By Anna Lise Burnstein
Ani Amirmooradian says it will be difficult for her to find a good job, even though she has a master’s degree and is trained as a foreign language teacher. Amirmooradian came to Canada from Iran just over a year ago.
The only support network she had was her husband and she didn’t know where, or how, to find employment.
It was a lonely time, Amirmooradian says. Volunteering was a way to start her new life in Canada, both professionally and socially. “There were so many advantages,” she says.
It is the story of many newcomers to Canada.
Amirmooradian says it is hard to find a good job here when your only work experience is in other countries. She spoke English well when she arrived. Many don’t even have that.
Angeles Boronat came here from Spain a year and a half ago. “Every time I applied for a job, they asked me for Canadian experience,” she says.
Now Amirmooradian and Boronat are peer mentors for other newcomers to Canada through a program with Volunteer Ottawa. The one-year-old program, sponsored by the United Way, holds regular workshops on volunteering at five locations across Ottawa.
The program enables more established immigrants to provide support to recent newcomers. The peer mentors spend time one-on-one with each workshop participant. They then try to match the newcomers with a community organization according to their skills, interest and availability.
The hope is that through volunteering, new immigrants can gain the experience they need to find paid work, while improving their English, learning about Canadian culture and building skills.
“It’s useful to help them find a paying job instead of staying at home and surfing the Internet or flipping through newspapers,” says Cristina Enache, the mentoring coordinator.
“I really believe in this program.”
When Enache came to Canada from Romania two and a half years ago, she barely spoke English.
She worked as a volunteer in a variety of positions, and she was with the peer mentor program for a year. When she applied for the position of program coordinator, she says, “the most important thing was that they already knew me.”
Ironically, Enache suddenly found herself with two jobs. The day she interviewed for the program coordinator position, the immigrant settlement office where she volunteered called her to offer her a paid position as an administrative assistant.
“It’s like a joke,” she says. “For two years, I’ve been waiting and waiting.”
Enache calls herself living proof that volunteer experience can help newcomers find jobs in Ottawa.
Three of the four peer mentors at a recent downtown workshop were not born in Canada. “I gain satisfaction from helping others. I know how hard it is for newcomers to settle down here,” says Amirmooradian.
The 13 participants are from Japan, China, Russia and France. There are lots of shy giggles as everyone introduces themselves to the group. Some barely speak English. Several have one or two university degrees.
For almost all, this will be their first volunteer experience.
Alina Sikorsky is originally from Russia, but grew up in Israel.
She immigrated to Canada just three months ago with her husband.
She has a background in business administration, but thinks she needs Canadian experience before she can get a job here. “I need to start somewhere,” she says.
Networking is the greatest benefit of volunteering, says Amirmooradian.
For example, she can now use her boss at the immigrant settlement office where she volunteers as a reference.
“I can show myself, my abilities, my skills. Maybe I will have more of a chance to get a real job,” she says.
According to a national survey conducted by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy in 2000, recent immigrants were less likely than both established immigrants and native-born Canadians to volunteer.
Among their reasons were that they had not been asked or didn’t know how to get involved. This program is trying to change all that.
“As you can see, everything is different here. You have to get involved to learn (how things work),” Enache tells the workshop participants. “You feel wonderful when you help.”