1. The participation of immigrant women in learning activities is affected by:

• the status of the woman at the time of entry to Canada;
• fluency in French or English and the accessibility, flexibility, availability and effectiveness of language classes in local communities;
• literacy levels in the mother tongue as well as in French or English, and the accessibility, flexibility, availability and effectiveness of literacy classes in local communities;
• the lack of unambiguous policies and affirmative action programs in relation to immigrant women within such governmental agencies as the Employment and Immigration Commission (CEIC);
• the availability of learning opportunities in languages other than French or English in local communities;
• negative stereotyping of immigrant women as learners;
• difficulties related to obtaining equivalency credit for educational experiences obtained outside Canada the United States, or various British-style educational systems.
• difficulties related to the legal status of women who enter Canada as students or who become students after entry.

Recommendation: That the CCLOW establish a committee of women educators interested in the provision of learning opportunities for immigrant women, to further explore this area of concern and to recommend policy and action steps to the national and provincial groups.

2. Current policy of the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission calls for;

(a) a shift of Manpower Training funds away from areas of high unemployment and towards areas of relatively high growth in employment and the economy. This will shift funds away from Quebec and the Atlantic provinces;

(b) a shift in job creation programs away from service-producing industries and towards goods-producing industries. Since the major growth in women's employment has been largely in the service-producing industries, women will be directly affected by this shift; and

(c) a shift in Manpower Training funds away from Basic Training for Skill Development (academic upgrading and job readiness) and Language programs, and towards Occupational skill, Apprenticeship, and Industrial programs. Since women are registered in high proportions in the former group of programs and in relatively low proportions in the latter group, the shift will affect women directly.

Recommendation: That the CCLOW establish a committee to monitor changes in the policies of the Commission, and to develop and implement the necessary steps required or deemed useful to affect these policies.

3. The policy of the Women's Employment Section of the Commission appears to be positive in relation to the provision of training opportunities for women. However, more specific information is required about current plans for implementing this policy and the status of these plans. Recommendation: That the CCLOW prepare and publish a yearly summary of the policies and current plans of the Women's Employment Section of the Commission.

4. The Commission has developed programs to facilitate the career selection process (CHOICES) and the job search process (Creative Job Search Technique). We do not know how these programs are used by women, how effective they are, nor how women are affected by them. Recommendation: That the CCLOW sponsor a study to examine the effectiveness of various career selection and job search processes, recommended and used by the Commission.

5. Women with low levels of educational attainment and lacking in occupational skills are poorly served by both Manpower Training programs and Canada Employment Centres. The general result is to keep them out of academic upgrading programs because they lack the time required for completion; out of occupational training programs because they lack the time for completion and because of poor future employment prospects; and in unskilled, minimum-wage jobs with no opportunities for future improvement.

Recommendation: That the CCLOW develop a means for exploring this concern further with a view to (a) encouraging the Commission to provide better services to disadvantaged women and/or (b) developing creative alternative solutions and learning opportunities.