Refugee Career Jumpstart Project and Mechanical Engineer

Canadian job market: Our mandate is to bridge the gap for the newcomers between arrival and connecting them to the Canadian job market, said Salaymeh, 31, a mechanical engineer whose family moved here from Syria when he was 11, according to Toronto Star. We are trying to map out their first year in Canada, bringing their English up to speed and getting them into apprenticeship and other employment programs through partnerships with other community groups. Every evening after work, the pair, who co-founded the Refugee Career Jumpstart Project with friend Bassel Alramli, and volunteers would document their educational background, briefly assess their English ability and work experience — and put the information into a data base. To date, the volunteers have met with 260 families and found more than 70 per cent of the adults had not completed high school with job experience in skilled trades as electricians, tile-layers, plumbers, dry-walling and painting; almost 80 per cent of them scored below six out of a 10-point scale in the language assessment and were unable to carry on a conversation in English. But they also have a lot of opportunities because they have years of experience in construction and trades, and these skills are needed in Canada. Many of them face a language barrier, said Alio, 31, who came to Canada from Syria in 2007 for a post-graduate program in marketing management and financial services and stayed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.