April 11, 2023 Leave a Comment

Celebrating Toronto Newcomer Day 2023

Join us as we welcome newcomers to Toronto.

First proclaimed in 2015, Toronto Newcomer Day is an annual event held in May that welcomes newcomers to Toronto, helps them understand and access a wide range of services, and celebrates their contributions to the city. The event features a number of activities including a formal stage program, a citizenship ceremony for new Canadians, a Newcomer Marketplace, and an Information Fair.

Look for JVS Toronto’s booth for information on all our newcomer employment services and bridge training programs.

Event Highlights

Entertaining performances
Colouring for children
Free Tim Hortons beverages
Food Trucks
Interactive activities
Information Fair
Newcomer Marketplace
Newcomer food fair
Prizes and giveaways
Henna artist
HistoricTO Neighbourhood Walking Tours

Date: May 25 from 10 am to 3 pm.
Location: Nathan Phillips Square

Visit toronto.ca/newcomerday for more info!

February 27, 2023 Leave a Comment

JVS Toronto clients on Breakfast Television

JVS Toronto clients Inna and Vitalii recently joined Tammie Sutherland on Breakfast Television to talk about their experience leaving Ukraine, settling in Canada, and how they found employment with support from JVS Toronto. Watch the full interview at breakfasttelevision.ca

Inna was a pregnant when she and her husband Vitalii fled the war and found refuge in Canada. They joined our EMETemployment program last May where they received the supports they needed, including tapping into the EMETemployment network of employer connections to make the right job match. Thanks to EMET staff’s outstanding efforts the couple was very quickly placed in jobs. Inna and Vitalii have since welcomed a healthy baby girl and are adjusting well to life in Canada as a family of three.

We are touched by their story and are incredibly proud to have provided them with the support they needed to settle into their new home. They are just two of over 1,000 Ukrainian newcomers that have been helped by JVS Toronto since the war broke out a year ago.

Our Ukrainian Response Team continues to go above and beyond and work with community partners to ensure newcomers are getting the help they need. We remain committed to responding to urgent needs in our community, such as refugee crises, to ensure all individuals regardless of background have the opportunity to gain self-sufficiency through employment.

For more information on our services for Ukrainian newcomers, please contact 416-649-1708 or refugeesupport@jvstoronto.org.

February 13, 2023 Leave a Comment

Celebrating 20 Years of Mentoring Services

Celebrating 20 Years of Mentoring at JVS Toronto: Empowering Skilled Immigrants to Achieve Career Success

For the past 20 years, JVS Toronto has been dedicated to helping skilled immigrants reach their career goals in Canada. With a rich history dating back to 1947, JVS Toronto has been at the forefront of meeting the needs of a rapidly changing world, always with a commitment to its vision of ensuring every individual has opportunities for employment. Mentoring has played a critical role in this journey, and today, JVS Toronto is proud to celebrate 20 years of successful mentoring initiatives.

Mentoring is a valuable tool for individuals seeking to establish their careers in a new country. JVS Toronto offers a range of mentoring services, including online mentoring, group mentoring, and in-person mentoring. These programs have been designed to support and empower skilled newcomers, providing them with the guidance, resources, and confidence they need to succeed in the Canadian labour market.

One of the key highlights of JVS Toronto’s mentoring initiatives is the online pre-arrival mentoring offered through the Canada InfoNet program. This unique service provides skilled immigrants with one-on-one and occupation-specific career support before they even arrive in Canada. With the right guidance and support at the right time, mentees can develop the labour market tools they need and increase their confidence to enter the Canadian labour market.

JVS Toronto has also formed strategic partnerships with various ethno-specific and occupation-specific organizations to offer group mentoring to their members and clients. These collaborations are a testament to JVS Toronto’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, and they have proven to be a great success. The organization also works closely with partners like World Education Services, training immigrant-led organizations to offer group mentoring to their communities.

As a community partner of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, JVS Toronto shares the common vision of helping newcomers connect with a mentor. With this partnership, newcomers receive valuable coaching and are able to build upon their international professional experience to secure relevant career opportunities within the Canadian workforce.

In conclusion, JVS Toronto is committed to helping skilled immigrants achieve their career goals in Canada. Over the past 20 years, the organization’s mentoring initiatives have been a critical component in empowering and supporting individuals as they navigate the labour market. Looking forward, JVS Toronto is eager to continue improving and growing its mentoring programs, building upon its past successes and ongoing collaboration with current and future partners.

December 8, 2022 Leave a Comment

Giving Matters, January 2023

THE INAUGURAL ISSUE OF GIVING MATTERS

Join us to celebrate the great work JVS Toronto does in the community and acknowledge the friends and supporters that help bring our clients closer to self-sufficiency.

December 7, 2022 Leave a Comment

75th Anniversary Open House

On November 29th, JVS Toronto held an Open House event to celebrate our milestone 75th anniversary. We were honoured to receive congratulatory remarks from The Honourable Monte McNaughton, MP Ya’ara Saks, MPP Robin Martin, Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak and a certificate of recognition from MPP Tom Rakocevic.

We were also joined by long-time supporters like David Berger, employers such as Zack Belzberg from Dodds Garage Doors, past JVS Toronto leadership and community partners. It was especially meaningful to hear from past program participants, like Olha Sysoieva, who recently arrived in Canada from Ukraine and now works at JVS Toronto herself, and Ayesha Khan, who not only represented MPP Tom Rakocevic, but also shared her own personal story as a past client.

Festivities also included booths showcasing our variety of programs, memorabilia of our 75 years of community service, and cupcakes made by participants in our Al Green Resource Centre for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

It was wonderful to celebrate the many lives this Agency has touched over the last 75 years and the many more we will impact in the years to come.