This text is part of the special section on International Cooperation
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, there are currently more than 25 million refugees worldwide. And of this number, it is estimated that more than half are aged 18 and under. This leaves behind many young people who are old enough and able to undertake post-secondary studies.
It is to offer young refugees who find themselves in such a situation the possibility of a better future that World University Service of Canada (WUSC) has set up, since 1978, the Student Program refugees (PER). To this end, WUSC has forged links with all post-secondary institutions, colleges and universities in Canada. Over the years, the PER has made it possible to welcome nearly 2,500 refugee students.
International cooperation is not new to WUSC, since the organization was founded in the 1920s. Since then, WUSC has adapted its actions according to circumstances and has also broadened its scope. Without neglecting the case of refugees, however, EUMC has set up, in more than twenty developing countries, international cooperation programs aimed at young people, in particular young girls and women, in order to better equip them.
The per
How does the PER work? “The first step is to identify young refugees who might qualify for the PER,” says Michelle Manks, WUSC’s Senior Refugee Durable Solutions Manager. We therefore travel to the countries that currently host refugees, and it is there that we assess the candidates and their needs. »
The second step is to match successful applicants with the right post-secondary institutions. “In each of the establishments with which we collaborate, EUMC can count on volunteer students who will form the host group, and it is with these young people that we work”, specifies Ms.me manks.
The host group is committed to mentoring and supporting refugee students and providing them, for the first year of their stay, with light financial support by organizing a fundraiser. Thanks to an agreement between WUSC and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, candidates accepted into the PER immediately receive permanent resident status. “And as permanent residents, they have the right to work and they are eligible for various loan and bursary programs, continues Michelle Manks, which explains why the financial support is modest. As for the moral support, it continues as friendships are woven between the members of the host group and the refugee students. »
About young women
EUMC, in its actions in international cooperation, seeks to reach girls and young women and the PER is no exception to this choice. “We have always sought to achieve parity with the PER, underlines Mme Manks, but we only got there last year. »
It’s that the barriers for young women are unique. “Many young refugee women, often for family reasons, have not had the opportunity to complete their secondary education,” says Ms.me manks. We have therefore worked more with colleges and CEGEPs to relax the admission rules for these young refugee women, which has made it possible to slightly exceed parity this year. Moreover, WUSC has just made the PER accessible to Afghan refugees, particularly Afghan women.
And not just students
Not all young refugees, with or without a high school diploma, want to pursue higher education. Some would prefer to integrate more quickly and directly into the labor market and have the necessary skills to do so. It is to respond to the needs of these young refugees that WUSC recently set up the HIRES program.
“The HIRES program is a bit like the PER, in that young refugees are first welcomed for a short training by a host group at a post-secondary institution before entering the labor market,” says Ms.me manks. As in the PER, refugees obtain permanent resident status upon arrival. »
For the moment, only one cohort has been welcomed: in British Columbia at the Camosun College in tourism studies, before being hired by the recreational tourism entrepreneurs of Tofino, in Vancouver. “This is a program that we want to extend to all of Canada,” said Ms.me Manks, and which is amply justified given the current labor shortage. »
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.