TRIEC - Annual Report 2023-2024

Letter from the Board Chair

Since becoming Chair of the TRIEC Board in June 2023, it has been my honour to build on the great work done by my predecessors in creating more pathways for immigrant career success and building the Toronto region’s economy. I am especially grateful for the dedicated work put in by the outgoing Chair, Waheeda Rahman White.

The Board’s vision for TRIEC is one of growth, innovation, and collaboration. To this end, in the last year we adopted a new strategic plan – one that I am happy to report is already bearing fruit in the form of active governance, as a deep bench of experts and professionals on the Board continue to bring their knowledge and experience to TRIEC’s work.

We are proud of TRIEC’s accomplishments and milestones in the year 2023-2024 and look forward to more organizational and partner growth to increase impact.

As Canada’s population ages and the ratio of retirees to workers increases, as we compete in the increasingly global talent market, it has never been more important to get immigration right. This means looking beyond the numbers to create inclusive systems change that addresses immigrant underemployment and ensures Canada fulfills its promise to newcomers: the opportunity to work hard, give back, enrich the country’s cultural fabric, and ultimately create a fulfilling life.

Letter from the CEO

Joining as TRIEC’s CEO in April 2023, I was honoured to become part of a dynamic organization with an important and timely mission. Ensuring that immigrants successfully integrate into our economy and realize their dreams is not just the right thing to do, but one that will set our region, province, and country up for economic success. A year in, it is clear that this is an organization whose Board and staff are deeply committed to realizing its vision.

The list of TRIEC’s impacts and wins is significant. As you will see in this report, we continued to impact the lives of newcomers and support employers in sourcing and retaining immigrant talent. We hosted our annual Inclusion Summit, building awareness of best practices in unlocking newcomers’ untapped potential among employers. In early 2024, we hosted the TRIEC Mentoring Partnership Recognition Gala’s 20th Anniversary to celebrate the program’s collective achievements that have led to the longstanding, and life-changing, success of newcomers. This annual event serves as an opportunity to sustain growing momentum by recognizing and celebrating the achievements of TMP mentors and employer partners.

Throughout 2023 and 2024, our Professional Immigrant Networks (PINS) program continued full steam ahead, with one highlight being the February 2024 PINS Talent Xchange forum, bringing together employers, service providers, and government representatives, immigrant professionals, and leaders from professional immigrant associations to share solutions to immigrant underemployment.

In 2023, we also released our Youth Report, co-developing with newcomer youth themselves a series of concrete recommendations to unlock their employment potential.

Despite our successes, deeply engrained hurdles persist which is why we are steadfast in our efforts to create inclusive systems change. The Canadian economy is resilient but uncertain. Canada expects 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024, with an additional 500,000 anticipated in 2025, and many more already here. The need of the hour is to continue creating and continuously adjusting systems that build pathways for immigrant professionals in Canada. These systems must enable individuals to thrive, achieve their full potential, and ensure they are well-positioned to contribute to their communities and help grow the Canadian economy. To support progress effectively, these systems must be refined regularly to remove any inadvertent barriers that could hinder success.

I am thankful for the hard work of our employer and community partners, our diverse funders, and our dedicated Board members, in addition to the diligent work put in by immigrants in the Toronto region. Together, our commitment to ensuring newcomers can achieve their full potential working with employers that are inclusive, makes us all better off. I am also grateful to work with such a talented and passionate staff, without whom none of these impacts would be possible. They continue to pilot ways TRIEC can improve the efficiency and effectiveness with which employers can attract, hire, retain, and develop skilled immigrant talent for the benefit of us all.

The work must continue but the future is bright!

Highlights from 2023-2024

Supporting Talent Management in a Diverse Labour Market

TRIEC builds bridges between employers and immigrants creating opportunities for both to thrive. We initiate connections for success among immigrant job seekers with employers seeking talent, through dynamic events and a virtual hub. Moreover, we connect employers with service providers offering opportunities for their staff to tap into the immigrant pool and enhance their leadership skills. These initiatives not only amplify awareness of immigrant talent but also catalyze profound benefits for newcomers on their journey to meaningful employment.

Highlights from this year showcasing impact: 1,551 Newcomer Professionals Mentored: Through the TRIEC Mentoring Partnership program (TMP), 1,551 newcomer professionals were matched with mentors who supported them to conduct more effective job searches and build social capital.
Quarterly Networking Events: Through the Professional Immigrant Networks (PINs) initiative, we hosted four quarterly meetings and networking events, enabling PINs leaders and attendees to connect and collaborate to support their immigrant members.
Information Booths at Key Events: At three prominent events, TRIEC established information booths that engaged over 500 newcomer professionals. These booths showcased the transformative initiatives of the TRIEC Mentoring Partnership (TMP) and Professional Immigrant Networks (PINs), providing invaluable insights and opportunities for attendees. These events included:
- The Storefront’s Annual Newcomer Day
- New Canadians Digital Conference
- Toronto Newcomer day
Launched by TRIEC in March 2023, The Hub for Inclusive Employers (The Hub), serves as a critical resource for employers seeking to attract and hire a diverse pool of skilled immigrant professionals. Developed in response to employer needs and informed by TRIEC’s research, The Hub equips organizations with tools and resources to enhance their inclusion, diversity, equity (IDE) strategies, while attracting newcomer talent to their workforce.

