The Company
Collège La Cité is the largest French-language college of applied arts and technology in Ontario. This institution offers a multitude of services to students, job seekers and businesses. It is home to the Cité des affaires, which notably manages government-funded projects, including a program for newcomers, with support from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. This unit is dedicated to employability through training programs in several sectors. It’s the place to be for French speaking newcomers to Ontario.
The challenge
La Cité des affaires is a long-standing partner of La Factry: their shared interest in adult education, and particularly with newcomer clientele, make the two institutions content exchange partners. La Factry, renowned for its expertise in the field of creativity and innovation, has proposed to La Cité des affaires to establish a privileged partnership, within the framework of the grant related to the Creative Canada program, for several cohorts planned in Ottawa. La Cité des affaires has retained its services to develop the skills of Francophones from official language minority communities.
To support the professional and cultural integration of newcomers, Factry has offered its services to La Cité des affaires to set up a cohort of the Creative Canada program in Ottawa. This integration gas pedal trains people from immigrant backgrounds in cross-disciplinary skills to help them evolve in their new working environment, whatever their field of expertise.
The proposal
La Cité des affaires and Factry share a common language and understanding of the issues related to the adaptability of French-speaking newcomers, to prepare them for employment in Canada, particularly outside Quebec. La Cité des affaires already offers support to newcomers with inspiring backgrounds, through the intervention of French-speaking trainers and facilitators. People from immigrant backgrounds have a wealth of theoretical skills and professional experience, but they need to adapt their transversal skills to the demands of the Canadian job market: collaboration, communication, creativity, adaptability and problem-solving.
This partnership was concluded at the launch of the Cité des affaires’ Skills for Success project last March. The Creative Canada program, which focuses on the integration of immigrant clientele, fits perfectly with the mission and DNA of La Cité des affaires.
The work
The first cohort of newcomers was recruited following a major team effort with colleagues from Collège La Cité. Starting in June, 30 participants, mainly from the Maghreb and French-speaking Africa, were recruited via social networks and La Cité des affaires communication tools to make up the first cohort.
The work was supervised by Magalie Poirier, herself an immigrant, after she completed the Factry’s “Formateur” training course. And Nibraz Ben Ezzedine, project manager at La Cité des affaires and also an immigrant, provided administrative support for the members of the cohort. Over a five-week period, the newcomers were able to discuss their life paths and needs in hybrid mode, and reflect on their cross-disciplinary skills. The exercise enabled them to network and create new relationships based on a community of experience.
Each week was devoted to one of five creative competencies. In the form of interactive and informal workshops, participants were able to open up to creativity.
One exercise invited them to write down whatever came to mind for five minutes, without stopping. The aim of this exercise was to demonstrate to participants their ability to find resources within themselves that they were initially unaware of. Through introspection and self-examination, they were able to identify ways of integrating into their new living and working environment.
The results
At the end of the training course, many participants posted on social networks about their experience of the Creative Canada program. For each participant, the program enabled them to forge ties, establish relevant contacts and become aware of their creative strengths, all of which boosted their self-confidence. Some have enrolled in further training to complement their professional skills, while others have found employment in their field of expertise. Three other members of the first cohort have followed the Francophone Immigrant Entrepreneurship Program offered by La Cité des affaires. These promising career paths testify to the success of the collaboration between the Factry and La Cité College in the Creative Canada program.
