The program partnered with four employers, which offered specific job training to 40 refugees

Afshan Khurshid arrived with her family in Calgary in 2023 as a refugee from Pakistan after her husband, who was a police officer, received death threats on the job.

Having a PhD in chemistry from one of the top universities in Pakistan, she thought, would increase her chances of finding employment. But she remained on income support for a year, meeting support workers every week, despite the dozens of job applications she sent elsewhere — until she saw a post on social media.

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It was a callout for applications to a program called StartWork. The program would provide participants with employment and cultural training from employers themselves, driving up their chances of find

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