For many refugees and newcomers to Canada, finding work has proven a challenge. To help meet that need, Jeff Van Gyssel, a carpenter from New Hamburg, Ont., walked away from a good job at a successful construction company to begin Just Working Construction in April 2015.
Van Gyssel’s friend, a refugee from Eritrea, had been looking unsuccessfully for work in the trades for some time. “My friend was not the only newcomer to Canada who was very frustrated [about] employment,” said Van Gyssel. “Since I felt like owning my own business was a possibility, at the same time giving hope and a fair chance to some guys who wanted work in the trades, I thought I would try it out.”