GM Canada Connecting Syrian Refugees With Service Jobs
General Motors in Canada said Monday that it would provide assistance to Syrian refugees in that country through job training and money, the automaker announced.
“We are witnessing an outpouring of community support across Canada which recognizes the importance of a coordinated and thoughtful approach to refugee resettlement,” Steve Carlisle, president of General Motors of Canada, said in a statement.
The program will help connect refugees to local dealers looking for potential technicians or candidates for jobs. Would-be candidates will be trained in nearby community colleges through GM’s Automotive Service Educational Program.
In addition to the training program, GM said it would donate $50,000 to the Community Foundations of Canada’s “ Welcome Fund for Syrian Refugees.” According to the automaker, roughly 25,000 Syrian refugees are expected to arrive in Canada within the next few months.
It’s unclear how many jobs GM may offer to qualified refugees or how much the program may cost the automaker. A spokesman for GM in Canada didn’t immediately respond to our questions.
A GM spokesman in the U.S. said he was unaware of any similar program in the U.S.
Good on GM Canada today.
More by Aaron Cole
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Are Canadian Soldiers going to be part of the inevitable "Syrian Coalition"? Another country to fight for a place the inhabitants seem uninterested in fighting for. Least I'll be retired for this one.
This is what first nations do. They assist people that have come from countries at War. Many of us cannot understand what it's like to be in their shoes. In my opinion it's better to provide training and assistance so they can get working than to be sitting at home collecting welfare or EI. That being said I would like to see more assistance for Canadians who are unemployed. Many within the GTA have years of experience and are finding it difficult to find something. I get why they send people to Toronto. However, we are outgrowing our infrastructure and overpopulating to the point where traffic is crazy.
You mean there are not enough unemployed Canadian citizens for those jobs??
I'm not against helping honest hardworking people from anywhere, but i do have a problem when they come in and then demand changes to suit their religious,social and legal requirements. Anyone for stoning their daughters for losing their viginity before marriage? Yet companies like GM will not hire out of work Americans or Canadians because we are either too old, over educated or undereducated or our demographic predicts higher workers comp rates etc. That pisses me off. However they'll help these people while I can't get so much as a small business loan because I'm too small a business.