ELT Success Stories/Testimonials

I was a student of TDSB-Community Services’ ELT Fall 2020 program. I came to know about this program when I did my language assessment with YMCA in last August.

Initially I was in a bit of a dilemma; however, when I talked with an ELT counselor and attended their information session, I understood this program was not like any regular program, but it was designed in such a way for a newcomer where he/she would be able to get the accurate industry information, a guideline and possibly an opportunity of work-placement in the desired area. I am happy I joined the program, followed their guided path and thus today, I can share my success story.

Our workshop took place online. It had eight weeks of in-class program under a very talented, and professional instructor and we were also tied with a Job Developer (JD) to get prepared for work-placements. It covered useful tips and techniques about resume writing, interviews and business language, hidden job market research, work culture; sometimes industry leaders joined the program, shared their experiences, and suggested us the required certifications or paths for long run.

The uniqueness of this program I find is that the mentors are highly experienced in their fields, thus they not only concentrated on resumes or cover letters, but they taught me how I can be different among all other candidates, how to answer most difficult questions in a manner which portrays my positiveness and soft skills. My JD worked very hard and found me the placement matching my experiences even during pandemic, she helped me with my interview questions, showed me the areas to improve, researching the hidden job market; even after that when I got the work placement, she advised me in detail how I should behave so that, in case there is any opportunity, the company can offer me a job.

Upon completion of the program, I got the work placement and fortunately I can turn that to a contractual job. I regularly use the keywords or communication skills I have learnt from this program in my day-to-day job, which helps me to be a part of the team easily.

I highly recommend this program to any newcomer, because one lucrative part of this program is the possible opportunity of job placement which helps us with much required Canadian experiences and, secondly, the supports from instructors are wide-ranging. They are pioneers in these areas. They know all the difficulties or questions a newcomer can have; thus, they offer very personalized support to each participant.

I am very much thankful to the ELT program, my mentors, to become my support system in this new journey. I share my gratitude to all the people who are associated with this.

Saima Sharmin
Information Technology – Aug to Oct 2020

I found out about the ELT program through a friend as he received assistance and started working in his field after finishing the program. I was hesitant at the beginning but read more about it and learnt that it is free of charge, especially for someone, like myself, who recently moved to Canada, and does not know from where to start.

When I joined the ELT program (Health and wellness module), it exceeded my expectation as I received the full support that I needed. At the beginning, I wanted to learn more about the Canadian culture and how to communicate in a Canadian way. Suzan, who was our class instructor, met my needs and answered many questions I had regarding my new country such as the law, taxes, manners and many other aspects.

Communication skills that I learnt were amazing as they helped me a lot during my licensing examinations journey in the medical field. Then she focused on work and career paths like business manners and writing.

In the last few weeks of the program, Paul, my job developer, helped me to edit my resume into the Canadian style and improve my interview skills. This support helped to ace my interview with the Canadian Red Cross as a volunteer at the beginning until I joined them officially as an employee and was deployed to different cities in Ontario working in emergencies. I will always appreciate and be grateful to the ELT program for showing me the path and motivating me. I highly recommend it to all international trained professionals, particularly newcomers, who need any kind of support.

Mohamad Gadmour
Health and Wellness Session – July 9 to Sep 2018

ELT program is a great opportunity not only to learn more about Canadian work environment and gain valuable knowledge of job seeking but also to get the first Canadian experience during a work placement, which is also provided by the program. I found out about the ELT program from YMCA language assessor and had no doubt that it would make a beginning of my successful career in Canada.

After eight weeks of in-class lessons with a high-skilled professional teacher, I learned a vast number of useful tips and techniques about resume and cover letter writing, interviews and business language, Canadian work culture and corporate environment. It was an intensive program with a perfect balance between everyday challenges and fun! The other part of the program consisted of meetings with a job developer, who was extremely helpful with resume customization, practical interviews preparation and placement seeking.

Upon completing the program, I significantly improved my language skills, got lots of useful knowledge and information that I would definitely use in the future, and the most important I managed to get a paid internship in an international IT company. Therefore I definitely recommend the ELT program for all internationally trained professionals who want to build a successful career in Canada.

Maryna V.

I heard about the ELT program from the YMCA when I got my CLB test last November. After reading the introduction for the program, I decided to enrol immediately because it has two significant features which are different from others. One is grouping students by industry and another is volunteer work placement recommendation by the job developer. Later the fact proves, those two features are so important for us to get interviews and to be successful.

Because of COVID-19, our class changed into an online course, but it had no effect on training. We learned lots of language knowledge. Students from multicultural backgrounds built teams to discuss different opinions and summarize into an assessment. Everyone had a chance to make a public presentation. All textbook and material revolved around a real situation. We got many skill points which should be mastered in the workplace very quickly.

Job developer gave us comprehensive interview guideline and pointed out every tiny thing which should be improved. In the mock interview, it was such an amazing immersive sense that I had to overcome being nervous and tongue-tied. Those training and strategies were used in my later interview successfully.

As a newcomer, we have to shift our mind and integrate into society as soon as possible. We must absorb essential skills and knowledge to adapt to new workplaces. We need opportunities to practice and present our professional ability. The ELT program is a platform for us to provide all of those things. In this program, I learned about not only communication language but also common sense and motivation for workplace. I really highly recommend this program for all newcomers.

