managers to

use my new interview skills.

It was at one of these hiring

events that I met my current

employer. Without the

preparation and guidance

from ACCES I wouldn’t have

been as confident in my

interview. I thank ACCES for

helping me to be successful

in my journey.”

“Everyone comes to Canada

with a resume but I came

with a business plan! Through

the Entrepreneurship

Connections® program at

ACCES I was able to get the

information I needed, build

connections and source

funding opportunities. I

successfully launched my

business three days before the

program completed.” 

SUCCESS STORY ARDITA DRAGUSHA, PRODUCT AND SERVICES MANAGER, SBI CANADA BANK LEADERSHIP CONNECTIONS AND EMPOWERING WOMEN ALUM

SUCCESS STORY TENZIN DAWA, STORE SUPERVISOR, VRPLAYIN YOUTH JOB CONNECTION ALUM

SUCCESS STORY DEBASHISH KUNDU, FOUNDER & GROUP CEO, ASTERID GROUP INC.  ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONNECTIONS® PROGRAM ALUM

RESULTS FOR JOBSEEKERS

EMPLOYMENT ONTARIO RESULTS

SECTOR-SPECIFIC BRIDGE TRAINING PROGRAM RESULTS

RESULTS FOR ENTREPRENEURS

ACCES’s integrated service model allows us to target and

customize our employment services to meet the unique needs

of our jobseekers. In 2019, we continued to deliver strong results

across all of our programs and services.

ACCES delivers Employment

Ontario services across five

locations.

ACCES also offers industry

focused programs that address

labour market shortages in the

Construction Trades, Hospitality

and Healthcare sectors. ACCES

works collaboratively with industry

partners to deliver the programs.

ACCES offers programs serving the following sectors:

Cybersecurity, Engineering,

Electrical Engineering, Financial

Services, Human Resources,

Information Technology,

Leadership, Sales and

Marketing and Supply Chain

TOTAL NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL JOBSEEKERS SERVED IN 2018-2019

OF JOBSEEKERS FOUND EMPLOYMENT OR ACHIEVED TRAINING OBJECTIVES

TOTAL NUMBER OF JOBSEEKER VISITS

TOTAL NUMBER OF WORKSHOPS DELIVERED

TALK ENGLISH CAFÉ SESSIONS OFFERED TO HELP NEWCOMERS IMPROVE THEIR ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CONVERSATIONAL SKILLS

OF JOBSEEKERS WOULD RECOMMEND OUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

OF SECTOR-SPECIFIC PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WERE EMPLOYED IN THEIR FIELD WITHIN ONE YEAR OF PROGRAM COMPLETION

ACCES PROVIDED SUPPORT TO

ENTREPRENEURS TO START THEIR BUSINESS IN 2018-2019

35,000

148,472 2,636OVER 450

150+

“The pressure that comes with migration can erode an

individual’s self-confidence. ACCES was my North star,

giving me hope and confidence while equipping me

with the resources to understand the subtle nuances

of the Canadian workplace. I am proud to be an ACCES

alumni and will continue to devote my time, amongst

other resources, to the ACCES network.”

SUCCESS STORY KELECHI UZOMA , PROJECT MANAGER, BANK OF MONTREAL (BMO) LEADERSHIP CONNECTIONS PROGRAM ALUM

IN-PERSON 74,528 ONLINE 73,944

IN-PERSON 2,236 ONLINE 400

CLIENT DEMOGRAPHICS

TOP 10 COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN (OUTSIDE OF CANADA)

We provide employment services and programs to individuals from

diverse backgrounds with a broad range of professional experience.

