Employment training program at The Food Bank of Waterloo Region 'empowering newcomers'

The Region of Waterloo, with the support of Immigration Partnership, has launched the Newcomer Work Experience Program. The four-week training program, which will be run by The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, aims to provide newcomers with training so they can transition more smoothly into the local Canadian workforce.

Participants will receive training at the food bank's distribution centre over the next 4 weeks

John Dalusong · CBC News · Posted: Jul 10, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 10

A man wearing a purple shirt and green face mask offloads a bag of carrots onto a cart. — Volunteers help offload food and prepare hampers for those in need at The Food Bank of Waterloo Region. The Newcomer Work Experience Program aims to not only help newcomers get job-specific training, but also provide much-needed help to the food bank. (Josette Lafleur/CBC)

A new program run by The Food Bank of Waterloo Region that aims to help newcomers to Canada enter the workforce has just welcomed its first cohort of participants.

Aptly named the Newcomer Work Experience Program, the paid training program aims to give newcomers the necessary job skills they need to fill gaps in the local workforce.

"We believe in empowering newcomers by helping them build their skills and confidence, so they can contribute to the Canadian economy and help fill critical labour gaps in Waterloo region by strengthening the workforce where support is needed most," Kim Wilhelm, CEO at The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, said in a release Wednesday.

The program will provide newcomers with training on workplace best practices, especially health and safety, food safety, order picking, driver assistance and handling of hazardous materials in the workplace. Participants will also learn about de-escalation techniques, as well as working with vulnerable populations.

The training program is funded by the Region of Waterloo with support from Immigration Partnership.

People in purple shirts move food around a warehouse — Volunteers work in the warehouse of The Food Bank of Waterloo Region. Participants of the Newcomer Work Experience Program will train over the next four weeks in The Food Bank of Waterloo Region's Kitchener distribution centre. (Kate Bueckert/CBC)

Region growing fast

In March of 2024, Regional Chair Karen Redman said she expects the region to be home to one million residents by 2050. Redman announced this during her 2024 State of the Region under the theme "1 Million Ready."

During that same month, Statistics Canada reported "that the [country's] population grew faster in 2023 than it has at any time since the 1950s."

Changes to immigration policies in late 2024 have reduced the target numbers for permanent residents to Canada in the next few years. But Tara Bedard, executive director at Immigration Partnership, says Waterloo region remains one of the fastest growing communities in the country in large part due to immigration.

She says finding a job remains to be one of the toughest challenges for newcomers, making programs like the Newcomer Work Experience Program a necessity.

"The unemployment rate for new immigrants is quite a bit higher than it is in general for the regional population, almost twice as high at times," she said. "We do a survey of immigrants… every other year where consistently finding work is one of the top challenges."

But according to Bedard, the program's rationale goes beyond just helping immigrants transition smoothly into the Canadian workforce.

"This program is specifically responding to the concerns and challenges that we hear from both business and immigrants," she said.

A portrait of a woman. — Kim Wilhelm is the CEO of The Food Bank of Waterloo Region. She says the program took about a year of work, and required the help of several partner organizations in the region. (Carmen Groleau/CBC)

Wilhelm seconds this, saying the program also responds to other gaps the program's organizers have seen in the community. In the case of the food bank, she says they "rely heavily" on volunteers.

"Being able to employ newcomers also helps the Food Bank of Waterloo Region fill a gap in our very important work to get food out to our neighbours who need food assistance," Wilhelm explained.

Bedard says the program is a "win-win" for everyone involved. As newcomers get job-specific training and businesses get access to workers with "targeted training," the local economy benefits.

Who can apply

To qualify for the program, a participant must be at least 16 years old and belong to one of the following groups:

Canadian citizens born outside of Canada.
Permanent residents.
Convention refugees.
Refugee claimants or protected persons with a valid work permit.
Temporary residents with a valid work permit, including Ukrainians under the CUAET (Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel) program.

The current cohort of participants will receive training at The Food Bank of Waterloo Region's Kitchener distribution centre over the next four weeks.

The program will run until May 2026. At that point, seven cohorts of newcomers, or 42 people in total, will have completed the training course.

Each participant will receive a letter of completion that they can use to support their job application.

Wilhelm says the program will continue to provide support beyond the program.

"We will definitely continue to be a resource once these participants leave The Food Bank of Waterloo Region's program to support them in finding jobs afterwards," she said. "If we have positions available, we would definitely consider them [to work at the food bank]."