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Professional Development

Training & Certification

The training courses that AAISA offers have been delivered for over a decade and have been designed specifically for the unique challenges that settlement practitioners face in their day-to-day work. Our training has been created to align with the Alberta Settlement Practitioner Competency Framework and to contribute to the ongoing professional development of settlement practitioners. As the settlement sector is changing, we are also changing and improving our courses.

Additionally, AAISA offers the only program in Canada that provides certification to qualified Settlement Practitioners. AAISA’s Settlement Practitioner Training Program was established in 1989 to recognize the professional accomplishments of Canadian Settlement Practitioners who meet a set of standard qualification.

To check out the full list of AAISA’s course offerings for fiscal year 2023-2024, click here.

To check out the list of AAISA’s courses for the Q4: January 2024 to March 2024, click here.

AAISA’s Mental Health new course offerings, click here

 

 

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Upcoming Courses

April 8, 2024 | Ends May 24, 2024 | Free for members

Settlement 101

Online, Self-Paced

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is aimed at providing accurate and current information and resources on how to support newcomers and address the challenges they face in settling effectively within their communities. It will review the range of settlement services available in Alberta, how they are funded, highly key organizations involved including the roles, responsibilities and scope of practice for settlement practitioners. It also will explore social justice concepts including anti-racism/anti-colonialism, anti-oppression, etc. and their relevance to effective settlement work.

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April 15, 2024 | Ends June 3, 2024 | Free for members

Professional Roles and Ethics

Online, Self-Paced

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Participants will familiarize themselves with the functions of Service Provider Organizations (SPOs). They will consider the relationship between the functions of SPOs and the functions of general community service providers. They will explore the roles and responsibilities of settlement practitioners to examine guiding principles for settlement practitioner practice and consider their applicability to settlement. Participants will also identify several relevant Codes of Ethics documents and analyze three ethical/practical issues: personal/professional boundaries; confidentiality and consent, and conflict of interest.

 

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April 22, 2024 | Ends June 10, 2024 | Free for members

Sexual and Gender Based Violence - English

online, Self-Paced

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is aimed at providing introduction to different types of SGBV, identify root causes, modes, and prevalence of such forms of violence impacting disproportionally women, transgender, queer, racialized, and disabled newcomers using an intersectional lens . It will review the unique experiences and stories of immigrant and refugee survivors of SGBV and assist participants to develop the skills and knowledge on how to handle disclosures of SGBV and practical guidance on psychosocial support for individuals affected by SGBV. It will also explore the factors that contribute to the occurrence and existence of gender-based violence in complex emergencies, including conflict zones and natural disasters and equip practitioners with skills, practical tools, and methods on how to integrate SGBV awareness .

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May 6, 2024 | Ends June 24, 2024 | Free for members

Motivational Interviewing

Online, Self-Paced

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In the settlement sector, Motivational Interviewing can act as a spring board for discussing why concerted and comprehensive assessment is necessary. In this course, participants will gain familiarity with the transtheoretical model of change, principles of motivational interviewing and engaging different types of motivation towards change.

 

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May 13, 2024 | Ends July 1, 2024 | Free for members

Unconscious Bias, Stereotype and Micro-aggression at Workplace

Online, Self-Paced

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Despite efforts to embrace diversity, women and members of racial, ethnic, and gender minority groups continue to experience bias, inequities, microaggressions, and unwelcoming atmospheres in various places and even within the settlement sector. This course will provide settlement practitioners with a detailed understanding of unconscious biases, micro-aggressions in workplace and assist them in responding and dealing with these situations within and outside their organization.

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May 21, 2024 | Ends July 9, 2024 | Free for members

Strength Based Approach to Settlement practice

Online, Self-Paced

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course adopts an interactive and experiential learning format, combining theoretical insights with practical strategies. Participants will engage in case studies, group discussions, and reflective exercises that simulate real-world situations encountered in settlement practice. This approach allows participants to build a holistic understanding of the complexities involved in assisting newcomers, while also honoring their innate resilience, collaborative relational strengths and capacity to thrive in light of challenging life circumstances.

 

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June 3, 2024 | Ends July 19, 2024 | Free for members

Needs and Assessment Action Plan

Online, Self-Paced

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course is a six-module course that will enable Settlement Practitioners to gain knowledge and practical skills required to effectively conduct needs assessments and assist people from diverse backgrounds to develop individualized goals and action plans appropriate to their culture and life experience to meet their client’s settlement needs.

