Healthcare Professional from Afghanistan arrives in St. John’s under Canada’s Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP)

Focus Humanitarian Assistance Canada (FOCUS) and TalentLift are collaborating to support the recruitment and relocation of skilled refugees, who are displaced from Afghanistan and living primarily in India and Turkey. FOCUS is further pioneering industry-informed skills training to improve the candidacy of displaced job seekers. Together, and enabled by the innovation of the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP), an infrastructure is being built to support a growing number of people living as refugees to use their skills to secure their futures. 

Dilruba Hussaini, a passionate healthcare professional originally from Afghanistan who was living as a refugee in India before relocating to Canada for work, was supported in her efforts to pursue employment in Canada jointly by FOCUS and TalentLift.

Dilruba always dreamt of becoming a nurse. She was in her second year of Nursing when she had to leave Afghanistan suddenly with her family and relocate to India for safety. She was eager to continue her education, but this was impossible in India while living with refugee status. She was unable to go to school or work in healthcare. 

While living in India, Dilruba interviewed for a role as a Personal Care Attendant with Chancellor Park, a long-term care facility in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, which is facing a critical shortage in local healthcare staff. Dilruba impressed the hiring managers with her knowledge and passion for caregiving, and received a job offer to join the team.

Dilruba relocated to St. John’s on May 31, 2022, as the second candidate to arrive under phase two of the EMPP, and the first candidate from Afghanistan. She called her first day on the job “absolutely amazing.” She plans to complete her nursing education and licensure in Canada and progress to a nursing position with Chancellor Park in the future.