And it works. A recent ALLIES-Accenture report, The results are in: Mentoring improves employment outcomes for skilled immigrants (PDF), confirms the positive impact and success of eleven mentoring programs across Canada on newcomers and the economy.

Mentees had significantly improved employment outcomes, earning trajectories and shorter times to find employment. Twelve months after the start of their mentoring relationship, unemployment dropped from 73% to 19%. In addition, 71% of mentees were employed in their field, compared to 27% pre-mentoring. Average full-time earnings increased by more than 60% from $36,905 to $59,944.

“The time to expand mentoring is now,” said Ratna Omidvar, President of Maytree. “We should make the right investments in mentoring to engage more employers, government and other key stakeholders in order to reach many more skilled immigrants. We all stand to gain – our businesses become more competitive, our newcomers are better integrated, and our economy is made stronger.”

The report’s findings make a compelling case for scaling up mentoring in Canadian cities. Mentoring is a low-cost, high impact intervention that delivers on the promise of opportunity made to newcomers that make Canada their home every year.

Download a copy of the report at http://alliescanada.ca/how-we-can-help/mentoring/.

The following organizations assisted in the survey of mentoring programs:

1. Calgary Region Immigrant Employment Council
2. La Conférence régionale des élus de Montréal
3. Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council
4. Immigrant Employment Council of BC, Vancouver
5. Immigrant Services Society of BC, Vancouver
6. Immigrant Settlement and Integration Services, Halifax
7. MOSAIC, Vancouver
8. Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization
9. S.U.C.C.E.S.S., Vancouver
10. Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council
11. YMCAs of Cambridge & Kitchener-Waterloo

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ALLIES (Assisting Local Leaders with Immigrant Employment Strategies) supports local efforts in Canadian cities to successfully adapt and implement programs that further the suitable employment of skilled immigrants. The project is jointly funded by Maytree and The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation.

The ALLIES National Mentoring Initiative, with support from TD Bank, supports local efforts in Canadian urban centres to develop, implement and enhance mentoring programs for skilled immigrants. These mentoring initiatives focus on job-ready, pre-assessed skilled immigrants with high degrees of language proficiency. The mentoring programs match these internationally-trained professionals with their Canadian counterparts in structured relationships.

ALLIES engaged Accenture in a pro-bono capacity to measure the impact of mentoring on skilled immigrants.

www.alliescanada.ca

To set up an interview and for more information contact:
Markus Stadelmann-Elder, 416-944-2627 ext. 284, mselder@maytree.com.

Mentoring is an effective program to assist newcomers find jobs that match their skills and talent. Mentoring is built on a simple foundation: connecting an internationally-trained professional with their Canadian counterpart. But what is the impact?

We know that mentoring is vital to finding employment. An effective mentoring relationship opens networks, builds relationships and increases social capital. It is an investment with significant return. We now have the evidence to confirm the positive impact of mentoring on newcomers and our economy.

Hear from leading experts on immigrant employment as they discuss new results from a recent survey of mentees across Canada.

Speakers:

• Ratna Omidvar, President, Maytree
• Mario Calla, Executive Director, COSTI Immigrant Services
• TD Bank Group mentor and TRIEC Mentoring Partnership mentee

When:
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
1:00-2:00 p.m. EST

Where: From your desktop

How to attend:
Please RSVP online to receive your access code to attend the webcast.

A recording of the event and the PDF of the report will be available online.

To set up an interview and for more information contact:
Markus Stadelmann-Elder, 416-944-2627 ext. 284, mselder@maytree.com.

Background:
ALLIES (Assisting Local Leaders with Immigrant Employment Strategies) supports local efforts in Canadian cities to successfully adapt and implement programs that further the suitable employment of skilled immigrants. The project is jointly funded by Maytree and The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation.

As part of the National Mentoring Initiative, with support from TD Bank, ALLIES supports local efforts in Canadian urban centres to develop, implement and enhance mentoring programs for skilled immigrants. These mentoring initiatives focus on job-ready, pre-assessed skilled immigrants with high degrees of language proficiency. The mentoring programs match these internationally-trained professionals with their Canadian counterparts in structured relationships.

ALLIES engaged Accenture in a pro-bono capacity to measure the impact of mentoring on skilled immigrants.