Training & Assessment Services

Employment Training

Programs for employment skills training, academic upgrading, and professional certification. Includes a list of programs that combine ESL and employment skills training.

Training and Educational Institutions

Lower Mainland Employment Resources (LMER)
Lists federally and provincially funded employment programs in the Lower Mainland. Candidates for all programs require a case manager.

BC's Career Colleges Association
List of all career colleges in BC.

Industry Training Authority of BC (ITA)
Information about trades training and apprenticeship in BC.

PCTIA (Private Career Training Institutions Agency of BC)
Private training agencies may register or obtain accreditation. Search for registered, accredited and suspended institutions.

EducationPlanner
Programs, courses, requirements, fees and schedules for all of BC's post-secondary institutions.

Public Post-Secondary Institutions in BC
Brief descriptions of all institutions, with links.

BCcampus
On-line courses and services from all of BC's post-secondary institutions.

BC Skills Connect Program

BC Skills Connect for Immigrants
Program assesses and bridges skilled immigrants into the workplace in the areas of construction, transportation, energy, tourism/hospitality and the health sector.

Several agencies in BC have been contracted through Skills Connect to assess recent immigrants' skills, qualifications and experience. They also provide training of various kinds, workplace practice opportunities, mentorship and other services that will help the skilled immigrant to meet BC's labour market standards.

BC Skills Connect Providers

IMMPower (in many communities throughout BC)

ArriveBC (available in Surrey, Richmond, Burnaby and Vancouver)

Career Solutions (in Victoria and the Capital Region)

DiverseCity (Surrey and the western Fraser Valley)

Working Solutions (offered by Douglas College in Surrey, Maple Ridge, Coquitlam, Burnaby)
Offers additional courses leading to work in the health care sector.

Skills Upgrading, Refreshers and Professional Certification

The Immigrant Skilled Trades Employment Program (ISTEP)
A pilot project (2006-08) to help landed immigrants build careers in British Columbia's construction industry and provide employers with skilled trades workers.

A list of Nursing Refresher Programs
Is maintained by the College of Registered Nurses of BC. Some programs are taught with an ESL component. A list of Qualifying Courses is also available.

UBC Canadian Pharmacy Practice Programme
Designed for internationally-trained pharmacists to achieve the competencies for practice in Canada

For more information on professional training and upgrades see the Resources page of the BC Internationally Trained Professionals Network (BCITP Net)

Combined Training for English and Employment Skills

The following programs involve ESL components or relatively low English requirements (e.g. intermediate or ELSA 3 completion, etc.).

Pre-employment

For complete listings of pre-employment resources:
(LMER) Lower Mainland Employment Resources - See Federal Government Programs for Immigrants

ESL with Labour Market Skills Training
Accountant
(16 months plus 1 month practicum) - Principles of accounting, plus business law, business communication, financial statement analysis, departmental accounting, payroll and software. From Vancouver Community College

Baking and Pastry Making
(12 months) with ESL. Graduates may obtain entry level positions in retail bakeries, supermarkets, department stores, hotels, camps and other food related businesses. From Vancouver Community College.

Culinary Arts
(4-12 months) - Comprehensive training for work as a cook in a variety of food service operations. From Vancouver Community College.

Hair Styling
Training in hair cutting, perming, colouring, styling and physiology (12 months plus two 2-week practicums). Graduating students are ready to take the BC Cosmetology Industry Association examination. From Vancouver Community College.

Home Support/Resident Care
Trains students to work as health care providers in a variety of continuing care settings such as home support, assisted living, intermediate care, extended care and palliative care. From Vancouver Community College.

Business English diploma (8 weeks)
Includes 60 hours of Canadian experience in a real work setting. From the Immigrant Services Society of BC

Business, Marketing, Office Administration, International Trade, Computer Graphic Design, Web Design, and Computer Networks. (8 weeks - 16 months). All courses with an ESL component. Private school; PCTIA accredited. From Arbutus College.

Cashier and Customer Service (2 weekends)
Basic operation of all types of cash register; policies, procedures and laws regarding retail service. Fee-based. From Surrey Delta Immigrant Services Society.

Child Care program (1 year)
Offers training to qualify graduates to enter an academic program in Early Childhood Education, or to operate a licensed in-home child care service. Free to members of the Ray-Cam Co-operative Centre (must live in a prescribed neighbourhood area). Call the program co-ordinator at 604-257-6949. From Ray-Cam Co-operative Centre.

