SUMMER - aeipsuccess.ca · Her service companies offer everything from social media management, website design, video creation, SEO and full creative services. Ms. Wheelwright is

SASKATCHEWAN NEWCOMERS RECOGNIZED WITH AWARDS

ICTC: HELPING INTERNATIONALLY EDUCATED PROFESSIONALS IN THE ICT SECTOR

SERVING CLIENTS IN INDIA - AEIP’S OUTREACH SEMINARS

AEIP BEIJING OFFICE OUTREACH EVENT IN 3 CITIES

SUCCESS AEIP STAFF TRAINING

FROM INDIA TO TORONTO

TIPS FOR HAVING SUCCESSFUL LIFE IN CANADA: SUCCESS AEIP IS THE ANSWER

MY EXPERIENCE WITH AEIP BEIJING OFFICE

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SUMMERE D I T I O N

206 – 181 Keefer Place, Vancouver, BC V6B 6C1 Canada

aeipsuccess.ca [email protected] 604 893 8222


As an AEIP-supported newcomer to Saskatchewan, you have many employment opportunities. Starting your own business is one such opportunity. Square One-SREDA offer very useful support to newcomers who want to start their own business and help them excel in their business initiatives. Recently, five newcomers to Saskatchewan received awards from this organization for their excellence in business and entrepreneurship.

For the second year running, Saskatchewan newcomers were recognized for excellence in entrepreneurship. The Newcomer Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (NEYA) were held at the Sheraton Cavalier hotel in June, 2017. The Awards are given by the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA)’s entrepreneurship program, Square One. SREDA’s primary role is economic development in the province of Saskatchewan.

“SREDA’s role is to strengthen and grow the local economy by providing programs and services in the areas of business attraction and expansion; entrepreneurship support; regional economic development and planning; economic forecasting and analysis; and marketing the Saskatoon Region” in particular. SREDA’s entrepreneurship program, Square One and has a mandate to assist “Entrepreneurs with the first steps

in starting or expanding their business in Saskatchewan.” In addition, “Square One is a member of the Canada Business Network and is supported by Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD).”

The five awards, their recipients and sponsors are:

• Startup Category is for newcomer entrepreneurs operating a business for less than 3 years. This award, sponsored by Scotiabank was won by Smitaben Patel of the Press’d Sandwich Stonebridge, a business offering healthy food. Mr. Patel came to Canada from India in early 2010 and opened his café in 2016.

• Growth Category is for newcomer entrepreneurs demonstrating business growth. This award, sponsored by Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan, was won by Sara Wheelwright of S&E Trusted Online Directories Inc. Her companies strive to promote locally owned Saskatchewan companies that are run with integrity. Her service companies offer everything from social media management, website design, video creation, SEO and full creative services. Ms. Wheelwright is from the UK and started her series of businesses in 2011.

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• The U39 Category is also for newcomer entrepreneurs that can demonstrate business growth. This award, sponsored by the Business Development Centre, was won by Andrey Olinov of Complete Technologies, an outsourced IT company. Mr. Olinov moved to Canada from Moscow in 2009 and started his company 2 years later.

• Connect Category is for newcomer entrepreneurs operating a business for more than 5 years. This award, sponsored by Impact Marketing was won by Raj Kavia of Kavia Auto Body Inc. Mr. Kavia started his modern shop in 1986 after moving to Canada 3 years earlier.

• Employer Category is for businesses who successfully recruit and retain immigrant employees. This award, sponsored by Economic Development Regina was won by Thomas Siarkos of Memories Dining and Bar in Regina. Mr. Siarkos has sponsored many newcomers to Canada from around the world.

• NEYA Spirit award was won by Vincent Lu of Ground Yoga, Saskatoon. Mr. Lu moved from Taiwan in late October and started his very popular yoga studio in 2011.


