THE GROUP of Pre-University School-trained practical nurses who arrived in wintry Canada from Jamaica this week is thankful for the warm reception from the Jamaican Liaison Services – an arm of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

In addition to providing ground transportation from the airport for the arriving nurses long before their arrival, Liaison Services personnel found the nurses suitable rented accommodations in Camrose, Alberta, where they will be working. Before they report to their jobs next week, the Liaison Services will assist the nurses in getting their Social Insurance Numbers as well as opening bank accounts.

“We ensure that the transition process is as smooth as possible and that they are ready for work within two days after arriving in Canada,” explains Donna Adams, deputy chief liaison officer.

Faculty members of the Pre-University School (from left) Charlene Vassell, Camelia Campbell and Tasella Collie bid farewell to graduate practical nurses Roy Wallace, Odia Salmon, Una Saddler, Sharnett Brown, Sophia Nicholson and Paula Brown at the Norman Manley International Airport on Tuesday before their departure to take up jobs in Canada. At right is Andre Miller, representative of Canadian-based job placement firm, Marmicmon IIMC - Contributed

Faith-based organisation

The Bethany Group, employer of the group of Jamaican nurses, is a faith-based organisation that operates a wide range of homes and services for older, disabled and vulnerable people, offering varying levels of health-care and hospitality services in the province of Alberta.

Adams notes that Bethany will have to adhere to Canada’s high employment standards that are applicable for native as well as migrant workers.

“We have met with all employers prior to the arrival of the workers and we are confident that if they work hard and are willing to apply themselves, the experience will be positive,” she says. The liaison officer believes that “the training our workers received in Jamaica have prepared them well and they have proved equal to the task. This is a new experience, and it would not be without challenges.”

The group of 10 nurses is the first from the batch of 77 who, last October, completed the licensed practical nursing (LPN) pro-gramme offered by the Kingston-based Pre-University School. “This is the first set of Jamaicans to be trained under a Canadian curri-culum to take up jobs in Alberta,” boasts Camelia Campbell, Dean of Health Services.

Pre-University School delivered a LPN curriculum developed by NorQuest College in Alberta, Canada. In addition, graduates received a one-year temporary license from the College of Licensed Practical Nurses in Alberta. The nurses are allowed to work up to a year on a temporary license until they write their final exam to get their permanent license. The arrangement was brokered by Canadian-based firm, Marmicmon Integrated Marketing and Communications.

Campbell explains that although the entire group had received job offers in Canada last year, the immigration process is dependent on the Canadian High Commission working in tandem with Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour. She discloses that a batch of 14 LPNs are next in line to depart for Canada.

According to Donna Adams of the Jamaican Liaison Services, the feedback from employers has been very positive and the health-care workers already in Canada have adjusted well. The experiences over the years, she says, have confirmed that Jamaicans are “very committed, always working very hard to achieve their goals and always endeavouring to be good ambassadors.”

Adopted from the Jamaica Gleaner February 4, 2011

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles (left) offers words of advice to Resident Care Aides (RCAs) from second left, Rosalyn Sortie, Veron Strachan and Janet Grant, during a meeting with them at his North Street office today (July 23). Sharing in the moment at right is Regional Manager for Canadian-based company, Marmicmon Integrated Marketing and Communications, Andre Miller. A group of seven RCAS are to leave the island next Tuesday (July 27) to take up employment in Canada.

A total of seven Resident Care Aides (RCAs) are to leave the island on Tuesday (July 27) to take up employment in Nova Scotia, Canada.

They are the first batch of 44 persons, trained under a programme being undertaken in partnership with Jamaican and Canada authorities, to be dispatched to the North American country.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, who addressed the departing RCAs today (July 23) at his North Street office, told them that they are ambassadors for Jamaica and would be paving the way for hundreds of others.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles (left), engages in a light moment with Resident Care Aides (RCAs) Veron Strachan (centre) and Janet Grant, following a meeting with them at his Ministry on North Street in Kingston today (July 23). The RCAs are part of a group of seven, who are expected to leave the country on Tuesday (July 27) to take up employment in Canada.

Noting that they would face some challenges abroad, he assured that the Ministry’s liaison office in Canada “will assist you (to) deal with some of the social, legal, and medical situations that may arise from time to time.”

Chief Technical Director in the Ministry, Errol Miller, told JIS News that four of the RCAs will be taking up employment at the Homestead Senior Care in Halifax; two will go to ScotiaCare Homecare and Caregivers in Darmouth; and one person will work with Always Home Homecare, also in Darmouth.

He informed that another seven are being processed by the Canadian High Commission, and will leave the island in August.

