Ontario funds 40 new bridge training programs for internationally trained newcomers

The Ontario government has announced to invest $24.7 million in providing skilled newcomers a better access to jobs that match their qualifications and experience.

The funding will be used for 40 new provincial projects that will help internationally trained newcomers bridge their credentials and experience into Ontario qualifications. This bridging will be provided in various job sectors including education, engineering, finance, healthcare, research and innovation, social work and trades through occupation-specific language and technical trainings, mentorship, skills assessment and work experience.

For example, University of Toronto will receive $192,630 in funding to develop a language assessment tool recognized professionally to help more internationally trained pharmacists pass their licensing exam. Likewise, the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers will receive $83,800 in funding to design a pre-exam course to prepare engineers to write the Professional Practice Examination, part of the licensure process for internationally trained engineers.

These new bridging projects are expected to benefit 3,000 skilled newcomers to GTA, Kitchener-Waterloo Region, Hamilton, London, Niagara Region and Ottawa.

As part of the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, the federal government is contributing $8.1 million to partially fund some of these bridging projects.

Since 2003 the Ontario government has invested over $85 million in 145 bridge training programs, helping more than 20,000 newcomers improve their language skills, prepare for exams and work in their field sooner.