There are several learning opportunities for newcomers to the Bay of Quinte region.
For elementary school aged children (5-14), we have two school boards, the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board is our public elementary school system and the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board is our Catholic school system. Quinte West is also serviced by the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board.
There are several public and Catholic high schools available for secondary school aged students (14-18).
Loyalist College is located right between Belleville and Quinte West and offers more than 60 career-focused programs for post-secondary and continuing education students.
Quinte Immigration Services (QUIS) offers new Canadians an English as a Second Language program through their Loyola School of Adult and Continuing Education in Belleville. This program is free for eligible clients and provides newcomers with help in learning English as well as Canadian culture and customs.
Academic Credential Assessment
If you are a newcomer and you want to work in Canada, you may need to get what is called an “Educational Credential Assessment” or sometimes known as an “Academic Credential Assessment”.
If you studied in a country outside of Canada, you may need to have your diploma or degree from high school, college or university compared with Canadian standards to see if it is equivalent to a Canadian diploma or degree. You will have to pay for this process and there are several different agencies that will do an Educational Credential Assessments (ECA).
If you want to apply for permanent residence through the Express Entry program, you will most likely need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) in order to qualify for an invitation to apply for the program.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada will only accept ECA’s from certain agencies, so be sure to contact QUIS if you aren’t sure how to get an ECA. Also, if you are applying for an ECA to get certain jobs in professional fields like nursing, teaching, pharmacy or other medical fields, you might need to go through the association of that profession to get an ECA.
Call us at QUIS for more information.
Related Links:
Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board