 

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June 10, 2024 | Ends July 29, 2024 | Free for members

Outreach and Community Connections

Online, Self-Paced

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course aims to provide practical insights, knowledge, and skills to settlement workers and individuals supporting newcomers and refugees. The course content will focus on enhancing rural outreach and community connections and familiarize the participants about various strategies and tools for making effective connections.

 

 

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Course Offerings

PROFESSIONAL ROLES AND ETHICS FOR SETTLEMENT PRACTITIONERS

Participants will become familiar with the functions of Service Provider Organizations (SPOs). They will consider the relationship between functions of SPOs and the functions of general community service providers. They will explore the roles and responsibilities of settlement practitioners. Participants will examine Guiding Principles for Settlement Practitioner Practice and consider their applicability to settlement work. Participants will also consider several relevant Codes of Ethics documents and analyze three ethical/practice issues: Personal/professionalboundaries; Confidentiality and consent, and Conflict of Interest.

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BASIC COUNSELLING IN CROSS-CULTURAL CONTEXT

The Basic Counselling Skills in a Cross-Cultural Context Course is intended to help Settlement Practitioners define their counselling role with clients they serve and help them to recognize to develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge to be effective in that role.

Course Objective:The course will provide participants with a both the theoretical and practical knowledge to provide basic counselling skills to their clientele.

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WORKING WITH INTERPRETERS

This module is intended as a practical introduction to concepts and strategies that are useful when working with interpreters. Participants will be introduced to the concepts of interpreting theory, modes of delivery (simultaneous and consecutive), ethical practices, codes of conduct, and strategies for assessing the qualifications of interpreters. The workshop is highly interactive and provides participants the opportunity to apply the concepts and theories presented in the workshop.

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NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND ACTION PLAN

The Needs Assessment and Action Plans (NAAP) online e-Learning course is intended to enable settlement practitioners to conduct needs assessments and to assist people in developing individualized goals and action plans appropriate to culture and life experience.

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SETTLEMENT AND TRANSITION PROCESSES

by the end of this online course Participants will become familiar with various concepts related to acculturation, settlement,

acculturative stress (culture shock), post-traumatic stress, and the role of settlement agencies in

Alberta related to settlement and transition processes. They will also become familiar with challenges that occur during settlement and learn strategies to address these challenges.

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Creating a Culture of Respect for LGBTQ+ People

In response to the barriers newcomers face when accessing prevention and sexual health information, AAISA and the Calgary Sexual Health Centre have been working together to develop a robust partnership that leverages the strengths of each to advance improved outcomes for newcomers in the area of sexual health and diversity. This Management Training session is co-developed and co-facilitated by AAISA and Calgary Sexual Health Centre to introduce participants to LGBTQ+ issues and needs within their work context, and will help to build understanding of how to become allies in creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ colleagues and clients.

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Volunteer Management

At the end of this course, the learners will have an understanding of: • The volunteer involvement cycle and the value of a comprehensive approach to the volunteer management process • Volunteer motivation and the implications for position design, recruitment and volunteer management • The need for pre-recruitment planning and of the required planning tasks • The types of risks incurred by engaging volunteers, and the importance of being proactive by establishing policies and procedures to minimize these risks • Best practices in volunteer recruitment, placement and management • The range of mechanisms that can be used to publicize recruitment needs • The benefits of thoroughly orienting and training volunteers • How to effectively support and empower volunteers • How to evaluate volunteer performance, and provide correction when needed • The necessity of developing policies and procedures on a wide range of volunteer management topics

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Organizational Behaviour and Change

Participants in this module will develop a deeper understanding of management and organizational change in multicultural organizations. They will critique the organization of their agencies and review the organization structure of other agencies in Alberta

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CRISIS INTERVENTION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

The course will equip Settlement Practitioners with best practices, resources, and effective strategies when advocating for clients around crisis intervention and conflict resolution. Participants will enhance interpersonal, communications, assessment skills and strategies required to deal with crises and conflict. Learners will also develop skills to create strong support systems for clients that are managing significant change, cultural shock, and crisis. The course will increase participant’s knowledge in the basic principles of intervention for Settlement Practitioners, will enhance their critical thinking skills, and will deepen knowledge of appropriate resources and approaches to increase effective practice. Using a facilitative and collaborative approach, the course will provide an opportunity to share the participants’ practice experience, co-learn as a group, and strengthen skills of crisis intervention and conflict management

