Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Young Professionals International Program

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Department of Foreign Affairs and International
TradeYoung Professionals International Program

• Canadian Heritage Organization of American States
  (OAS) Seminar
• October 28, 2003

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Young Professionals International

• Young Professionals International (YPI) is an
  initiative under the Government of Canadas Youth
  Employment Strategy that helps youth make the
  transition from their formal studies to the world
  of work
• Approximately 400 youth from across Canada are
  placed overseas each year through YPI to acquire
  intercultural, international, career-related
  experience

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Young Professionals International

• They are there to acquire the skills Canada needs
  for todays global economy.
• Under this partnership initiative, the Department
  funds Canada-based partners to use their
  international contacts to locate organizations
  abroad who will host the participants.
• Hosts are usually Canadian or foreign companies,
  non-governmental organizations, foreign
  governments or multilateral organizations in 143
  countries around the world

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Young Professionals International

• YPI provides a living allowance for the
  participants, and in many cases the host
  organization contributes cash or in-kind support
  for the placement.
• The Department promotes employment equity
  principles, and the partners actively recruit
  visible minorities (21), Aboriginals (7) and
  persons with disabilities (less than 1).

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Young Professionals International

• YPI makes very effective use of second-generation
  Canadians who speak foreign languages, who
  sometimes go back to their familys home country.
  More often we try to send them to a different one
  that requires the same language skills.
• One element used in project selection is the
  Canadian organizations plan to involve visible
  minorities, Aboriginals and persons with
  disabilities i.e. no employment equity means not
  likely to be funded.

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Young Professionals International

• Participants return from their overseas
  placements changed people, significantly more
  confident, more appreciative of Canada, and
  lastly much more sensitive to multicultural
  situations both in the work environment and in
  their daily lives.
• Results Around 80 enter the workforce either in
  Canada or overseas, and most of the others return
  to school for graduate studies.

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Young Professionals International

• Why would overseas organizations want to host a
  Canadian?
• Many reasons have been given
• to benefit from the talent, skills, innovative
  ideas and energy of Canadian youth
• to bring in a specific skill set for a
  designated task
• to introduce a different work ethic into the
  office
• to benefit from the linkage with a Canadian
  organization working in the same field
• to mentor a young person by way of returning
  the favour if someone helped them with their
  career
• to take advantage of the connection with the
  Department of Foreign Affairs and International
  Trade and
• to accomplish certain tasks with a low-cost
  resource.

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Young Professionals International

• One success story by way of an example
• Yodit Abdisa, from Ontario, is originally from
  Ethiopia. The United Nations Association in
  Canada (UNAC) placed her with the Office of
  Emergency Programs at UNICEF in New York. She
  undertook preliminary research on Internally
  Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the issue of
  trafficking of children and women. In addition,
  she prepared input on humanitarian access issues
  for the Secretary-Generals report to the
  Security Council on children and armed conflict
  coordinated the realization of a UNICEF-led
  inter-agency Web site on human rights and
  humanitarian action prepared presentations on
  landmines and sexual exploitation helped
  organize a briefing on child soldiers in Myanmar,
  a workshop on human rights and humanitarian
  actions and a briefing on the status of IDPs on
  the Thai/Burma border and represented UNICEF at
  an inter-agency meeting on human rights and
  humanitarian work.

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Young Professionals International

• Yodit writes I was very pleased with my
  placement. I learned a lot of things, acquired
  new skills and also built on my existing skills.
  This was great exposure, as one meets many
  interesting people from different backgrounds.
  This was a perfect forum to build a network that
  will help me launch my career...I would like to
  thank the UNAC and DFAIT for this great
  opportunity and hope that this program will
  continue to benefit many more young Canadians who
  are craving professional experience in the
  international field...
• Yodit now has a staff position with UNICEF New
  York in the Office of Emergency Programs.

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Young Professionals International

• In conclusion, we believe that this initiative is
  a win-win situation for all of the stakeholders,
  and that, in fact, Young Professionals
  International itself exemplifies the diversity of
  Canada.
• For more information please consult our Web site
  http//www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/ypi-jpi/