Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC)
The primary mission of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) is to create and champion solutions to better integrate skilled immigrants in the Greater Toronto Region labour market. To achieve this mission, the council focuses on three objectives:
- Convene, and collaborate with partners, creating opportunities for skilled immigrants to connect to the local labour market.
- Work with key stakeholders, particularly employers, building their awareness and capacity to better integrate skilled immigrants into the workforce.
- Work with all levels of government, enhancing coordination and effecting more responsive policy and programs for skilled immigrant employment.
“The Mentoring Partnership has become part of the TD Financial Group corporate culture that began in 2005 when 20 top executives championed the idea and led by example. During this time, TD invested in the program and became the founding corporate partner. Five years later, TD employees have mentored close to 700 skilled immigrants. Word of mouth has become the biggest recruitment tool for getting mentors. Staff come from all levels and departments including business lines, IT, HR, and finance, to name a few. In part, through its relationship with The Mentoring Partnership, TD is better connected to new talent and has established a solid reputation with newcomers to Toronto. TD is solidifying itself as an employer of choice, by sponsoring the cross-country expansion of mentoring of skilled immigrants through the ALLIES National Mentoring Initiative.”
Accessibility
Council membership is organizational, and is comprised of members representing various groups, including: employers, labour, occupational regulatory bodies, post-secondary institutions, assessment service providers, community organizations, and all three levels of government. As a multi-stakeholder collaboration, TRIEC brings together organizations from a variety of sectors on the issue of immigrant entry into the labour market.
Newcomer Involvement
In partnership with various stakeholders, TRIEC engages employers and fosters cross-sector collaborations to deliver innovative programs that help to better include skilled immigrants in the labour market. TRIEC programs and partnerships include:
- Mentoring Partnership - matching job-ready skilled immigrants with established professionals in a similar occupation.
- Employer and immigrant workshops - recently focused on integration.
- Immigrant Success Awards - recognizing the "best employers" of skilled immigrants in the Greater Toronto Region.
- 20 Journeys - a travelling photo exhibit telling the stories of immigrants who have contributed to the vibrancy of the region.
Stakeholder Collaboration
TRIEC is comprised of a board, council, and a secretariat. The board serves a governance function to the organization. Council members are primarily organizations that represent the various stakeholders. TRIEC has partnered with a number of organizations and programs that help immigrants find employment in more effective ways. Some of these organizations offer direct services to immigrants, while others work with employers and other groups to increase their capacity for working with and hiring immigrants. TRIEC has developed strategic partnerships with organizations including ALLIES, Career Edge Organization, World Education Services, and the Consortium of Agencies Serving Internationally-trained Persons.
Accountability
Accountability for the organization is embedded in the roles and responsibilities of the governing Board of Directors. TRIEC has been publishing annual reports and making them publicly available on its website since 2004 and also reports regularly to its various funders.
Positive Outcome
Through TRIEC, skilled immigrants have greater opportunities to use their skills, knowledge, and education. Since its inception it has matched more than 5,300 skilled immigrants in mentoring relationships with established Canadian professionals who share the same occupation (The Mentoring Partnership); worked with employers of all sizes, across sectors, to help them better recruit, integrate, and leverage skilled immigrant talent. 60 organizations have joined the Council and 50 employers have joined the Mentoring Partnership.
The Career Edge Organization, one of TRIEC's key partners, has also placed over 1,300 immigrants in Career Bridge internships with over 350 host employers.
Transferability
TRIEC's goal is to assemble key players in the Greater Toronto Region to find and implement local, practical solutions that lead to meaningful employment for skilled immigrants. Currently, TRIEC works with community and corporate partners in the City of Toronto and the regions of Halton, Peel, and York. TRIEC works with ALLIES (Assisting Local Leaders with Immigrant Employment Strategies), a Maytree program, to help communities across Canada build their own local solutions - some based on the TRIEC model.
Mentoring has spread to six cities in Canada and also to New Zealand.
Background
- Service Providers
- TRIEC as an independent organization founded by Maytree and the Greater Toronto Civic Action Alliance (formerly Toronto City Summit Alliance)
- Funders
- Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, and various private institutions
- Scope
- Local
- Locations
- Greater Toronto Area, ON
- Year of Launch
- September 2003
- Languages of Delivery
- English
- Newcomer Groups Served
- Skilled immigrants and employers looking to better integrate them
- Expected Results
-
Labour Market Access (Newcomers obtain the required assistance to find employment commensurate with their skills and education).
Policy and Program Development (to ensure effective delivery and achieve comparable settlement outcomes across Canada)
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