New Programs and Initiatives

By Hilary A. Schuldt

“IT’S A WIN WIN” – COSTI Launches its New Online Courses for Internationally Trained Nurses and I.T. Professionals

• A total of 262,236 people immigrated to Canada in 2005, an 11% increase over the previous year (The Monitor 2006 Issue 2).
• Among immigrants 15 years of age or older whose skill level could be classified, 55% were professionals (The Monitor 2006 Issue 2).
• Over 40% of immigrants arriving in the 1990s had at least one university degree compared to the Canadian average which is 22% (2001 Census: Analysis Series, March 2003).
• Six out of ten immigrants are forced to make a downwardly mobile shift into a career, or job other than the one that they were qualified for (Statistics Canada: 2003).

While none these statistics may be “news” to frontline workers, these quantifiable statements can serve as a reminder of the magnitude of the labour market integration challenges currently faced by internationally trained professionals. You may ask, “Why do we need a reminder?” After all, many of us work with this population and have done so for many years – we are “experts” in this field.

The world is shifting and changing at an ever increasing rate of speed. As experts, we struggle to try and keep current. Newcomers arrive from a wider array of source countries and their experiences in the world vary. Clearly, our responses must vary to meet the heterogeneous needs of the individuals we serve. As always, time and money are limited and we ask ourselves, “What can we do?” or “How can we help?”

We come face-to-face with the realities of globalization every day. Expertise flies out the window every few months, so how do we respond? In the words of Harold Jarche “in a knowledge economy, the individual is the knowledge creator and relationships are the currency…Enabling learning is no longer about disseminating good content. Enabling learning is about being a learner yourself, sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm and then taking a back seat. In a flattened learning system there are no more experts, only fellow learners on paths that may cross” [as a result] “Enabling learning flow in a networked knowledge society is much more important than creating learning content” (June 2006).

There is a unique project that hopes to meet some of the unique and ever-changing needs that you and your clients face. The project called ASPECTS-Online (Access to Sector-specific Professional English Communication and Terminology Skills) is being offered by COSTI Immigrant Services through the generous funding of HRSDC and the Office of Learning Technologies, with partnership support from OCASI (Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants) and YCDSB (York Catholic District School Board. ASPECTS-Online is a unique response and an additional tool to help you, help your clients, help themselves. The primary goal of the ASPECTS-Online project is to test whether the provision of online, sector-specific workplace terminology and communication training, information and referral, employment advice and peer support will increase the employment rate of newcomer professionals in their field of expertise.

Client benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Improved sector-specific terminology and communication skills
• Increased confidence and linguistic self-assurance
• Knowledge of Canadian culture – particularly within the profession
• Expansion of general and sector-specific peer and professional networks
• Increased employability through access to current employer tips & practices
• Online computer skills and e-learning experience to enhance goal setting, lifelong learning, critical thinking and comfort on the world-wide-web
• Contributing to the evaluation and improvement of the online course for future newcomers (ask us about gaining Canadian volunteer experience through online activities).

We are currently offering courses for internationally trained Nurses/Healthcare Providers and for I.T. professionals. All courses are delivered completely online and are supported by professional facilitators. Intake is ongoing and can be completed via e-mail. All courses are free and all materials are included. A free online English fluency test is included. In addition, online programming is ideal for those clients currently engaged in survival jobs, supporting family members or those who are geographically hard to serve because of financial and/or transportation costs and/or availability.

Course Information:

• Online modules are ready when clients are – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Course activities are flexible allowing self-directed learning that targets individual needs (that is, clients work through a common curricula together yet direct their specific online research and activities according to goals they clarify while in the course).
• All learning is shared between course participants – increasing knowledge and optimizing time spent and breadth of sector-specific knowledge.
• All participants take on the role of both teacher and student – helping to build an online community and an active network of peers not to mention increasing self-esteem and self-assurance.
• Course methodology and design mirrors successful workplace practices.
• All courses begin with a one-week orientation and introduction to online learning – a skill that may come in handy if professional training is in the future, as more and more professional development is being done online.

If you or your clients have access to the internet and can open an e-mail, then you already have the basic skills necessary to navigate in our online learning environment – why not give e-learning a try? For more information on the project or if you wish to see a demonstration of the online learning platform, please feel free to contact the project office at any time.

Written by Hilary A. Schuldt, ASPECTS-Online Project Coordinator with COSTI Immigrant services. She can be reached at schuldt@costi.org.