Settlement Online Pre-Arrival (SOPA) helps new immigrants prepare for their Canadian job search while still in their home countries. By registering with the SOPA Program, you will receive personalized one-hour planning session on career and settlement goals with our staff located in the province of your destination.
Interact directly with our staff and access free online facilitated and self-directed employment and workplace communication training prior to your arrival.
You will arrive in Canada better prepared, more confident, and will enter the workforce sooner.
Register at arriveprepared.ca.
To be eligible for and able to complete SOPA courses, participants must:
The following free online courses are offered through SOPA:
Click the course name to download PDF
Job Search Strategies (facilitated)
In this highly interactive facilitated course, participants learn and practice skills which will make them more competitive for positions in the Canadian labour market. Participants will become familiar with job search methods and resources, including networking; create resumes and cover letters, and prepare for job interviews .
Soft Skills: Complex Conversations (facilitated)
Soft Skills: Complex Conversations offers you the opportunity to learn how to manage complex conversations in the Canadian workplace. You will learn how to give and receive constructive feedback and how to negotiate in the Canadian workplace.
Soft Skills: Workplace Communication (facilitated)
Soft Skills: Workplace Communication offers you the opportunity to learn about two key types of workplace communication: presentations and meetings. In this course, you will learn how to plan and deliver a successful presentation and actively take part in meetings both as a leader and participant.
Soft Skills: Social Interactions (facilitated)
Soft Skills: Social Interactions offers you the opportunity to learn about the importance of small talk and networking in the Canadian workplace. In this course, you will learn about the role of small talk in the Canadian workplace, explore the importance of networking and develop your personal networking pitch.
Soft Skills: Working with Others (facilitated)
In this facilitated course, through video and other media, participants learn communication strategies and acquire tools required for success in Canadian workplace interactions. Topics include networking, negotiating, working with others, and conflict management.
Canadian Workplace Integration (self-directed)
This self-guided course provides information about adapting to Canadian workplace culture. Topics include how to adapt, the importance of communication styles, how to expand soft skills, using cultural communication, working with differences, and understanding power dynamics.
Working in Canada (self-directed)
This self-guided course provides critical information about working in Canada. Topics include workplace orientation and protection, organizational culture, employment contracts, taxes, pay, and written and unwritten workplace rules.
Introduction to Business in Canada (self-directed)
Introduction to Business in Canada is an introductory course that will give interested SOPA clients an overview of what they need to know to start a business in Canada.
Job Search Strategies Express (self-directed)
Job Search Strategies Express provides an opportunity for immigrants to get preliminary information about the job search process in Canada. Clients will read about skills which make them more competitive for positions in the Canadian labour market. Participants progress through the topics listed below. Each unit covers a different topic and involves additional learning resources.
Register at www.arriveprepared.ca
Aneta Popa | Job Search Facilitator | Team Lead
Olja Stojanovic | Employment Specialist
Smriti Arora | Cultural Communications Facilitator
Idongesit Adegoke | Intake Counsellor
Amal El-Nakeeb | Employment/Intake Counsellor
Register at www.arriveprepared.ca
I would highly recommend SOPA as the program really helps you know what to expect in Canada even before you land. It makes the transition very easy.
I secured a job as an IT Project Manager, while still in Brazil, by utilizing the job search, resume writing and job interview skills I learned from SOPA.
We acknowledge Calgary and area as Treaty 7 territory. We acknowledge the Treaty 7 nations; the Piikani, Siksika, Kainai, Iyarhe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina First Nations. We acknowledge the ancestral territory of Siksikaitsitapi, the Blackfoot Confederacy, and the home of the Métis Nation of Alberta—Region 3. We are all treaty people.
In partnership, we empower immigrants and refugees to successfully settle and integrate in our communities.
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