Employment resources for newcomers
Online Guide for Newcomers to Canada
The IRSA website houses an extensive online guide for new immigrants to Prince Edward Island, Canada, or the 'Guide' for short. Like much of the other content on this website, the Guide is translated into several languages – French, Spanish, Arabic, Persian, Vietnamese, Mandarin and Korean, and it contains basic information you may need as a newcomer, on virtually every aspect of living. The Guide also includes links to external web pages and documents for your convenience, so you can easily find more information on each topic.
One of the sections in the Guide is Employment. Your IRSA employment specialist will recommend that you spend time familiarizing yourself with the Guide in general, and especially this section while you are seeking employment.
Canadian Work Experience Program
Finding a job in your career in PEI can be challenging. You may not have the connections that would help you or the Canadian certification. If you want to experience working in a Canadian workplace, you can demonstrate your skills and knowledge to a potential employer through the Canadian Work Experience Program.
If you have education and/or experience in a particular occupation, and your goal is to work in that field, this program can assist you to build a professional network in Prince Edward Island. The Canadian Work Experience Program is free to the employer, and it provides you with real industry experience in your field with a PEI company.
There are many benefits to an unpaid work experience placement:
- Gaining Canadian work experience
- Meeting professional contacts in your field
- Exploring how your profession is practiced in Canada
- Improving your confidence as you put your abilities to work and show your qualifications to a potential employer
- Obtaining a local reference that will aid you in your job search
Speak to your employment specialist to explore if this program is right for you.
Tell your story
If IRSA's employment specialists have helped you to secure employment, and you have an employment story to share, let your employment specialist know — we love to hear from you about your success on the job. The information services coordinator at IRSA may contact you for an interview about your personal success story.
Your story may be shared on this website, with The Employment Journey (a PEI paper and online publication), in an IRSA Annual Report, or on social media networks. This could be great promotion for both you and your workplace, and also it could be fun to share with your friends and family.
Please contact your employment specialist if you are interested in sharing your story.
Francophone settlement organization
All employment and career resources offered at IRSA are available to Francophone clients through Francophone staff members or interpreters. In addition, if you are an immigrant who communicates in French at an intermediate or higher level, EAS staff will refer you to the organization that specializes in assisting Francophone immigrants.
DiverseCity Multicultural Street Festival: Promotion or showcase opportunity
The annual DiverseCity Multicultural Street Festival celebrates Canadian multiculturalism. Held in multiple locations each summer, the Festival enjoys tremendous support from the Island community, federal, provincial, and municipal funders, and private sector sponsors. Over 20,000 people attend the festival events yearly.
If you are running a business, have a special skill, or are engaged in an activity that is related to your culture or ethnic background, DiverseCity is an excellent promotion or showcase opportunity. Each year the organizers put out a call for food vendors, cultural craft vendors, music and dance performers, martial artists, and ethnocultural groups. Participants put up information and sales booths, perform, or demonstrate their skills. Participant recruitment usually starts in May each year — keep an eye out for the call-out if this is something that interests you!
Stay informed - join the electronic mailing list
Employment Assistance Service specialists regularly send out electronic information on upcoming workshops, employment opportunities, and other employment-related information. To subscribe to the electronic mailing list, contact your employment specialist.