Build Employer Capacity for Inclusive Practices

TRIEC drives employers from awareness to action on immigrant inclusion. We lead the charge in leadership development in a diverse workforce, guiding stakeholders—from middle managers to senior executives, HR professionals, EDI leads, and senior executives —towards integrating immigrant inclusion into core business strategies. We empower these leaders with cutting-edge knowledge, practical tools, and ongoing support tailored to evolving best practices to match their needs. This involves building the knowledge and skills of individuals who are best positioned within their organisations to improve policies and practices on hiring, compensation, retention and career advancement.

Over the past year, TRIEC has spearheaded pivotal changes to help build employer capacity, including:

Launching the "Addressing Underemployment" campaign in February 2024, catalyzing awareness and action among employers and immigrants alike to dismantle barriers and promote equitable career pathways in Canada.
Introduced the "Voices for Change" podcast series, providing insights and resources for employers to effectively harness immigrant talent and integrate immigrant talent in the workplace.
Releasing the insightful Hidden Talent: Unlocking the Employment Potential of Newcomer Youth in the Toronto Region report in 2023 highlighting data and insights and offering actionable recommendations to foster better employment outcomes for newcomer youth in the GTA.

Building Bridges through Collaboration

TRIEC actively engages key stakeholders to foster dialogue, identify and implement actionable solutions that dismantle structural barriers to immigrant employment integration. Our approach includes:

Forging strategic and meaningful partnerships with service providers to enhance coordination, strengthen employer engagement and optimize limited resources
Empowering community organizations to expand their reach and better serve the needs of newcomers. Creating opportunities for interest-holders, including employers, employer-focused organisations, service providers and all levels of government, to regularly meet to discuss and take actions towards addressing immigrant employment challenges.
Providing employers and immigrant networking platforms to share their valuable and insights on the sector.
Participating in consultations and collaborating with our partners to advocate strategies that enhance successful employment outcomes for immigrants.

Highlights of our collaborative efforts:

Recruiting and re-engaging 15 employer partners in the TRIEC Mentoring Partnership.
Hosting the TRIEC Inclusion Summit - LEVEL UP! Employer-Focused Strategies for Immigrant Success in November 2023, featuring a panel discussion with three employer partners and attended by 73 participants.
Successfully staged the TRIEC PINs Talent Xchange event in February 2024, an interactive fireside chat attended by 87 participants and featuring three Professional Immigrant Networks (PINs) leaders.
Establishing partnerships with 10 new employers across various initiatives.

	Revenue
	Government of Canada	$2,205,684
	Government of Ontario	$579,780
	Corporate donations and sponsorship	$67,235
	Other Donors, interest income and other income	$274,837
	Total	$3,127,536

	Expenditures
	Program Delivery
	Employer engagement activities	$952,797
	Immigrant employment initiatives	$1,064,304
	Program development and project support	$540,879
	Core Support	$490,782
	Total Expenditures	$3,048,762

Thank you to our funders and sponsors

Board Members:

Vincent Lee, Chair

Managing Director, Head of North American Institutional FX Sales, CIBC World Markets
Michael Huynh, Vice-Chair

Director, Professional Conduct of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants
Pauline Kay, Treasurer and Chair, Finance Committee

VP Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Audit, Four Seasons Hotels
Alice Young, Chair, Board Development and Governance Committee

Former Director of Strategic Policy and Planning Ontario Public Service
Diane Gumbs

Former Director Communications, Ministries of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Citizenship and Immigration, and Education

Jenny O’Donnell

Chief Human Resources Officer, Toronto Metropolitan University
Li Zhang

Principal, Strategy and External Relations, CPA Canada
Michael Partab

Chief Financial Officer, Roust Americas
Keith Johnson

Independent Project Manager & Researcher

Impacting Immigrant
Career Advancement:
Annual Report 2023-2024

Vision

Mission

Letter from the Board Chair

Letter from the CEO

Key Milestones

Highlights from 2023-2024

Supporting Talent Management in a Diverse Labour Market

Build Employer Capacity for Inclusive Practices

Building Bridges through Collaboration

Financial Reporting

How our funds were raised

How our funds were spent

Total revenue and expenditure

Thank you to our funders and sponsors

Board Members:

Impacting Immigrant Career Advancement: Annual Report 2023-2024

Vision

Mission

Letter from the Board Chair

Letter from the CEO

Key Milestones

Highlights from 2023-2024

Supporting Talent Management in a Diverse Labour Market

Build Employer Capacity for Inclusive Practices

Building Bridges through Collaboration

Financial Reporting

How our funds were raised

How our funds were spent

Total revenue and expenditure

Thank you to our funders and sponsors

Board Members:

Impacting Immigrant
Career Advancement:
Annual Report 2023-2024