In addition to the award winners, there were many other very deserving nominees, from restaurants to tailoring to carpentry to trucking to technology to eye examinations and to yoga. In total, 18 newcomer entrepreneur businesses were recognized for their excellence through nomination or awards. As you can see there are many opportunities and excellent help for you to start your own business in Saskatchewan.

In addition to the individual award sponsors, the awards were supported by the following sponsors: Government of Saskatchewan; Affinity Credit Union; Impact Marketing Services; Scotiabank; Shot-lock Media; WESK; BDC; FastPrint; Saskatoon StarPhoenix; Global Saskatoon; and News Talk 650 CKOM.

For more information, contact Erin Lawson, Director of Marketing and Communications, SREDA ([email protected]).

Written by: Ruth Epstein, Saskatchewan AEIP Representative

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ICTC: HELPING INTERNATIONALLY EDUCATED PROFESSIONALS IN THE ICT SECTOR

Since 2015, the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) in partnership with S.U.C.C.E.S.S through its Active Engagement Integration Program (AEIP) has been continuously working to provide services to Internationally Educated Professionals (IEPs) in the ICT sector.

For over two years, ICTC have constantly offered pre-arrival services to almost 300 AEIP ICT clients. These services include monthly webinars on the Canadian ICT labour market, resources, online tools including self-assessment, employment and career training programs. Depending on clients’ particular interests, they can gain access to both E-learning and self-assessment tools as well as the employment and bridge training programs.

One of the programs that AEIP ICT clients can access during their pre-arrival stage is the GO Talent program. It is designed to assist IEPs immigrating to Canada find employment in the IT sector while they are still in their home country. The initiative will prepare clients for the ICT workforce through informative training sessions with ICTC, employers, and also via tools available on ICTC’s website.

By registering to the program, IEPs will gain access to labour market information as well as our recently expanded job portal, the e-Talent Canada portal where IEPs can create their own profile. The portal also provides access to: resume and cover letter review-where an ICTC staff will provide feedback or comments necessary for you to improve your resume and cover letter, apply to job opportunities by our partner employers, receive an information technology professional (ITP) certification, which validates skills, work experience and education; and the potential to secure employment before arriving in Canada.

Additionally, the e-Talent Canada is a unique online interactive map that provides IEPs to dynamic labour market information. It also provides ICT job trends and tools pertinent to all sectors; highlights which jobs are in-demand; who’s hiring; wages and many other important factors from a national, provincial and municipal level. To receive employment resource and opportunities, register at: https://www.etalentcanada.ca/candidate-panel/candidate-registration/

IEPs can also access ICTC’s bridge training program - the Integrated Work Experience Strategy (IWES) that takes place in Ontario and is offered to IEPs who are searching for work in the ICT sector. The first component of this program includes a 3-week full-time, in-class skills based training in relation to job search strategies, networking, interview preparation and resume writing. Following the in-class portion, program participants are matched with a professional coach that can help guide/assist in achieving their career goals. An added bonus of this program is that participants will receive a SCRUM certification.

AEIP-ICT clients can reach ICTC in real time through one of our coordinators is located in the Philippines and is willing to connect with clients and provide assistance as needed. Through our remarkable partnership with SUCCESS AEIP, we continue to provide ICT-IEPs with the right tools, resources, and programs to succeed the Canadian ICT sector!

To learn more about ICTC’s immigration initiatives, please visit: https://www.ictc-ctic.ca/talent/#jobseekers

ICTC is a not-for-profit centre for expertise in the digital economy, helping to foster innovative and globally competitive Canadian industries that are empowered by a talented and diverse digital workforce.

