₦airaland Forum

Jennypharb1:
Oh yes, thank you. I have done some more research since then, it's really pricey at about $1890 dollars for membership and exams, I just wasn't sure about the application process. For example, they are asking for a number of points for certain financial courses one has taken before, like CPA and a number of others on the list. These are courses people who have worked in the financial sector would have but I haven't taken any of them and I'm not sure I want to either. So I'd like to know if there's an alternative means of submitting the application without those courses

You can claim points from other areas like work experience, etc. It is not compulsory to have a background in financial services in order to qualify.

Jennypharb1:
Hello, I'm also interested in the ACAMS certification, can you give us more info on the process if you have it. I'm doing some research online but I would also appreciate more info from people who have gone through this route

Is there anything specific you would like to know?

ACAMS is fairly easy to scale through... just a bit pricey. You should be able to choose a convenient location to write the exam once you register. Exam preparation materials are available online and you will get all you need when you register

oluphilip2008:
LANDING GIST!!!! Long Post Alert!!!!

Good day dear Canny family. Here's my landing gist.

�

Welcome to Canada!

Barryston:
Phewwwwwwwwwwww,finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've been going through this wonderful sister thread since the day I got my PPR...I have told myself I would only read this thread after my PPR (turns out to be a great mistake) because I had to navigate through over 50 pages.

I am seriously torn between Mississauga,Ontario and Calgary,Alberta...I am a lawyer and I would love to continue my career in this field(although I'm not a litigation lawyer in Nigeria...i prefer corporate practice),my wife is an IT guru,so we have heard Ontario will best suit her talents..

So we will definitely welcome seniors/elders input to form our final decision on where to reside when we finally land in Canada sometimes in April.

Thank you very much for the wonderful work y'all are doing!!!

Easiest route that I have seen for a foreign trained lawyer to quickly get into corporate practice is via the compliance route. Best if you are able to obtain ACAMS certification.

einsteino:
Someone once told me the pay for entry level jobs in the industry isnt so great, I don't know how true it is. What I do know is that Agency work na always monkey dey work, baboon dey chop. I once saw an agency's job post for senior analyst with a bank at $25 per hour . I dont understand why companies staff via agencies, in my opinion it can only lead to high turn over.

Like you said, for now its anything to get one's foot into the door.

Some organizations see it as a means of recruiting competent staff. If the person proves competent within a 6month period, the person can be converted to a full staff, otherwise the person can be let go. It is always easier to fire a contract staff, than you would do a company employee.

Besides, it's also a way to hire cheaper labour. Imagine getting a Senior Analyst at $25/hr, when the actual cost may be more like $40/hr.

Please what is the name of that institution in Victoria Island that offers a one year program acceptable to IRCC.

AZeD1:
1) Write NCA
2) Article
3) Get called to the bar.


Before doing the NCA, you can get jobs as a Legal assistant in a variety of firms. In Ottawa, the pay ranges from 36k to about 55k-60k.

Also, being called to the bar in Ontario means you can only practise in Ontario and not Canada wise so those who are married should take their spouses into consideration before picking a place to settle.

You can also consider a career in compliance.

einsteino:
If someone is in finance, they could even get a job few days after landing if they have the right experience from the right firms. but for other folks... Hmm i have seen too many Engineers finish from Access Employment and stay unemployed without any relevant canadian experience sha. for other professions it maybe great. You can even tell by scouting through linkedin profiles, you would see "Access Employment Connections Program - Jan 2018", then profile summary "Currently seeking opportunities in..." and no further relevant work experience would suceed it. My advise would be seek Canadian experience or canadian credentials that are worth their salt, there are co-op programs/internship(unpaid) programs in Toronto that are tailored to help you get canadian experience and maybe a permanent paid job in the end. While they are no guarantees, they seem to have a high success rate rather than a few lucky stories on a website. So @fadeyemi you may want to add this to the options you should explore. best of luck.

I agree with you. Even the finance jobs could turn out to be not so financially rewarding, particularly if gotten through a staffing agency. However, anything that can be done to gain relevant Canadian experience/qualification/certification is a go. This waka is a marathon... not a sprint, so there is more than enough time for any investment in one's self in these early days to pay off.

kachikapor:
Hey Guys,

So my wife is thinking of switching careers here. She used to work in Customer Service in a bank back in Nigeria, but is now considering a career move to Human Resources Management. I guess i am just looking for feelers from other HR professionals here if this is a logical move and if yes, would a Diploma in HR or a Graduate Certificate course be the next best move?

Thank you for your response.

Customer Service is a widely sought after skill and openings are abundant. However, unless she has a specific specialization in customer service beyond the usual branch banking, I would advise she consider switching careers. Why? The pay for many customer service jobs is way too low for my liking.

fadeyemi:
Hello everyone, please what per-arrival services are good in Toronto for job search? I wants to make a soft landing in March.

