This fall, the Durham Region Unemployed Help Centre will be launching The Hiring International Professional Talent in Durham Region (HIP Talent) project thanks to funding it received from the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund and Durham Community Foundation.
The Durham Region Unemployed Help Centre is the lead agency of the Pickering Welcome Centre. The HIP Talent project will be available through the Welcome Centre.
The project will involve regularly scheduled and accessible events that put highly skilled, educated, immigrant professional job seekers, in front of Durham employers to showcase the skilled talent available in our community; and at the same time addressing overt and systemic barriers to hiring.
Reports from Public Health, media and immigrant-serving organizations, as well as the personal experiences of professional newcomers accessing employment supports through the Durham Welcome Centres, express how COVID-19 is causing a larger negative economic impact on racialized communities, including immigrants, than the broader population.
Newcomers seeking to establish themselves during the Pandemic face significantly amplified barriers & hardships. One of the many barriers is the lack of access to a professional network, a key element to finding employment opportunities within the local hidden job markets.
The HIP Talent program builds on the success and positive feedback received from participants of the Pickering Welcome Centre’s annual “Meet the Recruiter” event for newcomer job seekers by inviting employers from different industry sectors to share tips and strategies for finding work in their sector.
Employers will also share best practices for hiring immigrant professionals and the benefits of inclusive workplaces.
The outcome of this project will be improved employment outcomes for immigrant professionals, enhanced access to skilled talent for local employers and improved economic results for local businesses.
Read Employment E-News – September 2020 – Helping You as the Economy Re-Open