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Community Development Processes

This module is intended as an introduction to community development practice. Through pre-session visits to community development sites, reading, and classroom activities, participants will gain knowledge about major concepts, principles and values, specialized skills and knowledge, and various processes in community development. They will learn about three community development models: locality development, social planning, and social action. Through case studies and participation in experiential learning activities, participants will be able to apply their acquired knowledge and skills in various contexts of practice to address community issues. The final assignment will be a short paper based on the practical application of the learning from this module.

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Advocacy and Outreach

This module is intended as an introduction to advocacy and outreach. Through pre-session reading, research, critical reflection, and classroom activities, participants will gain knowledge about key concepts, principles and values, skills, models, and processes related to advocacy and outreach. With respect to advocacy, participants will critically examine the prominent models of advocacy, namely: best interest advocacy, enabling advocacy, client-centered advocacy, and participant-controlled advocacy. They will also explore and apply advocacy processes to address community issues. With respect to outreach, participants will examine key elements of effective community-based outreach. They will further explore and apply outreach processes and strategies in working with immigrants and refugees. Through concrete case studies and participation in experiential learning activities, participants will be able to apply their acquired knowledge and skills in various contexts of practice to address community issues.

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Collaborating to Provide Community Programs

This module is intended as a practical introduction to processes used in identifying community needs as a basis for planning programs. Participants will work with a case study of a current community need/issue and identify background information needed to develop a response. Participants will research and collect information and work in teams to develop a project initiative. The teams will identify project partners and an approach to collaboration. They will then develop project outcomes, indicators, and data collection methods. As a final task, project teams will develop and present a proposal outline for their initiative.

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Working with Refugees with Complex Needs

Working with Refugees with Complex Needs 2L (adapted) This module, previously delivered under the title Working with Individuals and Families with Special and Complex Needs, has been adapted to address the current context of Settlement Practitioners and sector professionals as they welcome increased numbers of refugees with complex needs in the settlement process. Using a series of case studies based on the current demographics of clients, participants will identify complex factors that present challenges to integration. Participants will create a resource map of current community supports, examine action-planning, and case management strategies and identify gaps in community resources. In the final activity, participants will develop an action plan (a combination of key supports, community resources and strategies) for their client(s). They will identify gaps in community resources and make suggestions for possible advocacy actions.

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Facilitating Small Groups: An Introduction

The primary objective of this module is to enable participants to gain introductory-level knowledge and hands-on experiences, around the processes of helping people learn in small groups. Participants will explore various adult learning styles and approaches to teaching adults. The influence of a facilitator’s values in small groups will be discussed. Basic respectful communication skills for facilitators will be considered and practiced. Participants will address aspects of group dynamics and “on-your-feet” challenges. There will be optional opportunities for participants to facilitate short segments of class time. An introductory-level model for planning sessions will be used for the evaluated learning activity: writing a brief plan for a three-hour session, focussing on the facilitation processes and not on content. Time in class will be provided for participants to review and revise their plans before they are submitted. Overall, the module will demonstrate a participatory approach to adult education.

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Multiculturalism, Human Rights and Anti-Racism

This module helps participants get a clearer idea of the issues of anti-racism and to develop the knowledge and skill set required to identify sources of racism and respond effectively to it. Participants will review Canadian history and government policies that have effected minority groups both negatively or positively. Participants will become aware of the psychology of anti-racism and methods of advocating for clients.

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Immigration Processes

This module provides an introduction to the Canadian immigration system for Settlement Practitioners. Participants will learn about Canadian immigration history, immigration policies and trends, and discuss current issues related to immigration. The module will assist practitioners to provide accurate information to clients, and engage in informed discussion of current policies and issues. Resource materials for the module are available online and links appear within each of the tasks.

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Building Understanding of Cultural Communities

Participants will develop a deeper understanding of the concepts of ‘ethnic group’ and ‘cultural group’. They will: • Examine information regarding the definition and categories of ethnic groups currently in Canada • Explore ways of gathering and presenting authentic, respectful information about cultural/ethnic groups in the community • Reflect on issues related to stereotyping • Practice presentation skills

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