The work-study programme, he informed, stems from a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last year between the Government of Jamaica and Sprott-Shaw Community College in British Columbia, in partnership with Canadian company Marmicmon Integrated Marketing and Communications.

The training is being undertaken at the Brown’s Town Community College in St. Ann, using curriculum developed by the Sprott-Shaw Community College.

Regional Manager for Marmicmon, Andre Miller, said the company is pleased to have partnered with the Government of Jamaica to offer the training programme in Jamaica.

“Despite our Canadian base, we have a passion for Jamaica…we believe that it is a tremendous privilege for us to be able to expose the rich talent that exists here in Jamaica,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the RCAs, Rosalyn Sortie, said that they were glad for the opportunity and pledged that they would represent the country well abroad.

“We know that we’ll be going to Canada to be great and outstanding ambassadors for Jamaica,” she stated.

http://www.jis.gov.jm/labour/html/20100726t170000-0500_24787_jis_resident_care_aides_leave_tuesday_for_jobs_in_canada.asp

All provinces and territories have agreed to eliminate barriers that prevent certified workers from choosing where to live and work.

excerpt from the link: http://news.ontario.ca/tcu/en/2009/12/full-labour-mobility-for-professions-and-trades-in-ontario-1.html

The first set of professionals are now being trained in accordance with the curriculum of the Centre for Nursing Studies in Canada and will be placed in jobs in that country on successful completion of the programme.

The programme, dubbed the Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) programme, was launched last night at the Runaway Bay Heart Academy in St Ann by the Ministry of Labour.

The ministry is collaborating with the Centre For Nursing Studies, CNS in Canada and Marmicmon Integrated Marketing and Communications.

The programme will see student nurses being trained at Brown’s Town and Knox Community Colleges and Nuttall Hospital, based on the curriculum of the CNS, located in Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.

Employers from Canada are expected in the island tomorrow to interview and make offers of full time employment in that country to pre-university students.

The students will then be required to satisfactorily complete the programme and satisfy all other requirements for travelling to Canada to work.

Labour Minister Pearnel Charles says a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to implement the programme was signed three weeks ago when he visited Canada.

He has also sought to assure that the programme should not result in a brain drain for Jamaica as the practical nurses are being trained specifically for employment in Canada and are not being taken from the local labour force.

The labour minister also says the programme will satisfy the demand for jobs that could not be filled locally.

The pioneering – who were drawn from three of the institution’s four campuses islandwide (Kingston, Montego Bay and Portmore) – participated in a five-day job fair, which ended yesterday and was brokered by Canadian firm Marmicmon Integrated Marketing and Communications. All 195 students were interviewed by representatives of 20 Canadian firms for jobs they can take up as early as January. However, this is dependent on their success course’s final examinations in early December.

The programme comes on stream at a time when the demand for qualified nurses is on the rise in Canada, according to Canadian authorities.

The Pre-University School’s 18-month Canadian Licensed Practical Nursing Programme is the first such venture by a local institution and is endorsed by the Canadian and Jamaican government in association with Okanagan College in British Columbia and NorQuest College in Alberta, Canada.

The intensive course requires students to be examined on a monthly basis with the expectation of achieving a minimum passing grade of 70 per cent in order to advance. Additionally, they undergo two practicum assessments which necessitates that they test their practical skills in different medical facilities, including hospitals and nursing homes across Jamaica.

Upon their acceptance to the programme, students are granted full Canadian immigrant status.

The programme is open to individuals between the ages of 18 to 49, with a matriculation requirement of three O’level subjects, including English Language, Human and Social Biology and Mathematics.

International Marketing Director for the Canadian-based Marmicmon Integrated Marketing and Communications (IMC), Professor Michael Patterson, said that the idea is not to recruit registered nurses but rather to train persons, who are interested in the health care industry.

“Persons, who may say that we are looking to drain Jamaica of its resources, we consider that to be a false argument because most of the people that we have identified are people, who are unemployed, who have decided basically to make an investment in themselves to train for a programme, which is not low-skilled,” he said.

Professor Patterson was speaking to JIS News at the official launch of the Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) programme at the Runaway Bay HEART Hotel in St. Ann last week.

He said that the programme will definitely benefit Jamaica, in terms of addressing the unemployment problem.

The LPN programme is a partnership involving the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Centre for Nursing Studies (CNS) in Canada, and Marmicmon, and provides for the training of Jamaicans to work as practical nurses in Canada.

The 15-week training course is being offered at the Brown’s Town and Knox Community Colleges and at the Pre-university School. The CNS curriculum is used in the training.

