Ontario to expand its Bridge Training Programme to help new immigrants

The joint governments of Canada and Ontario are about to expand the Bridge Training Programme in order to help skilled immigrants find suitable jobs and get licensed.

Over 50,000 highly skilled immigrants have benefited from the programme to date, taking full advantage of all its services. Offered are skills assessments, workplace and clinical experience, occupation-related language classes, exam coaching for professional licensing and more.

Beneficiaries so far include IT specialists, accountants, bankers and health professionals, all of whom gain an insight into the way Canada works. All have also gained the necessary certification to connect them with available positions within their respective trades and professions.

According to the Ontario minister for citizenship and immigration, Michael Coteau, the scheme is all about making adjusting to the new country easier as regards putting individual talents where they can be the most use. He added that he course plays a vital part in Ontario’s economy as well as improving the lives of immigrants and their families.

Coteau’s Canadian ministry counterpart, Chris Alexander, agrees, saying that the national government is fully in support of the scheme for its provision of essential tools to newly arrived skilled professionals looking to join the workforce. Ontario is the most popular destination in Canada for immigrants, with nearly 40 per cent of total arrivals heading for the province.