(Toronto, December 16, 2009)  The Province of Ontario’s Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration today announced it would provide financial support to the Chinese Professionals Association of Canada (CPAC) to deliver a bridging pilot program that helps foreign trained accounting and finance professionals gain a CGA designation in Ontario.

The new program builds on the success of CPAC’s current engineer bridging program and aims to help professionals by providing relevant job experience in Canada through structured employment services, in-depth information on the certification process, workplace culture and communication training, job readiness training, as well as job placement services.  The program is expected to graduate approximately 240 people over three years.  The Government of Ontario is the primary funder for this program.

“We are honoured to once again be partnering with the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and sincerely thank Minister Chan for his ongoing support for immigrant professionals,” said CPAC President Howard Shen.  “We know employers are looking for these skills in the workplace and CPAC will work hard to ensure that participants of the program have every opportunity to be successfully employed once they complete the course.”

Every program cycle begins with an information session and in-take screening to assess skill level.  This is then followed by workplace culture and communication training. For those who need employment support, employment counselling, job readiness workshops and job placement services are also part of the program. These components address different needs in one’s career and work in conjunction with each other in support for the ultimate goal of being successful in the accounting profession. 

“On behalf of Premier McGuinty, I am very pleased to be again working with CPAC as we help immigrant professionals take the final step toward full employment in their field of expertise,” said the Honourable Michael Chan, Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.  “Programs like this one, in conjunction with our recently released foreign credentials recognition framework and other measures show that our government is helping immigrants while working to meet the growing demand for skilled labour.”

To be eligible for this program, applicants must be a permanent resident or citizen of Canada, have relevant accounting education and/or experience, language skills of CLB 7 or higher and be committed to obtaining CGA designation in the near future.

“CGA Ontario is pleased to play a key role in this program,” said Carmen Jacques, Business Development Manager.  “New Canadians play a key role in the future prosperity of Ontario and the finance skills that certified CGA’s possess are essential in building a solid and successful business.”

The University of Toronto is also a partner in the program providing the workplace specific language training required in today’s global business climate. Ms. Marilynn Booth, Director of School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto said “U of T is proud to be a partner in this project to provide our tailor-made Workplace Culture and Communication training program for these overseas professionals to overcome their barriers to certification and career advancement.”

For more information on the program prospective participants from all communities are encouraged to visit www.chineseprofessionals.ca, call 416-298-7885 ext. 111, or email afp@chineseprofessionals.ca

About Chinese Professionals Association of Canada

The Chinese Professionals Association of Canada (CPAC) was founded in 1992 with the objective of serving and representing the interests of immigrant professionals of Chinese descent. The Association has a national membership of 25,000 and is the largest of its kind in Canada. It now includes members from a wide variety of diverse backgrounds and plays an increasingly important role in the development of Canada’s multicultural society.