Brampton multicultural community center started in 1987 and has been serving new immigrants since then. Having two branches one in Brampton and one in Mississauga, it helps people settle in Canada with different programs that help new immigrants settle down. This is a government organization that is partnered with United Way.
Job Search Workshop for new immigrants
Salima Tejani from Brampton Multicultural Community Center explained the structure and mandate of the organization to Generation Next. She explains that the organization offers settlement services, job search workshops, interpretations, workers in schools, referrals, counseling and computer training programs.
She explains that the programs are designed with the needs of immigrants in mind. They focus on their requirements by thinking from their point of view. Also they have their settlement workers in schools as well as available at Chinguacousy and South Fletchers Branch Library to help people with settlement enquiries.
Salima explains that their 3-day Job Search Workshop is very popular, which is held twice every month. They provide one-to-one help to their clients as well to identify their needs and provide customized plan of action. The success rate of this program is getting higher and higher, she says, “I would say around 80-85% of the people who enroll in the program do find jobs.” Also, they connect their clients with job developers who connect the clients to the appropriate employer depending on their needs and demands.
Having mostly clients from South Asian origin, Salima explains the hurdles they face, “The top one is job search. Most of the people come in seeking help for job search for resumes, cover letters, interview skills, as well as for small issues like where do I go if I need to find the right doctor, etc.”
Settlement Worker assisting a client at the Brampton Library
Salima also explains that new immigrants face educational gaps, so they encourage them to enroll in appropriate programs to upgrade their degrees. They refer them to the appropriate agencies to help them further with this enquiry such as educational institutes and places to get their degrees accredited. Also, the organization emphasizes the clients to find jobs in their own fields of expertise, “ If they want a job, we wouldn’t push them to go into labor force. We would encourage them to enter even at an entry level just to gain Canadian experience and then take it from there. We help them set the short term as well as the long term goals.”
Talking about settlement, she mentions that Brampton multicultural center offers SAP program, which gives information about housing and subsidized rates. They also hold a program for seniors every month to help them network as well as take them out on trips. Salima mentions that it is not unusual for seniors to inquire about job market, “We advise them about voluntary as well as paid positions.”
Another unique program called ‘Chat and Chai’ session is very popular within seniors in collaboration with Brampton library. A lot of seniors come out and talk about the issues that they are facing. She says, ‘A lot of clients living with their kids still feel like they want to get out and work because they feel they are a burden to them. We help them talk and get an expert to give them professional feedback.’
Brampton Community Center staff speaks many languages, so the clients are more comfortable talking in the language of their choice when they go to them. English, French, African, Spanish, Tamil, Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, Farsi, Arabic and Gujrati are some of the languages. Salima finally says, ‘Basically our mandate is to help our clients integrate within the society because you want them to be a part of this community. When they are coming in you want to teach them, you want to help them be on their own feet. We don’t want people to rely on us for every single thing. When they come to us, our goal is not to give them every thing but to guide them in a way that they are self sufficient and they are able to pursue a better future for themselves and their kids. We give them the confidence that if we can do this then so can you.’
Author: Saniya Zahid
