Career Options
NecTAR provides information and services to internationally- trained individuals seeking apprenticeships or skilled trades jobsSkilled newcomers access the tradesA job search system that helps skilled newcomers find work in the trades and at the same time addresses Ontario's skilled trades labour shortage, can be found in NecTAR. |
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 [ 2007-10-17 ] |
Short for Newcomers Connecting to Trades Apprenticeship Resources, NecTAR is a bridge training program that provides information and services to internationally-trained individuals seeking apprenticeship or employment in Ontario's burgeoning skilled trades.
The initiative was developed by COSTI, an educational, social and employment service for GTA immigrants, and introduced in 2005.
"We noticed a neglect of the tradespeople," says Dorothy Solate, who oversees COSTI's internationally trained professionals and tradespeople portfolio. "Everybody was focusing on the professionals -- the doctors and engineers -- but nobody was saying anything about the tradespeople, the people who build our nation."
KEY ROLE
It's these individuals who'll play a key role in reversing Ontario's worsening skilled trades labour shortage. A 2005 report by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce forecasts hundreds of thousands of positions being unfilled across the country over the next 15 years, in areas such as manufacturing, construction, mining and auto collision repair.
In researching how to respond, COSTI discovered that one of the key obstacles newcomers face is figuring out how to navigate the complex process of obtaining an apprenticeship. Presenting their credentials, updating their training, and connecting with employers were among the challenges they faced. Those challenges were more difficult for individuals from countries with no formal apprenticeship system.
"For those who have a non-structured apprenticeship system in their home country and, for example, worked with their father and grandfather on different kinds of cars, when they come to Canada they don't know how to go about working in their field, how they get their Certificate of Qualification and who can support them through this process," Solate says.
NecTAR helps skilled immigrants address these issues through a comprehensive resource kit that includes a reference guide to Trades Apprenticeships in Ontario, workshops on becoming a certified tradesperson, and pathways to practice for newcomers preparing for certification or apprenticeship in specific skilled trades.
The kit also includes a facilitator's guide and training materials for employment agencies that assist newcomers wanting to work as skilled tradespeople. Upon launching NecTAR in its 10 offices, COSTI also trained more than 200 employment agencies in the GTA on how to incorporate the system into their services.
The resource kit contains 10 modules that cover areas such as how the trades apprenticeship system works, the role of trades unions, women in the trades, and trade-specific apprenticeship and labour market information on four specific trades: hairstylist, automotive service technician, construction maintenance electrician and industrial millwright (see http://COSTI.org/skilledtrades/about.php for more information).
SIMPLIFIED
"Many people say Canada's apprenticeship system is convoluted; what we have done is simplified it," Solate says. "We've developed employment pathways designed to help newcomers with all the steps they need to take, and it makes their journey much easier."
An important part of the NecTAR system, is the personal support immigrants receive from a dedicated employment counsellor who guides them through the process of obtaining an apprenticeship.
"They get one-on-one counselling that tells them this is where they need to go to apply for an apprenticeship, this the document they need to request from their former country, this is the qualification exam they may need to take, and so on," Solate says.
At the end, immigrants are provided with a brochure to present to the employers for which they want to work, that breaks down how to hire an apprentice, and the benefits they receive, which include a tax credit, signing bonus and, most importantly, committed candidates with current industry knowledge and expertise.
"We have this trades shortage as well as an abundance of skilled tradespeople from overseas," Solate says, "so this is what we're trying to do to address the situation."
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