Health Care Support Worker (12-37 weeks)
A range of training programs from Douglas College

Hospitality Services program (24 weeks)
Prepares graduates for jobs as a room attendant and/or entry-level cook. Students get hands-on training in hotel housekeeping and entry-level cooking, and learn English for the Hospitality and Tourism industry. They also receive certifications in First Aid/CPR Level 1, Food safe and handling hazardous material (WHMIS), plus Canadian work experience and valuable job search skills. From the Immigrant Services Society of BC.

Live-in Caregiver certificate program (12 months full time plus 6 months internship).
A live-in caregiver provides care to children, the elderly, or the disabled while living in their private household. Students receive ESL and Canadian cultural training, Health Care Aide certification, and Canadian experience.
From OMNI College, Richmond.

(Private, PCTIA-registered) Resident Care/Home Support Attendant program
Principles and practices of residential care, plus English for the health care industry. Includes certificates in First Aid/CPR Level 1, Food safe, and handling hazardous material (WHMIS). Students also gain Canadian work experience and valuable job search skills. From the Immigrant Services Society of BC.

Resident Care Attendant
Graduates are qualified to work in a variety of community or residential care facilities such as Adult Day Care, Intermediate, Extended and Special Care Units. Fee-based.

From DiverseCity (Formerly Surrey Delta Immigrant Services Society)

Welding to Level A, B and C
Self-paced instruction with ESL based on individual need, offered by the Piping Industry Apprenticeship Board. Cost is approximately $2,100 per month, plus materials and supplies. No welding experience is needed. Accredited by PCTIA. The Board's offices are at 1329 Cliveden Avenue, Annacis Island, Delta, BC. Phone 604-294-1931.

Language Training and Assessment

A guide to basic and advanced English placement and instruction by accredited agencies.

Government-Sponsored English Language Training

English language training is now available from beginners' levels to levels 4 and 5, with classes in labour market preparation. The program is called English Language Services for Adults (ELSA). It is government-funded and is free to adult students following an assessment and placement. Answers to frequent questions about eligibility, course content, etc.

Find schools that offer the ELSA training program.

To register in a government-sponsored English class, students must first have their English skills assessed. Find an assessment centre to determine the level of English instruction required.

ELSA Net is a support service to ESL teachers. It provides co-ordination and networking information as well as a comprehensive directory of ESL courses and employment programs in BC.

The Canadian Language Benchmarks are a measure (not a test) of English skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Professional work (medicine, teaching, engineering, etc.) demands a high level of English (Level 11 or 12) in all four skills. For detailed descriptions of these skills, download "Canadian Language Benchmarks 2000: English as a Second Language for Adults".

Other Language Training Resources

Night school programs in ESL are offered by the Vancouver School Board.

Many private ESL schools exist in the Lower Mainland. To search those registered and accredited with the Private Career Training Institutions Agency (PCTIA) lists institutions that it registers and accredits. (Note that there is a difference between registration and accreditation.)

Accredited courses in English for Academic Preparation are provided by all of BC's public Community Colleges and Universities. Search ESL in EducationPlanner.

Vancouver Community College
Complete listing of all ESL programs at VCC includes Professional and Career English, Self-Paced English for Professionals, Combined Skills (trades and ESL) programs and English for Academic Preparation.

Medical English Certificate Program. For international health-care workers and students who want to improve their English communication skills and medical terminology in health-care settings. Credential Recognition

Credential assessment services, regulatory organizations, and information about getting professional and academic credentials recognized in BC.

Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC)
Comprehensive information about recognition of professional, trades and academic credentials in Canada. Search specific trades and professions for their requirements.

Credential Evaluation Services (ICES). Evaluates formal for-credit educational programs of study for people who have studied in other provinces or countries and determines comparable levels in British Columbian and Canadian terms.

Professional and Trades Qualifications

Note: Professional or trade qualifications do not by themselves guarantee immigration or employment in Canada.

Work Destinations
Comprehensive information on regulated trades and professions in Canada. Entry requirements and information for persons considering immigration to Canada.

The Red Seal
Interprovincial standards program for apprenticeship in Canada. The "Red Seal" allows qualified tradespersons to practice their trade in any province or territory in Canada without having to write further examinations. Currently there are forty-five trades included in the national program.

Industry Training Authority of BC (ITA)
Information about trades qualifications, training and apprenticeship in BC.