TRIEC and the Syrian Refugee Crisis

The Syrian refugee crisis has been dominating the media headlines for several weeks now. Here at TRIEC, we have been closely following the situation and share the concerns of so many Canadian about the ongoing humanitarian crisis for refugees from Syria as well as other countries.

TRIEC’s mission is to better integrate skilled immigrants – those who come with high levels of education, skills and experience – into the Greater Toronto Region labour market. We believe that doing so, is not just the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do for our economy and our region.

Many refugees possess similarly high levels of education and experience and ultimately they too can have a positive impact on our region as a whole. Canada’s past experience with large groups of refugees highlights this point. For example, starting in 1979, over 60,000 Vietnamese ‘boat people’ began to arrive in our country: few of these spoke English or French, or had skills useful in Canada. Yet, within ten years of arrival, they had an unemployment rate 2.3 per cent lower than the Canadian average; one in five had started a business; and they were considerably less likely than average citizen to receive some form of social assistance. (Morton Beiser, Strangers at the Gate, 1999)

In order to realize this potential, skilled refugees need the appropriate supports. TRIEC works with a wide range of partners who provide different supports for refugees, including many employment service providers. As information becomes clearer, TRIEC is committed to ensuring that it is able to support both its community and employer partners in meeting the needs of an increased influx of refugees and their integration into the labour market.

If you would like to contribute to this issue, TRIEC encourages you to consider one of the following organizations: Lifeline Syria, Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, and the Canadian Red Cross. If you are looking to support a refugee in their job search here in Canada, you can:

• Visit our immigrant employment resources section.
• Volunteer with a refugee settlement agency or an employment services agency (find some listed at casip.ca).
• Volunteer as a mentor through The Mentoring Partnership (note: all skilled immigrants in the Toronto region can participate in this program and you are not guaranteed to be paired with a refugee).