Doctors are life savers and help us recover when we are sick but a healthy person most of the time tries to avoid hospitals and doctor’s office, so do many women with normal pregnancies in Ottawa. Ottawa has great midwifery groups which provide care to a woman during pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum.
Appointments at a midwife’s office resemble more a friendly consultation in a cosy room with soft sofas, chairs, toys and books about pregnancy, labor and birth which the clients are welcome to borrow. Appointments last at least 30 minutes or longer, and of course, parners and children are always welcome to join the mom-to-be. Often fathers can listen to the baby’s heart or feel the position of the baby’s head that surely makes them be closer to their partners and babies and understand better the pregnancy and future birth, so they can help the woman to go through birthing with less stress and more love and care.
The following three principles are the basis of the Ontario model of midwifery: choice of birthplace (home or hospital), continuity of care (during pregnancy, labor, birth and first 6 weeks postpartum), and informed choice (I loved it!).
Informed choice.
I would like to start with this principle as it is the one that attracts me most in midwifery care. I am sure that many people have felt awkward and modest to ask million questions to the doctor about their treatment. “Doctors know better”, that’s what I have heard when questioning the prescribed treatment to me or my family members.
Well, midwives are great because they always “teach” their clients about the pregnancy, labor and birth, educate the woman about the process and always welcome questions! “The pregnant woman is the primary decision maker. The midwives will provide her with the assistance in getting the resources that help to make an informed choice and realize the benefits and risks of possible courses of care” (http://www.midwiferycollectiveofottawa.ca/).
Choice of birth place.
The woman can choose to have birth at home or in a hospital.
If home birth is arranged, midwives will come there in any weather condition. They will assist at the birth, clean the room and help the woman to get a warm shower and get dressed, make sure that everybody is safe and happy and leave the family to enjoy their new member.
Hospital births are more common, although there are also very “informal”: the woman decides how she wants things to be arranged in the room and who should be present at birth and what and when should be done to her and her baby. (For example, my curiosity about placenta and how it looks and works, was satisfied by a worth of Discovery Channel lecture from my midwife.) After delivering the baby in a hospital, the woman can either stay there or go home.
Continuity of care
Either home or hospital birth were arranged, midwives care goes beyond that: they visit the newborn and the mom on day 1, 3, 5 to check how they are doing, and also, provide assistance over the phone 24/7. It gives such a great sence of protection and not being left alone during first 6 weeks which are most pleasant but can be very challenging for new parents.
The follow-up appointments are arranged in the midwives’ office and happen at the end of the 2nd, 4th and 6th weeks. After that the woman and the baby are discharged and provided with public lilbrary certificate for a baby book, a bag with the library logo, and some booklets. It can be very sad to leave the midwife who has become so close with your family, so don’t forget to give a friendly visit to her office a couple of months later.
If you are interested in more information about midwifery care in Ottawa, visit Midwifery Consumers’ web site http://www.midwiferyconsumers.org/About%20Midwifery.htm which has the description of midwifery care and contact numbers for the midwives.
If you’re an internationally trained engineer, architect or other construction professional looking to gain Canadian credentials, George Brown College has a great one year program to prepare you for a career in construction management.
Construction Management – For Internationally Educated Professionals was developed with input from industry and designed to build off the education and experience you’re already worked hard to acquire. This Canadian education combined with your experience is sure to open some doors.
Jumpstart Your Career
There is a huge demand in the rapidly growing and increasingly specialized construction industry for construction project managers with international qualifications. Today’s complex building industry requires professional managers who can function successfully in multidisciplinary teams consisting of project managers, architects, engineers, regulators, environmental consultants, urban planners, contractors and trade contractors. Managers also require a comprehensive understanding of quality management systems and sustainable building practices, and a deep and broad technical background in the construction industry.
Their Construction Management Program for Internationally Trained Professionals meets this demand with a unique combination of:
Courses offered on one weekday evening, Friday and Saturday, allowing most students to continue working during the program
Technical courses as well as Career Portfolio and Career Preparation courses to assist with your transition into the Canadian construction industry.
Communications upgrading via interactive workshops on teambuilding, customer service and critical thinking.
Highly regarded faculty who come with Canadian industry experience in all areas such as Project Management, Estimating, Industry Practices, Ontario Building Code and Construction Law.
Industry-approved courses that prepare students for management positions in the Canadian construction industry
Canadian construction industry orientation and experiences
This three-semester graduate certificate program provides applied education for management positions in all construction settings, including an applied construction simulation or a workplace experience component to help you make a quick transition into a job. Candidates will receive graduate-level training that builds on your internationally acquired education and experience to enable you to successfully enter the Ontario construction workforce.
Courses that will help make you a preferred candidate include Construction Industry Practices, Construction and Project Management, Drawings and Specifications, Ontario Building Code, Managing Health and Safety. The program will give you an understanding of Ontario’s construction industry that will enable you to take on a variety of positions including Construction Coordinator to Estimator, Field Engineer, Inspector and Project Coordinator
Read more at the source article at http://www.cnmag.ca/start-your-career-in-construction-management/
The majority of Canadian immigrants are university, college or trade school graduates and have years of work experience. Is it necessary to start your professional career in Canada from the very beginning? Not at all!