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https://www.ictc-ctic.ca/

https://www.etalentcanada.ca/

http://www.newcomersictcareers.ca/

https://www.ictc-ctic.ca/



SERVING CLIENTS IN INDIA - AEIP’S OUTREACH SEMINARS

For Canadian newcomers living in India, moving to a new country is undoubtedly a daunting endeavor as with newcomers from any other country. There is often an overwhelming amount of preparation to do and without proper guidance, it is very likely that the newcomer will arrive in Canada without sufficient information to settle in Canada smoothly. Many newcomers from India, among newcomers from other countries, who found AEIP Pre-landing services on the IRCC website attended the on-site Pre-departure Orientation Seminars, later found it to be very helpful. Since 2015, AEIP has been conducting outreach seminars in a several cities in India including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Kochi. In 2017, we will be making AEIP services accessible in-person to clients living in Bangalore who will be making preparation for their move to their new homeland - Canada.

In these outreach seminars, we help the clients prepare by first understanding preparation for moving to Canada. This section is covered via our Pre-Departure Orientation seminar, which includes a general introduction to Canada and preparation for moving to Canada under three sub-topics: “Before arrival”, “After arrival” and “Living and working in Canada”. For most newcomers, the landing procedure, housing, healthcare, and schools are immediate areas of concern. In addition, we will also discuss topics like Canada’s geography, government, climate, social insurance card, banking and taxes. While topics covered in this session may not be of a wide variety and in detail due to time restriction, we still facilitate the clients to become aware of these topics, and help them know how to look for the right information during their own research or consultation sessions with our settlement practitioners.

Section two includes seminars on a specific topic in settlement, including Housing in Canada, Education in Canada, Canadian Child Tax Benefit, Permanent Residence and Citizenship. Many clients who have never travelled to Canada before are anxious about what to expect and how to best prepare for the move. AEIP comes in during this very needed transition period to help the clients learn about information regarding moving to and landing in Canada before they make their travel plans. This greatly helps them make an informed decision on their

preparation to move to Canada and gets them ready for their new life in Canada.

The third section is on Job Search in Canada, where a seminar on one of the topics of Canadian Labor Market, Resume writing skills or Interview skills is provided to the clients on site. This is the main concern of many new immigrants from India, most of whom are eager to find suitable employment upon arriving Canada. Finding a job is by far the most important challenge for most newcomers, so we dedicate an important section of the seminar on this topic. When sharing on the Canadian job market, we will provide information on getting Canadian work experience, searching for suitable jobs, accessing the “hidden job market”, and employment programs provided by social service agencies. We also introduce the Canadian style resume and the cover letter, and highlight the common mistakes that new job seekers in Canada often make. Interview skills common with Canadian employers are also shared with our clients. Since every newcomer will have different areas of concern in their job search, our settlement practitioners leave time at the end of the session to answer any questions they may have from a personal level. Due to limited time on the day of the seminar, our settlement practitioners will still be able to help the client later via phone or other means even after the seminar is over.

AEIP seminars held in India provide an opportunity for newcomers to learn about Canada. It is also a good way for them to meet other newcomers and make new friends who will help them feel more supported after they arrive Canada.

After the seminars, the newcomers have often reported that they have found the seminars to be very useful and that their confidence level has grown as a result of all the activities.

If you are one of the newcomers living in India, watch out for our upcoming seminars this summer! AEIP is coming to you!

Written by: AEIP Taipei Service Centre

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Guangzhou

On June 22, over 60 new Canadian immigrants attended a workshop organized by AEIP at the Consulate General of Canada in Guangzhou, which was the first stop of AEIP outreach activities. Bryan Wagner, Consul of Canada in Guangzhou, gave an opening speech and welcomed all the attendees on behalf of the Consulate General of Canada in Guangzhou. He spoke highly of the contributions that AEIP made to Canadian new immigrates services. In the following workshop of two and half hours, AEIP Beijing office gave a detailed interpretation of landing procedure for new immigrants. In the second half of the workshop, Luke, the manager of AEIP Beijing office and a licensed career counselor in Canada, gave an analysis of Canadian employment environment. The successful stories he shared of new immigrants getting jobs and starting their own businesses greatly inspired the new immigrants at the event.