1. INDIA

2. NIGERIA

3. PAKISTAN

4. CHINA

5. SYRIA

6. IRAN

7. BANGLADESH

8. BRAZIL

9. PHILIPPINES

10. JAMAICA

TOTAL NUMBER OF LANGUAGES SPOKEN BY ACCES JOBSEEKERS

1. POST GRADUATE 40%2. BACHELORS DEGREE 34%3. HIGH SCHOOL 11%4. CERTIFICATE/DIPLOMA 10%5. OTHER 5%

EDUCATION LEVEL OF JOBSEEKERS THAT WE SERVE

BUSINESS, FINANCE, ADMINISTRATION 31%

SALES AND SERVICE 14%

MANAGEMENT OCCUPATIONS 13%

NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES 11%

SOCIAL SCIENCE, EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT SERVICE 8%

HEALTH OCCUPATIONS 7%

OCCUPATIONS UNIQUE TO PROCESSING, MANUFACTURING 6%

TRADES, TRANSPORT AND EQUIPMENT OPERATORS 5%

OCCUPATIONS UNIQUE TO PRIMARY INDUSTRY 3%

ART, CULTURE, RECREATION AND SPORT 2%

OCCUPATIONAL BACKGROUND OF OUR JOBSEEKERS:

OF JOBSEEKERS WE SERVE ARE NEW TO CANADA

JOBSEEKERS SERVED ARE YOUTH BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15-29

88

1 IN 3

“The team at ACCES were invested in my success.

They were very supportive and provided me with

valuable critical feedback which helped me

fine tune my interview and presentation skills.

The Cybersecurity Connections program was

phenomenal and it provided me with strategic

tools to find my dream job!” 

SUCCESS STORY CHRISTINE KONERI, SENIOR SECURITY CONSULTANT, IBM  CYBERSECURITY CONNECTIONS PROGRAM ALUM

ABOUT OUR EMPLOYERS

EMPLOYER VOLUNTEERING

INNOVATIVE EMPLOYER PARTNERSHIPS

ACCES works closely with our employer partners to achieve

shared success in a variety of ways. We connect our jobseekers to

employment opportunities and we collaborate with employers

to develop innovative programs. We create opportunities for

employers to participate in our services as expert guest speakers

and mentors to our clients.

FUNDING SUPPORT PROVIDED BY IMMIGRATION, REFUGEES AND CITIZENSHIP CANADA

TOTAL NUMBER OF EMPLOYERS WE WORK WITH

TOTAL NUMBER OF VOLUNTEER HOURS CONTRIBUTED BY ALL VOLUNTEERS AND MENTORS

TOTAL NUMBER OF SPEED MENTORING® EVENTS

TOTAL NUMBER OF MENTORS

TOTAL NUMBER OF MENTEES

2300+

3800+114 1789 2151

“In working with ACCES we

learned what we needed to

do inside Starbucks for both

our store and hiring managers

and for refugee candidates.

If it weren’t for ACCES’s program,

I don’t think we would have

the success we do.”

“This new co-location is about

taking things to a new frontier.

This is a great example of

us trying something new,

something that benefits in

the end, ACCES clients and

potential RBC clients.”

“BDC’s relationship with ACCES

is long-standing and has

allowed us to reach newcomer

entrepreneurs in a highly

significant way – by supporting

them to start their business at

the earliest steps when they

arrive in Canada. We have always

been impressed with the level

of talent available for recruitment

from ACCES programs and are

proud to support the work of

the organization.” — ROSS ANDERSON, HEAD OF SOCIAL IMPACT AND PUBLIC POLICY, STARBUCKS

— MICHELLE COWAN, REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, RBC

— SHARON CONNOLLY, VICE PRESIDENT NEWCOMER ENTREPRENEUR SUCCESS TEAM (NEST), BDC

STARBUCKS AND ACCES PARTNER TO EMPLOY REFUGEES AND NEWCOMER YOUTH

ACCES AND RBC PARTNER IN A CO-LOCATION TO SERVE NEWCOMERS AND JOBSEEKERS IN YORK REGION

COLLABORATION WITH BDC TO BUILD BUSINESS SUCCESS FOR NEWCOMER ENTREPRENEURS

(SPEED MENTORING®, SPEED MENTORING® EN FRANÇAIS, THE TRIEC MENTORING PARTNERSHIP AND THE CONNECTOR PROGRAM)

— ANDREA BARRACK, GLOBAL HEAD, SUSTAINABILITY & CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP, TD BANK

BUILDING OUR FUTURE WORKFORCE

TECHNOLOGY READY THE RIGHT SKILLS FOR OUR FUTURE WORKFORCE

EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT: ACCES AND THE TD READY CHALLENGE CONNECT WOMEN TO THE IT SECTOR

ACCES recognizes the importance of continuous change and

innovation in order to meet the evolving needs of our stakeholders.