Qiang (Marvin) K.

“It (ELT) is helpful for newcomers, it is designed based on what we need to know about general culture and working environment in Canada and enhance our language skills to easily adapt to the English speaking communities. 

The teacher is very enthusiastic to explain all the definitions and concepts that are strange to us about life in Canada. He always welcomes questions and helped me fix language errors in my resume. 

The Job developer also helps to identify what is the (difference) in job hunting strategy in Canada and in my home country, so that I can apply and change my approach immediately to get a job offer quickly. 

I enhanced my languages skills… got job searching skills and know how to well prepare for an upcoming opportunity.”

Hanh Thi (Hannah)
Attended the ELT - Financial Services session
Employed at one of Canada’s top-five banks

One of the workers at YMCA recommended the ELT program at TDSB. The program is really great and very helpful. I learnt the Canadian culture, life, working environment, job search tools and interview tips, enhanced my language skills to adapt easily to the English speaking communities, established new contacts with my multicultural team. My team was incredible, all my classmates were internationally trained professionals with whom I learnt the importance of diversity and inclusion.

From my ELT Instructor Nelson Yuen, I learnt the importance of SABO stories and their effectiveness in making the interview process professional and successful. And I was greatly impressed when I got a message from YMCA for a phone interview that resulted in a volunteer placement.

Within the frames of the ELT program, I improved my hard skills as well, prepared presentations and business correspondence, created a LinkedIn account, and improved my knowledge at Excel.

Working with my Job Developer Jennifer Kolins, I learnt many job search tools, had a great experience to pass the mock interview and got respectful feedback on my responses and behaviour. I felt more prepared and confident for any upcoming opportunity to interview, to network, to use business communication skills and workplace behavioural skills, to reach my goals in my new country. And as a result of my study, I got a job!

I am very grateful to all my teachers at the ELT program for their invaluable knowledge, great experience, high professionalism, respectful comments, recommendations and support, inspiration and encouragement. I definitely recommend the program to all internationally-trained newcomers to improve their business English skills for the workplace and to gain the Canadian experience.

Tatyana K.

One of my friends I met at Church who is an administrator in a large company recommended the ELT program to me as she had seen my struggle in looking for a job. She said she was a student in the ELT program more than 10 years ago and found a job through the program.

We have a group of very experienced and professional instructors like Nelson in ELT program to teach us the workplace culture, write business letters, build our confidence, create and embellish interview stories and practice interview skills.

Also, classmates were so collaborative to help each other doing homework, filling out company list to be a volunteer there.

I believe it would be better for students to be in a physical classroom with instructors and classmates. Given the situation with the pandemic, online classes did the job!

I already recommended this program to my friends who would definitely join after being qualified.

Janet L.

I came to Canada as an immigrant with new hopes and dreams. ELT program at TDSB-Centrepoint Learning was something which caught my attention and after my research, I joined the program in Accounting stream. This program provided an opportunity to understand the Canadian workplace environment and equipped me with necessary skills required in securing a job, such as resume building, facing interviews, networking and enhancing social media presence. It not only covered all the essential components for job search in my field but also provided me insight of the tools and software commonly used in Canadian business environment.

ELT helped me leverage my skills and experience to gain opportunities. I really enjoyed all the components of the program whether its learning in multicultural environment, practicing new skills and helping each other to gain confidence during hiring process.

I am extremely grateful to my instructor Kurt Strachan and coordinator Pallavi Mauji who guided and supported me in transition of my life. Roxanne my JD has been an integral part of my journey at ELT. With the knowledge, coaching and blessings of Kurt and Roxanne and learnings of the program in my armoury, I was able to secure a job in accounting within six months of my arrival, even during the unprecedented times of COVID.

In a nutshell I am happy that I got this opportunity to get connected with ELT program and made a wise decision.

Shobhit W.

One of my fellow ELT students, Eliane, whom I met at the Triec mentoring information session, recommended this program.

It is a good program for newcomers. It facilitates the learning of Canadian business communication skills and workplace behavioural skills. It also equips them with job search methods and tips to begin a successful career in Canada.

I really enjoyed working with a multicultural team with a sales and marketing background. I learned different perspectives from their career experiences and their newcomer experiences in Canada. I also learned many nuances of effective communication from Barbara Carter, ELT Instructor.

I learned many useful job search tips from the Job Developer. The mock interview process helped me reflect on my body language and my responses to behavioural interview questions.

I learned the importance of conversational writing and its effectiveness in making the communication genuine and in gaining readers engagement.

Would you consider referring the ELT program to others?

Yes. It is a great platform for newcomers to learn Canadian business communication and to gain their first practical experience in working with a multicultural team here in Canada.

Hariprasad M.
Attended ELT Sales and Marketing

“The ELT can help internationally trained professionals by providing them with the resources they need to get acclimated to the Canadian workplace environment and by helping them leverage on their skills and experience to gain opportunities… being in a program like ELT is like being in the workplace; whether it’s interacting with others, learning and re-learning, establishing contacts, and helping others get better.

Whether you have basic or intermediate language skills, I would recommend the ELT program if you’re looking for a program that combines practical communication skills development and training, relevant workplace and sector-specific information, and useful job search tools and strategies.”

Chris C.
Attended ELT Financial Services