Shenzhen

When the lecture in Guangzhou ended with warm responses from the new immigrants, AEIP organized a full-day outreach event for new immigrants in Shenzhen on June 24. Over 40 new Canadian immigrants attended this event. Tailored to the personal demands of local attendees, the outreach event included a workshop on education, covering topics from Canadian compulsory education to higher education.

This outreach event also organized various activities including a Farewell Party to give all attendees one hour for discussion where they learned the experiences and challenges they faced during the immigration application and landing preparation and shared their expectation of the new life in Canada. The attendees felt that the workshop was very useful and pertinent to the needs of the new immigrants.

Bryan Wagner, Consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Guangzhou, is giving a speech at the lecture in Guangzhou.

Maya Sun, AEIP Settlement practitioner, is introducing Canadian education system.

Luke, manager of AEIP Beijing office, is introducing Canadian employment environment to the new immigrants.

New immigrants at the pre-arrival session are sharing their experiences.

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SUCCESS AEIP STAFF TRAINING

Chengdu

On July 1, AEIP conducted a pre-arrival settlement lecture in Chengdu, introducing Canada, new immigrants landing procedure, Canadian education system, Canadian PR status and Family Class. This event was warmly welcomed by new immigrants! It was quite moving to know that not only did new immigrants in Chengdu come to attend this event, there were attendees coming all the way from Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Xi’an! After the lecture, AEIP settlement practitioners offered one-to-one consultation session for all the new immigrants who attended this event. The attendees said that they were very glad to have a chance for face-to-face communication with AEIP settlement practitioners. They learned more comprehensive and specific information for settlement than before and had more confidence in settling in Canada. They looked forward to the next outreach organized by AEIP!

Written by:Andrew Cho, Settlement practitioner/Employment SpecialistAEIP Seoul Service Centre

The annual AEIP Staff training was held in Seoul from May 17 to May 19, 2017. With staff visiting from Vancouver, Taiwan and Beijing, this training included various orientation and discussion topics including immigration policies of IRCC, partnership with settlement agencies, AEIP service improvement, staff capacity building, AEIP vision, and cultural understanding.

In order to provide better settlement support services to AEIP clients, staff reviewed the current service scopes and procedures one by one, presented best practices of each service centre, and shared clients’ settlement and employment success stories. Staff learned that each service centre have different methods of program promotion and service provision due to its unique social characteristics and culture. It was a great opportunity to learn the merits of each service centre. Staff also discussed their own workplace culture and etiquette.

For staff capacity building, a webinar was held with experts from SUCCESS Headquarters and a local university to instruct staff on general counseling, employment counseling techniques, research skills, and service outcome delivery. Through various team building games, a sense of teamwork and goal among staff was strengthened as well.

This training, after all, increased staff confidence in providing tailored client-centered services and practical settlement support services as staff came together in sharing the AEIP programs vision and enhancing their capacity.

Vivi Li, AEIP settlement practitioner is introducing Canada and new immigrants landing procedure to new immigrants in Chengdu.

Michael Zheng, AEIP settlement practitioner is introducing Canada education system to new immigrants in Chengdu.

Written by: AEIP Beijing Service Centre

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FROM INDIA TO TORONTO

My name is Manpreet Juneja and I am a new Canadian immigrant from India. The city of Toronto is my new home in Canada and it has been both exciting and challenging adjusting to new life in Canada.

Canada is a great country on a social, cultural and environmental front. The emphasis on social services and benefits are strong and supported directly by the government. Many of such program are funded by the government. Services such as AEIP specially targeted to new immigrants like myself while there are different settlement services in every communities that can offer support once landed in the country. Some may find it more helpful than others but it is important that these services are available to all of us when needed. With large number of immigrants in Canada, the cultural diversity is valued and treasured here. Immigrant population are also very helpful towards to each other and it makes starting a new life here easier with helps from them. It allows us a chance to learn from their personal experiences and most of them are happy to share their stories.

