ELT Success Stories/Testimonials

Thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts about TDSB ELT program.

I heard about ELT program after I finished my CLB assessment from YMCA. This was the first training program I enrolled after getting my PR. At first, I just wanted to have a try, I never thought it turned out to be the most productive and memorable training I ever had.

ELT program has great and systematic curriculum which includes business English training, job developer sessions, sector specific lessons, legal aid workshop and digital empowerment training. On top of that, each instructor and job developer are impressively professional and helpful.

After the eight weeks with ELT, I developed not only my own Canadian style resume and learnt how to prepare an efficient interview, but also successfully found a volunteer work placement with the help of my job developer Ivetta.

For me personally, the inspiring ELT workshop is way beyond improving business English skills and introducing Canadian workplace culture, the instructor Thomas encouraged me to re-examine my inner self and make me more confident.

If I can only recommend one training to newcomers, it would be TDSB ELT program.

Wendy W.
Information Technology – Session 227 (Apr – Jun 2021)

I am writing to thank you and other individuals involved in the ELT program because of your great program and informative and helpful lessons…. I am one of the attendees of engineering sector of the program starting April 2021. After four weeks, I was invited to attend the interview for one of the positions I applied for and got the job as the “Team Lead of Manufacturing Quality Assurance” in “Stratosphere Quality” company.

From the information about the workplace culture and business language in Canada to job finding strategies including preparing and improving the resume, networking and finding connections, searching companies, how to appear in the interview and how to answer the questions etc., were very effective for me to get the job.

While searching for companies and contact persons for job placement, I reached to one of the managers in one of my goal companies; through mutual connections I asked him for consultancy. Giving many helpful comments, he introduced me to one of his friends who worked as a project manager in Stratosphere Quality company. This person was very supportive as well and told me to send him my resume and apply on the site of the company for the related job posting. In less than two weeks I was invited for the interview.

The interview went well. The questions were like what we had practiced during the class, I was prepared to answer them, supporting my answers with my success stories. Few hours after the interview, I was called and told that I can start my job from the beginning of next month.

I feel way more comfortable and confident than I felt before participating in the program. I am very grateful to you and other teachers for your invaluable knowledge, great experience, high professionalism, helpful comments, recommendations and support, inspiration, and encouragement.

I will recommend my friend to participate and take benefit of this program.

Best regards,

Solmaz Movafaghi
Engineering Session (Apr-Jun 2021)

The ELT program, which was recommended by my language assessor at YMCA, helps newcomers be prepared for Canadian workplace culture as well as help them find employment. I would like to talk about what really makes the program stand out.

After 8 weeks of class, you can get a 6-week voluntary placement chance, which is rare to find in other programs. Also, the classes are differentiated between Administration/Customer Service and Accountant/Financial professionals, according to a participant’s previous experience. The program is very practical and well-organized. I learned useful tips in cover letter and resume writing and got valuable feedback in class. Particularly, the job interview preparation and a mock interview made me feel well-prepared for my actual job interview. Finally, all the staff and instructors are very resourceful, professional and supportive.

Honestly, I was worried about not having class in person due to Covid-19, but it did not affect the success of the program. Having moved to Toronto during the pandemic, I found it very challenging to find a volunteer position to get Canadian experience. Getting a job seemed almost impossible. However, thanks to the ELT program, I landed a job in the administration sector by the end of the program. I am so happy that I joined the program. I highly recommend the ELT program.

Erin Kim
Office Admin and Customer Relations - Session 222 (Jan- March 2021)

The Enhanced Language Training (TDSB) program was my third agency for training, development, and support in my Canadian job search. Before starting the program, I have decided it is my final job training. I heard about the ELT program from an employment training agency.

The ELT program helped me to improve my language. I have learnt more about the Canadian job market. I never paid attention to some of my soft skills before. I have concentrated more on my technical skills. The ELT program helped me notice more of my soft skills. With the help of the ELT program, I have developed my skills like presentation and interview skills.

Throughout the ELT program and my voluntary placement, my job developer Genevieve Graham extended great support to modify and develop my resume and help improve my skills. She also gave me some tips to attend the job interview. By the end of my voluntary placement, I got two full-time opportunities from two companies. These happened because of the excellent training by the ELT program.

I would like to thank Dr. Rakesh and Linda. They have supported and motivated me in my job search. As a new immigrant, I will strongly recommend the ELT program not only for job search and voluntary placement, but also to create more connections in the same field. It also helps us to improve most of our important soft skills, which we never focus on.

Thank you ELT for giving me a breakthrough!

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 learned about the Enhanced Language Training program from a LINC classmate. She told me that her husband successfully found a professional job through this project, which is very suitable for people who work in IT. Later, I checked it online myself and found it very interesting, so I signed up for it.

Overall, I think the ELT project is very good! It systematically introduces how to write resumes, interviews, social networking, Canadian work culture etc. The tutors in the courses are very experienced and gave us a lot of knowledge and skills. In the class, my instructor Nelson was very helpful! He is humorous and serious. He is a professional and very interesting tutor! We all love him!

After the popularization of knowledge in the ELT classroom and the communication with the students, we realized the difference between our previous work experience and methods and the local work culture in Canada. How to deal with this difference properly and how to deal with this kind of difference reasonably is conducive to us to find a professional job..

After taking the ELT course, I strongly recommend this course to every new immigrant friend who wants to find a job. Everyone who has taken this course will have a great harvest!

In fact, after finishing the ELT course, I successfully found a professional job in one month.

I sincerely thank the ELT course and the teachers of ELT!

Thank you very much!

Johnson Wu
Information Technology Session 194 (Oct – Dec 2019)

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