Yukon College to no longer host Enhanced Language Training program

December 14, 2015

WHITEHORSE-Yukon College is not renewing a contract with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to host the Enhanced Language Training program. The program is an initiative offered free to help newcomers to Canada who have work experience, settle in their new community and connect with job opportunities.

“In most other jurisdictions across the country the Enhanced Language Training program is hosted by community organizations not post-secondary institutions and we believe such an arrangement would be a better fit for our community as well,” said Margaret Dumkee, Dean of Applied Science and Management at Yukon College.

“The costs to deliver the program have increased and the funding the College receives to run the program has not always covered the expenses involved in delivering it,” added Dumkee.

In the last fiscal year the College received $160,037 in funding for the program and expenses totaled $211,095. $119,245 of the funding was from CIC and $40,792 was from the Government of Yukon’s Community Training Fund.

Yukon College has offered Citizenship and Immigration Canada support in transitioning the program to a new provider in Yukon.

Enhanced Language Training is a free program for people newly-settled in Canada who have significant education, training and work experience. The program features training in Canadian workplace culture and communication, computer skills, and employment interview techniques. It also provides introduction to local professional communities, field trips, guest speakers, job leads and work placements. Students are provided assistance for child care and transportation.

The program has been offered twice a year since 2006. 160 participants have completed the program. Enhanced Language Training programs are not offered in Northwest Territories, Nunavut or Quebec.

English as a Second Language (ESL) courses are funded separately and will continue at the College. These programs are aimed at assisting students achieve English language proficiency in order to enter further academic programming. The College currently offers advanced and intermediate level ESL courses, as well as a multi-level ESL course in the summer.