Jargon training for the workplace

Immigrants working in Canada may have a solid grasp of ordinary English, but find themselves baffled by workplace jargon. A pilot college program in Ontario aims to bridge this gap.

The Occupation-specific Language Training (OSLT) is being tested in six occupational areas in 13 colleges. It’s the first of its kind in Canada, according to Sara Katz, a consultant with Colleges Ontario.

“It aims to fill the gap for people at the intermediate level that need more than general language training and really want to concentrate on occupation-specific language,” Katz says.
   
“In the health-care sector, it would be a lot around how a nurse would interact with clients, or patients. In the business sector, it would be about conducting yourself at meetings, how to make presentations, appropriate ways to leave voice mails and e-mail etiquette.”

A trained nurse who doesn’t know that “anuric” is a term for a patient who’s not producing urine and might need dialysis will struggle to find work. OSLT will give him the required jargon.

Jan Carter, manager of immigrant education at George Brown College, says it’s also about making visible the invisible language Ontario workers take for granted.

“It’s social, cultural and linguistics training,” she explains. “It’s designed for people who already have the skills, but what they don’t have is experience working in (Canada).”

Someone whose only experience working in Canada was in an office might be taken aback by the saltier language of a construction site. Unprepared, they might take it as a far more serious issue than it is intended to be.

“The skills are very specific to the sector. For construction in particular, it’s how to work with coworkers and clients, supervisors and really understanding the differences between directions, approvals and making requests,” she says.

“You could have somebody from a culture that is not used to swearing. For them the behaviour on a (Canadian) workplace — not all, but some — may be inappropriate, but at least if they can anticipate it, it … gives them the information they need to make an informed decision.”

New workers might be confused by the language determining to whom they report. The courses will clear that up and also cover practical things like speaking on a two-way
radio and borrowing tools.

The courses are free to permanent residents and protected persons who are working in or want to re-enter an occupation related to the covered skilled trades, or those who want to enter into a program to study a trade. Go to http://co-oslt.org for a list of colleges and courses covered.