Career Edge and the NACC have joined forces to connect internationally qualified professionals (IQPs) with leading organizations to help re-launch careers in Canada.
The partnership’s pilot program, NACC Edge, is an alternative career pathway that aims to help IQPs find relevant work in their area of expertise by using their Canadian-obtained training and skills. After completing a training program at an NACC member career college, program graduates can re-launch their careers in Canada through Career Edge’s paid internships in related occupations.
The paid internship program focuses on opportunities in various sectors, such as information technology (IT), administration, and health care. Many IQPs join the program in order to enter regulated professions within these fields. The NACC Edge program enables IQPs to continue working in their field while re-training to meet the needs of the job market.
The NACC and Career Edge share a common goal of helping create opportunities for IQPs, giving them a greater chance at finding professional success in Canada, whether through education and training programs or through career-related work experience.
“The NACC’s members are very excited to see this partnership come into effect,” said Serge Buy, NACC’s Chief Executive Officer. “This is one concrete step we can take toward reducing the challenges faced by IQPs when they seek to obtain work experiences in their fields.”
Canada’s labour force has experienced a growing number of underutilized workers who resort to accepting “survival jobs” to stay afloat when they are faced with a job market that seldom recognizes their international experience and accreditation. The NACC Edge program seeks to address this pressing issue by ensuring IQPs are integrated into Canada’s workforce, so that they are working to their full potential, while strengthening Canada’s globally competitive economy.
“We are very proud to partner with the NACC,” says Naguib Gouda, President of Career Edge. “Through this partnership, we’re giving more options to newcomers who are struggling to acquire Canadian work experience that aligns with their career goals,” he says.
NACC Edge is available across the country and is delivered by NACC’s Regional Coordinators in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Toronto, and will be supported by staff at the NACC national office in Ottawa and Career Edge’s headquarters in Toronto.