The climate in Toronto can be quite cold especially compared to my home country of India. However, the

people here are warm and that is what matters the most. The land of Canada is big and the population is sparse. Therefore, it is quite difficult for the transportation to be as efficient as some of the major cities in the world. Driving is essential in Canada and I would encourage all new immigrants to keep this in mind during their planning for the transition to Canada. The environment of Canada is also magnificent; the government of Canada make sure to preserve parks and greenery even in the city and not to mention the amount of nature you will get outside of the city.

Employment is always a challenge when you are in a new country. There are many things to adjust and many things to pick up. It will take time to make a transition into the employment market in Canada.

Lastly, Toronto is a city full of pets and it is a pet friendly city. For you all pet lovers, you will enjoy the life in Toronto. I hope all of you will enjoy your new life in Canada and Canada is definitely a place to look forward to.

Written by: Manpreet Juneja, India Outreach Client assisted by AEIP Taipei Service Centre

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TIPS FOR HAVING SUCCESSFUL LIFE IN CANADA: SUCCESS AEIP IS THE ANSWER

It has been 4 months since my husband and I arrived in Canada. Since 2014, I became associated with the AEIP Seoul Service Centre. I participated in the AEIP workshops and volunteered for about a year. Then, I travelled the world for another year and finally arrived in Vancouver 4 months ago. Upon arriving, I received my SIN from Service Canada, installed internet, found a place and got tenant insurance and called BC Hydro for electricity bills. After completing all these, I really feel I am living in Vancouver.

I faced my challenges as immigration and immigrant life became reality. But, I overcame the challenges relatively easily because I was well-prepared before the departure as I consistently attended the AEIP workshops for a year. For me, the 1-day Employment Connection Program was especially useful because I made a resume and practiced interview. Also, I learned about important Canadian culture and values. For example, I discovered that soft skills are much more significant in Canada than in Korea. From the AEIP financial workshop, I learned that cheques are commonly used in Canada and there is a monthly bank fee for having bank account. If I was not oriented about these before my departure, I would have been very confused. There are many workshops offered in Vancouver by S.U.C.C.E.S.S. as well, but since I was already very well-educated from the AEIP Seoul Service Centre, I did not need to take more but just focus on my settlement.

As a permanent resident, you are eligible to apply for some benefits. It is also important to file income tax even if you do not have income since MSP fee is waived for low income families in BC. If you were in the AEIP workshop, I am sure you already know about this.

Another thing I did right after landing was volunteering for ‘library champion’ as recommended by the AEIP Seoul Service Centre. This is for new immigrants to learn and promote public library, network with fellow new immigrants and receive reference from the program coordinator. I have heard about the importance of reference so many times

from the AEIP workshops but I did not know where to go. So, my choice was volunteering at a library.

I heard that there are 4 stages for immigrants. The first stage is honeymoon, in which you are excited as a tourist. The second stage is culture shock as you become aware of different culture and you get home sick. The third stage is gradual adjustment in which you begin to have peace, humour and balanced mind. When you overcome all these, the last stage is feeling at home. In this stage, you really accept Canada is your home and take both positives and negatives. Which stage are you in? I sometimes feel I am in all four stages simultaneously as I am still settling in. This is normal for new immigrants and I think you just need to have courage and march forward persistently. Canada then will open its doors for you.

Written by: Hyesun An, AEIP Seoul Service Centre Client

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MY EXPERIENCE WITH AEIP BEIJING OFFICE

This has been the coldest winter in Canada over the past several years. Just a few days ago I went out for a run, getting some feel of the coming spring, and yesterday a rare blizzard came, which reminded me of a children’s book I read when I was a kid, The Tough Winter. Just as what depicted in the book, everyone in this tough winter will snuggle up at home and think of the old days, just like those bunnies. After work, I came back home and got my pen and paper ready to look back my experiences of the past half year in Canada. I wrote to express my feelings and to refresh my Chinese.

