Province investing $800,000 in employment, training supports for newcomers to Quinte region

Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith says the area is growing and there are jobs here that need to be filled.

One way to fill those jobs is to attract more immigrants to the area.

“We have awarded $813,453 to help QIS provide services such as client assessment, intake registration, training on the hard and soft skills that are so important for these newcomers to our province and facilitating the connections that are necessary with potential employees.”

He says they are trying to eliminate as many hurdles as possible to help newcomers to settle here.

“Some of them are logistical.  Some of them are filing paperwork for immigration, for services like health care and education, for employment, and others are cultural- and language-related. And sometimes it can be hard to access necessary training.”

The project will also allow Quinte Immigration Services to attract foreign investors to help the region continue to grow and provide more jobs.

QIS President Paul Osborne called the funding timely as it will assist in providing recently arrived Ukrainian refugees access to the labour market.

Bay of Quinte MP Ryan Williams welcomed the funding saying there are 3,000 jobs available in our region now.