New Brunswick’s two major community colleges are collaborating with the province to break down barriers for newcomer tradespeople looking to join the workforce.
The Facilitating Access to Skills in New Brunswick (FAST NB) online skills assessment development platform is designed to help newcomers get their formal training and experiences assessed against provincial industry standards.
Launched March 2, the platform was designed to identify pathways to employment that draw on newcomers’ skills and experience.
“New Canadians are critical to the growth of the province. This initiative will create a clearer path for newcomers to utilize the skills they arrive with and help address our significant workforce needs in New Brunswick,” said Labour Minister Trevor Holder.
Information from NBCC said the program will focus on finding employment for people in skilled trades–an area where the province has faced difficulty integrating recent immigrants with formal training.
The program will address areas where the demand is highest, starting with carpentry. FAST’s carpentry module, the first it will offer, will be rolled out in English, with plans to offer a French version in the future.
FAST NB is a collaborative effort between College Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB) and New Brunswick Community College (NBCC), along with Opportunities New Brunswick, the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, and the New Brunswick Multicultural Council.
Along with helping newcomers find work, NBCC stated FAST will help employers fill vacancies for skilled workers.
The FAST platform is the first phase of a plan to help newcomers integrate into New Brunswick’s labour market, drawing on funding from the Toronto-based Future Skills Centre, and designed by the Immigrant Employment Council of British Columbia.
Sam Macdonald is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