ACCES is seizing every opportunity to adapt and align our service

model to emerging needs and trends.

ACCES has responded to the

increased pace of change

brought on by technology and

innovation by developing new

programming that prepares

jobseekers for in-demand

jobs in the technology sector.

This past year, we launched

Cybersecurity Connections

and the Women in Technology

program.

At the same time, technology

allows us to deliver services

through different channels, to

reach a wider audience and

provide enhanced services for

jobseekers and employers.

This past year, we introduced

several new program

components to our bridging

programs. These 21st century

skills focus on growth

mindset, creativity, innovation,

problem solving and practical

applications of learning.

Program participants apply this

learning in real-life workplaces

through experiential learning

opportunities facilitated by the

Riipen platform.

In 2018, ACCES Employment was

named one of ten winners of the

inaugural TD Ready Challenge.

Through this grant, ACCES has

launched our Women in Technology

program to help newcomer

women train and connect to

in-demand roles in the IT sector.

Through a virtual job fair

organized by ACCES, Aadesh

Joshi connected with TD Bank

in Moncton, New Brunswick,

and is now working as a

Financial Analyst, Corporate

Lending.

“What we liked about the

Women in Technology program

was that it focused on a segment

of the population that is critically

important to Canada’s future

and that’s new Canadians and

immigrants. The program is

about helping women to secure

in-demand jobs that will lead

to economic stability for the

country and income stability for

their families.”

Sales and Marketing

Connections program

participant attends a Design

Thinking workshop delivered

by Abe Salam, Manager, Talent

and Organization, Accenture

Canada.

2019 WALK OF FAME WINNERS

This year, through our Walk of Fame Awards, ACCES is pleased

to profile the amazing success we have achieved in creating

and facilitating important mentoring opportunities. This award

recognizes mentors who have been exceptional in contributing their

valuable time and expertise to the success of our clients.

Congratulations to our Winners this year!

NAILA INAM, SENIOR MEDICAL ADVISOR, AMGEN MENTOR, HEALTHCARE CONNECTIONS PROGRAM

WASSEEM MAKHOUL , PARTNER MANAGER, CHIC CONTRACTING INC. MENTOR, ENGINEERING CONNECTIONS PROGRAM

DR. DEEPAK SHARMA , PROFESSOR MENTOR, HR CONNECTIONS PROGRAM

NICOLE JACKSIC, PROGRAM MANAGER & TEAM LEAD, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION, TD BANK GROUP MENTOR, EMPOWERING WOMEN PROGRAM

ABE SALAM, MANAGER, TALENT AND ORGANIZATION, ACCENTURE CANADA MENTOR, IT CONNECTIONS PROGRAM

MICHELLE WAY, MARKET VICE PRESIDENT, RICHMOND HILL, CIBC MENTOR, FINANCIAL SERVICES CONNECTIONS PROGRAM

CLAUDIA LE BEAU, BILINGUAL ACQUISITION SALES REPRESENTATIVE MENTOR, SALES AND MARKETING CONNECTIONS PROGRAM

MUHAMMAD SHAHZAD HAFEEZ , AVP, CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT, FINANCE, AVIVA CANADA INC. MENTOR, THE TRIEC MENTORING PARTNERSHIP, CONNECTOR PROGRAM

RYAN WILSON, SENIOR RECRUITER, ROYAL BANK OF CANADA (RBC) MENTOR, LEADERSHIP CONNECTIONS PROGRAM