Professional Development for Settlement Sector

Peel Newcomer Strategy Group (PNSG) was tasked by the Executive Council to conduct professional development trainings for the settlement sector organizations of Peel and Halton regions.

PNSG worked with the co-chairs of the Executive Council and its four sub-committees – Community Connections Partnership (CCP); Information, Awareness & Orientation Partnership (IAOP), Labour Market Partnership, and Language Partnership – as well as its Halton counterpart (Halton Newcomer Strategy) to determine the sector needs for learning opportunities.

PNSG sourced sector experts and facilitators to offer virtual professional development sessions to the staff with a focus on prioritizing capacity-building and learning opportunities.

In the fall of 2021, a survey was conducted within the settlement sector to identify staff training needs. Responses from 76 participants from the four partnership tables identified some common topics including:

• Supporting mental health for clients and staff
• Conflict resolution
• Project management
• Case management techniques
• Digital service delivery
• Developing culture competency
• People management best practices

Sessions covering the priority topics are being planned for 2022-2023. Evaluation feedback collected after every workshop demonstrated that participants felt that workshop content was relevant to their work, and will do something new or different as a result of attending a workshop.