Julia gained the skills she needed to get her first Canadian work experience
"When I moved to Toronto, I sent out a couple of resumes. I didn’t get any responses and got a bit depressed. As I was out walking, I saw the Newcomer Centre’s sign. I’m an action person so I went in the next day. One week later I was in the Centre taking the level 6/7 LINC English class.
“I gained confidence in the class and am more comfortable talking to people. The multicultural lessons also helped me integrate into Toronto’s life and society. Doing well in the class helped me get into Connecting Women. This program changed my life. I learned Microsoft Office, business communication and customer service skills. The program also covered the Canadian workplace, and gave me tools for job hunting and interview preparation. Through the class and talking with the teachers, I began to learn more about non-profits and realized that was my dream - to work in this sector. And I’m so lucky that my dream came true after my work placement.
“Today I’m working as an administration assistant at CultureLink. My husband joined a pronunciation class at the Centre and is now working towards grade 12 as an adult learner. My son is turning out to be a great reader in both English and Mandarin. I felt so proud when he said, ‘Dad and I do a great job in school, but Mom does a great job in her real job!’”