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Ryerson's Professional Communication for Employment program, will offer an assessment of an IEP's soft skills and level of English and self-directed help to get ahead

Help for internationally educated professionals

They have the hard skills -- the qualifications, the practical experience, even, perhaps, the job specific jargon -- but they don't have the soft skills.

DAVID CHILTON

[ 2007-06-13 ]

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NAVA ISRAELRyerson

So that means Canadian workplace culture and the communication styles of their actual or potential colleagues are poorly understood, if at all, and as a consequence finding work in their respective fields is far more difficult than it should be.

Fortunately, help is on its way for internationally educated professionals (IEPs) thanks to a program that begins this September at Ryerson University.

Called the Professional Communication for Employment (PCE) program, it will offer an assessment of an IEP's soft skills and level of English and self-directed help to get ahead.

Nava Israel, the program's manager, knows whereof she speaks -- Israel is both an Israeli-trained dietician and a PhD in epidemiology who struggled for 18 months to be registered as a dietician in Canada. She says soft skills are crucial to employment. But, Israel says, "These things are not written in a manual for immigrants to read. Soft skills and critical thinking are skills everyone needs."

Many newcomers think that because some things are done in a certain way in their home countries that's the way they're done all over the world, Israel says, but that's of course not the case.

The first step in the program at Ryerson is an assessment of the IEP's soft skills that takes all day, Israel says. Following the assessment the program tells the IEPs where they are when it comes to understanding Canadian workplace culture and communications, and how advanced their English skills are. From that point it's up to the IEPs themselves to choose what level of accomplishment they want to reach for.

As important as soft, non-verbal skills are, Israel also points out that ease and confidence in English is crucial. "Many new arrivals underestimate their needed language skills," she says. The level of English expected for the program is Canadian Language Benchmark 6.

The whole process of soft skills learning is driven by the IEPs themselves and partner corporations that are playing a significant part in the program. "We work very closely with employers,"Israel says. "They are active partners in our pre-assessment days and curriculum."

One of those partners is TD Bank Financial Group. Mary O'Hara, senior vice-president of organization development, says in addition to the societal good the program will provide, it will also help shape staffing solutions in the financial services sector.

"We are very, very keen to access the IEPs," says O'Hara, who also notes the program can help internationally trained professionals already working for the bank. "Absolutely it's a talent strategy (for TD)."

PCE is open to anyone in Ontario, but a cost has yet to be established since the program is still in the development stage.

Israel says anyone entering the program learns experientially. There is role playing and case studies to analyse, as well as extensive mentorship from the program's institutional partners -- financial services, high tech companies, bridging programs for regulated professions, and so on.

It's all to prepare IEPs to find employment in the fields they trained for, Israel says. But, she's quick to point out, the program is not a job finding service for anyone who's unemployed.