First of all, I have to mention that all refugees, including Syrian refugees, when they come here, are already a hard-working population and they want to get into the workforce as soon as possible.
One of the main problems the refugees are facing and that we are identifying is the language program. It's easy to get them employment if they don't go into a language program, but once they get into those types of jobs, not in their own profession, they will stay there for the rest of their lives. They will not be productive members of society, and it will cause lots of emotional and psychological problems for them.
First of all, we assist them with their language programs. We have all-women classes, which I find very useful for women because they feel very comfortable. We also have some mixed classes in the evening. We assist with the language. If they need language training, we can place them in the language classes. However, I also need to mention that we have long wait-lists for learners to be accommodated because there are not enough places.
We also have somebody who works with job placement. For those who are ready for a job, we do an assessment. Most of the refugees have transferable skills. They may not realize that, because when they come here they are told that everything is different, but we do encourage them to maintain their self-esteem and to realize that they have lots of transferable skills and things they can do.
We sit with them and we work on short-term and long-term jobs in Canada. For the short term, if they need to upgrade and go to classes if they are ready and can take an upgrading program, they do something part-time and they do some upgrading programs to fit in with the job.
We also make them ready by preparing them for an interview. For most of us, including me—I also came here as a refugee—talking about my own qualifications feels as if I am boasting. You have to talk about the qualifications you have, what talents you have. Also, we prepare them and we have mock interviews. We also work with employers and we connect them with employers.