Many newcomers may continue working in their trades in Canada. But, to do so successfully you have to be prepared and do your homework. What does this mean? First of all you need to carefully learn about the Canadian job market and find out how your occupation is classified. You also have to research educational and employment requirements needed to continue your career in Canada.
The best way to gather all of this information is by getting acquainted with the official Canadian trade directory – National Occupational Classification (NOC). Ask for NOC in libraries or at Employment Resource Centers and you will get 2 books. The first is called “National Occupational Classification. Index of Titles”. There are almost 40,000 Canadian jobs, listed alphabetically, in this small book. Each occupation is followed by a unique four-digit code. Look for your job title if you know it, and you will find your occupational code. Then, take the second book, “National Occupational Classification. Occupational Description” and using the code from the Index of Titles, find your occupational description, which includes:
industries and workplaces where the occupation is found,
examples of titles which are commonly used within the group,
the most significant duties of this occupation,
educational and employment requirements.
If you do not know exactly what your job title is, look in the second book. You will find 10 types of skills:
Management occupations
Business, finance and administration (such as accountants, secretaries, office clerks)
Natural and applied sciences (engineers, technicians, technologists, etc.)
Health (physicians, pharmacists, nurses, dentists)
Social science, education, government service and religion (lawyers, teachers, social workers, ministers of religion, paralegals)
Art, culture, recreation and sport (Librarians, Journalists, Musicians, Graphic Designers, Coaches)
Sales and service (Retail and Wholesale People, Insurance and Real Estate Representatives, Cooks, Barbers, Cashiers, Cleaners, Babysitters)
Trades, transport and equipment operators (Machinists, Tool and Die Makers, Electricians, Plumbers, Carpenters, Mechanics, Drivers)
Occupations unique to primary industry (Farmers, Oil, Gas and Mine Workers)
Occupations unique to processing, manufacturing and utilities (Machine Operators, Assemblers, Laborers)
Read more at the source at http://www.cnmag.ca/work-how-to-learn-about-your-occupation-in-canada/
Mauricio Pereira de Oliveira is from Brazil. Daniel Sun is from China. They may have nothing in common when it comes to culture, but when the subject is jobs within Canada their similarities start to grow.
The two immigrated to Canada in the midst of the latest recession. Both are IT (Information and Technology) professionals and have families to support. It was no surprise that both needed a job as quickly as possible.
Employment agencies helped to translate their résumés – descriptions of over ten years of experience each – into Canadian standards. But after months of searching, they still had difficulties finding jobs that matched their level of expertise.
Blame it on the recession? Not in this case. Projections show that Canada’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector will need between 126,400 to 178,800 workers over the period of 2008-2015, an average of 15,795 to 22,345 new jobs annually.
Consisting of approximately 31,500 companies across the country (82 percent being small businesses with less than 10 employees), the sector was considered a “key driver of national growth” for the Canadian government in 2008, when it contributed to an increase of 2.7 percent in GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
What happened with Mauricio and Daniel is the well-known problem of lack of “cultural intelligence” or Canadian workplace experience, a factor that delays newcomers’ integration into the labour market, and causes a ripple effect in some areas of the economy, like the ICT segment.
The sector is already facing two distinctive shortages: a labour shortage and a skill shortage (lack of workers with the right “package” of skills, which can vary from company to company and region to region, such as: core technical skills, experience with specific applications or business processes, and even communications skills).
Read more at the source article at http://www.cnmag.ca/jobs-ictc-gets-the-wheels-rolling-in-the-it-sector/
Canada is internationally known as a country with excellent immigration programs for skilled workers and qualified professionals. It is important to know the rules and regulations of the province or territory you want to call home – only the right preparation and proper licensing will ensure a chance to put your expertise to work.
Engineering, health care, and a variety of other professions are regulated; and in order to be able to work in a regulated occupation, you must perform two steps – credentials assessment and proper licensing. There are many programs available in Western Canada to accomplish those steps, and they differ from province to province.
British Columbia
In British Columbia, the ICES (International Credential Evaluation Service – www.bcit.ca/ices) will assess international credentials for a fee, something you can do before you come to Canada. Another option is the Skills Connect Program (www.skillsconnect.ca), which is available to immigrants with a Permanent Resident (PR) card, and is administered in various locations throughout the Metro Vancouver area. For a full list of criteria and locations please check the FAQ section of the Skills Connect website.
The program is funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia, and is free of charge. Once registered, you’ll receive a full assessment of your language skills and international credentials, as well as skills upgrading and job placement counselling. A separate part of the program offers similar services for health care professionals, but does not include the cost for required training and courses. Some of these costs can be offset by obtaining government grants, and Skills Connect Health will provide grant application assistance.
BC is the only Western province with a central access point for immigrants; other provinces offer similar possibilities, though you’ll have to deal with a number of different authorities and agencies if you apply.
Please read more at the source article at http://www.cnmag.ca/employment-bridging-programs-in-western-canada/
