ACCES Employment partnership nets 82% of newcomers employment within one year

Highly skilled immigrants are arriving to Canada at unprecedented rates, with nearly 500,000 in 2022 alone. Upon arriving, many newcomers seeking employment encounter issues with transferring credentials, navigating local job markets, and finding potential employers. When ACCES looked to build an experiential learning component into their programming, they used the Riipen work-based learning platform to deploy it at scale. 

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The situation

Newcomers encounter barriers to fully participating in the economy.

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Newcomers often encounter a multitude of barriers when attempting to transition into employment in Canada. Unfamiliarity with local job markets, credential recognition, and the lack of a professional network can impede their progress. Cultural differences and the need to adapt to new workplace norms can also pose challenges. Moreover, navigating complex immigration and work permit processes can be overwhelming. In overcoming these barriers, developing targeted programs that enable skilled newcomers to develop practical work experiences with local employers is crucial for ensuring that skilled newcomers can fully contribute their talents to Canada’s economy.

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ACCES, a non-profit organization specializing in employment services, has a proven 35-year track record of assisting newcomers in securing meaningful employment. Through their effective program delivery model, which engages industry, post-secondary, and government, they have successfully helped underrepresented groups attain commensurate roles.

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The solution

A flexible experiential learning work program to connect newcomers with potential employers.

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In 2018, ACCES Employment and Riipen partnered to address some of these barriers faced by skilled newcomers in Ontario. As both a technology solution and professional services partner, Riipen helped take ACCES’s ideas from email to custom porta. The partnership offers an experiential Learning program that brings together companies and internationally trained talent (skilled newcomers) through a unique workplace project experience. Facilitated by the Riipen marketplace, participants communicate, submit project deliverables, and collect a portfolio of ratings to reinforce their resumes. 

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Partnership outcomes

This partnership supported skilled newcomers to develop relevant work experience and employer networks to support their transition to employment with Canadian employers. Riipen and ACCES Employment have supported over 580 highly skilled newcomers to Canada to access experiential learning training in high-growth sectors including information technology, supply chain, finance, and engineering. This partnership has been proven to support skilled newcomers transition to employment with over 82% of graduates finding employment in their field within one year of graduation.ACCES Employment’s Experiential Learning program brings together companies and internationally trained talent through a unique workplace project experience.The initiative gives companies the opportunity to preview potential talent by engaging with skilled internationally trained professionals on a practical workplace project, gain insights, new solutions and different perspectives on workplace projects, and help internationally trained professionals to acquire valuable and practical knowledge of Canadian workplaces.