Sector association, Languages Canada, which represents French and English language teaching organisations in the country, was awarded CAN$80,000 in funding last week by the government to continue its promotional work and support for a rising industry in Canada.
The renewed funding will cover two specific projects: the promotion of Canada’s French language teaching offering in Brazil, Mexico and the USA; and further work in Brazil and Saudi Arabia to organise missions to encourage students to study in Canada.
The significant support, announced by Minister for International Trade, Ed Fast (pictured), forms part of the Global Opportunities for Associations Funding Program (GOA) for 2012/2013.
“GOA funding helped the association increase the export revenue for the Canadian language education sector (ESL and FSL) by almost 10% in the past year,” acknowledged Executive Director of Languages Canada, Gonzalo Peralta.
He underlined that in the process, the government funding “created additional employment opportunities for Canadians and contributed $1.8 billion in export revenues to the economy. This is a clear example of a program that yields results.”
Earlier this month, Minister Fast completed a trade mission to Saudi Arabia and Jordan to pursue business opportunities with these trading partners, taking a delegation with him that included educators.
Jim Clark, President of Canadian College, commented, “By joining the Canada Trade Mission, we [were] able to be part of a collaborative effort involving the Minister, the embassy staff and our innovative product. The doors were opened; we were able to showcase our Canadian product within a framework of free trade.”
Clark said that he signed four memorandums of understanding in Saudi Arabia, “with respected public and private universities and colleges, that have the potential to produce very lucrative outcomes”. Likewise, in Jordan, an MOU was signed with a respected public university. This mission has been highly successful for Canadian College, and Canada will reap the rewards in the years ahead.”