Yesterday (Sept. 28), Canadian recruiters began interviewing some 187 pre-university students, who are expected to graduate from the programme within the next two months. The five-day recruitment exercise continues until Friday (Oct. 2).

“All the persons, who are being interviewed for jobs in Canada are students who are enrolled in the programme and are soon to finish,” Professor Patterson told JIS News. He informed that once a student has successfully completed the programme and satisfied all the background checks including criminal and medical records, then he/she will be destined for employment in Canada.

Professor Patterson appealed for more males to join the programme. “Nursing is almost recession proof and if you are man enough to be a nurse, then we are interested in hearing from you, because we find that as much as female nurses are in demand, male nurses are twice in demand as female nurses,” he stated.

The requirement for entry to the LPN programme is four Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) passes, including a science subject. Mathematics and English Language are compulsory.

Persons, who do not meet the CXC requirement, can still become a part of the programme, on successfully passing the Canadian Adult Achievement Test.

Interested persons can contact the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) for further details.

The provision is being made under the Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) Programme, which involves collaboration with the government of Jamaica, the Centre For Nursing Studies (CNS) in Canada and Marmicmon Integrated Marketing and Communications.

Training sites are: the Nuttall Hospital in Kingston; the Brown’s Town Community College in St. Ann; and the Spaldings campus of the Knox Community College in Clarendon.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles
Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles, speaking at the official launch last week at the Runaway Bay HEART Hotel in St Ann, stated that the programme “is satisfying because it is providing jobs where we could not provide jobs here.”

He assured that every effort will be made to secure jobs for all successful participants. “Canadians are retiring at age 60 and they cannot find enough people to take their jobs …we are ready and willing,” he said.

Education Minister, Andrew Holness, in his remarks, urged the participants to do their best. He encouraged them to “represent the best of Jamaica” to ensure the continuation of the training programme so that others can benefit.

He noted that “the Government of Jamaica has made its facilities available through the community colleges for use to deliver this course and we will, in the future… make other resources available as we can.”

The 15-month programme is based on the CNS curriculum and the first batch of students are already being trained.

To qualify for the programme, students must have four Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) passes including a science subject.

Once participants have successfully completed the training course, they will be interviewed by recruiters from Marmicmon for placement in institutions in Canada.

The project will see the Brown’s Town Community College, in St. Ann, training Resident Care Attendants, based on British Colombian school, Sprott-Shaw Community College’s academic curriculum. The programme, which is being done in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and Marmicmon Integrated Marketing and Communications, was launched at the Hilton Kingston, on May 18.

Under the Programme, Sprott-Shaw will develop the curriculum and supervise its delivery, Brown’s Town Community College will train the Resident Care Attendants, Marmicmon will be in charge of job placement, while the Ministry’s Liaison Office in Canada will help the workers get settled in Canada.

International Marketing Director for Marmicmon Integrated Marketing and Communications, which spearheads the programme, Professor Michael Patterson, said the decision was made to train Resident Care Attendants, because health care is almost “recession proof.”

Describing the launch of the programme as a “very important milestone,” Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security Hon. Andrew Gallimore, said the current global economic situation demands partnerships, such as the one forged among the parties. He added that Canada’s ageing population means that there are many jobs available in that country.

Mr. Gallimore encouraged the students accepted into the programme, to make the most of the opportunity and ensure others could also benefit.

“The relationship that’s being formed is really, in my view, the tip of the iceberg. Because the market that is in Western Canada, I don’t think we have the capacity to exhaust,” he said.

He told the group they would receive certificates from Sprott-Shaw Community College, qualifying them to work anywhere in the world. Mr. Gallimore noted that the 106 year-old institution is known as one of the most prolific trainers of Resident Care Nurses.

President of Sprott-Shaw Dean Duperron, supported the Minister, emphasising that the institution had a global reach, with campuses in several countries.

Meanwhile, Principal of the Brown’s Town Community College, James Walsh, gave a commitment that the programme would be delivered to the highest standard. He said the college has been able to “use limited resources to produce as good an output as produced, using far more capital intensive methods than elsewhere in the world.”

Chair of the British Colombia Caucus, Richard Harris, said he was happy for the programme, because while Canada has many vacancies, it is important that immigrant workers are trained. “You’re getting the best available in the world,” he told the students, while encouraging them to continue their education beyond the programme.

Canadian employers are expected to arrive in the island in another four months to conduct interviews with the participants in the programme. A new cohort is to be trained after the current six-month training period ends.

Canada and Jamaica have enjoyed a close relationship, with thousands of Jamaicans benefitting from work programmes, such as the Canada/Jamaica Agricultural Workers Programme. Jamaicans have also been recruited by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to work as industrial mechanics, chefs and security guards in Canada.