Why immigrate and why Canada? I believe every immigrant will have his or her own answer to these questions. Yet this is not what I want to discuss here. In 2015, a friend introduced me to a new immigration service agency in Beijing, the AEIP Beijing office. I then went to visit its official website and found there were Chinese services. Thinking it was convenient, I signed up.

Since AEIP’s Beijing Service Centre was close to my home, I attended workshops every Saturday. I could meet new friends and learn new things; the atmosphere there helped me to get a closer feel of Canadian culture. What I’ve been through later convinces me that I made a right decision at that time. The AEIP workshops were very intense, covering almost everything about daily life in Canada. Each lecture focused on one particular topic. In addition, there were workshops of different Canadian provinces. I got to know Canada socially and geographically. Every week when the lecture was over, I was excited. There were always so many things to learn in those compact workshops with abundant fascinating and novel activities. Besides, the routine workshops of AEIP would rotate, and thus new immigrants could attend the workshops many times. Back then I would attend online routine workshops every Thursday night and shared with my family what I had learnt. My family said I had become an expert. But I was just sharing. I told them, it was AEIP who gave the workshops.

What attracted me most was not only the content of workshops, but also a spirit it conducted. For now I could

summarize it as kindness, tolerance, harmony, enterprise and a sense of family. This is actually the spirit of Canada, which is consistent with what I have felt after I became a Canadian. AEIP has done a great job indeed. It teaches the knowledge and brings the culture with it. Among the events organized by AEIP, what touched me most was when previous immigrants came to tell their stories of Canada; and there were farewell meetings for new immigrants, and thus one would know that they were not alone in this journey. This coming back and going out shows the inheritance of AEIP. And this gave us a sense of belongings. It helped us get through all the ordeals and blows and face them with smile.

I could get a feel of youth of AEIP from our daily communications. The Beijing office is young, but I have become an “old client”. I respect the professionalism and team spirit it has shown. It was not a big team but managed so many weekly workshops, so many one-to-one consultation sessions. It invited and corresponded with guest speakers from different areas and organized speech tours to other cities, provinces, even countries. All of these are incredible. Now AEIP Beijing office is getting more clients, offering more services and building a good reputation in the industry. These are achieved by the long-term dedication of all the staff in Beijing office. I am honored to have the chance to witness its development. With the passing of time, the staff in Beijing office and I have become good friends and everyone helped me a lot.

The frustrations and difficulties I have been through in this half a year are something I’ve never experienced in previous years. I could not say whether I’ve made a right decision to immigrate to Canada. But I do know that life has been meaningful and challenging to me and this is what I need.

The tough winter is not over yet, but bunnies are saving whatever they need and waiting for spring. After all, in the end snow will melt and trees will sprout.

Written by: Zhao Liang, AEIP Beijing Service Centre Client

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SUMMERE D I T I O N

VANCOUVER (CANADA)

Phone 1-844-893-8222 (USA & Canada)Email [email protected] (Canada) [email protected] (USA)Address 206-181 Keefer Place Vancouver, BC V6B 6C1 Canada

TAIPEI (TAIWAN)

Phone 886-2-2389-9088 Email [email protected] 12F. No.6, Sec. 1,Zhongxiao W. Road, Zhongzheng Dist.,Taipei 100, Taiwan, R.O.C.

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA)

Phone 82-2-775-8983Email [email protected] #701 DooBee Building 11-3 JeongDong, JungGu Seoul, Korea

BEIJING (CHINA)

Phone 86-10-6216-6928 Email [email protected] 11th floor, Building D, Beijing International Plaza, 18 South Zhongguancun Rd., Haidian District, Postal Code: 100081 Beijing, China

Documents

SUMMER - aeipsuccess.ca · Her service companies offer everything from social media management, website design, video creation, SEO and full creative services. Ms. Wheelwright is