Acces Employment is fantastic if your profession falls within the scope of their services

ibkladunni:
At this point, I'll just renew the passport and travel with both passports. What do you think?

That's the safest thing to do. It will also save you the stress of going to Ottawa to get a renewal in the future. The more documents you can obtain while in Nigeria, the better for you.

I must commend all those that contribute to this thread, particularly those that consistently answer questions and provide solutions. Things move so fast here and for them to find the time to still patiently answer questions is quite laudable.

MORE LANDING TIPS

If you are landing soon, particularly in these wintry conditions, you will do well to invest in an original powerbank (not those fake ones with bloated Mah). Somehow, cold and battery life are not friends, so your phone battery can suddenly drain, particularly when it is around the less than 30% mark. If you depend on Google Maps for direction (as much as I did in my initial days and still do), it will be very interesting if Google Map leads you out and your battery drains while you are in the cold trying to plot your way back. On one of those days, I found it is not usual for people to take their phone chargers to work, so nobody could help. So here I was at Scarborough, with a dead phone and no idea how to get home to downtown. Eventually found a wickedly priced charger at a convenience after a long search in the cold.

ELECTRONIC GADGETS

I recall someone asking whether they can bring their electronic gadgets from Nigeria. Well, bad news is that electronics here are powered at 110v and not 220v like Nigeria. So most electronic gadgets from Nigeria will not perform optimally... like my dearly beloved hair clipper. So be sure to check the power rating of your equipment before making that decision.

mikkyphp:
who ACESS help? any testimonies out there?

Acces is very useful, particularly if you got in with a fair idea of what they have to offer and what your part is.

Am currently in the 35th Cohort of their Entrepreneurship Connections program and it has been a very good investment of my time.

Gregeal:
good day bro, i sent u a message and i am yet to get any feedback. kindly update me pls. thanks.

Not sure I got the message. What medium please?

Come to Toronto

More

Decided to end the day with a visit to the Royal Museum of Ontario. Their fascination with dinosaurs is pretty interesting

Trikings2000:
Wow. Nice. I just sent you a txt message. Please add me to the group. Thanks

Done

joo2018:
Cool bros. In Mississuaga, right? Is the program done monthly?

In Toronto... I think its done monthly cause I overhead someone mention a February cohort

For those of us looking at the business route, Acces Employment's ENTERPRENEURSHIP CONNECTIONS Program is a very useful one. I think there are still a few spaces in February Cohort

einsteino:
Yes there is one for the GTA at large, but its full, I have been waiting for months now to be added. Maybe you should just create another one and add folks who are interested. Welcome to the GTA

I just started a WhatsApp Group for Nigerians in GTA. Text or send me a message on +1 647-952-3780 to join. Members should already be in the GTA or will be in GTA within the next 3 months max.

CallHippo is also very effective but it is not free

Tojued:
@aworldcitizen welcome to Canada

@amdman welcome and thanks for sharing your story. I'm seriously enjoying that thread you started with that other moniker. This one that you've posted here it means you must have shared new posts there already. Make I stroll reach there I don dey wait new post for like three days now.

If you mean Nahinbdis, he is a close pal that we started the process and have moved closely together. Landed together too.

Landing Gist

December 27
Flight from Lagos on Ethiopia was by 1.40pm, so set out early for the airport with family. Leaving Nigeria left me in an emotional rollercoaster. Using the unaccompanying spouse option because we didn't meet ITA scores otherwise. So would be looking to use the spousal sponsorship route.

Uneventful flight all the way to Toronto, except for an occasion when we encountered turbulence and there was a very sharp drop in altitude. Liver fail some people, but sha managed to remain composed. Landed in Toronto 7.23am on the 28th.

Quite a long queue of people waiting to clear immigration, lots of them being students. Got to my turn after about 90 minutes. The usual questions were asked: ever been convicted? Family composition? etc. Tried to drop updated passport photographs, but the guy said it wasn't necessary. Asked how much cash I had and I said $500 (thats how much I had in cash. Am not keen carrying cash around. Had the printout of my account just in case, but it wasnt an issue). COPR signed and stamped and from there to get SIN, my luggage and out of the airport I went to my Airbnb.

My Airbnb host is absolutely an angel. Very welcoming and helpful. Even had a Christmas gift wrapped and addressed to me. Paying $18 USD daily. I actually dropped off my stuff earlier than the check in time. She gave me a tour around all I need and offered to drive me around to the Bank and so on while waiting for the current guest to check out. Politely declined and headed to the Bank myself.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE
Currency exchange at the airport is a robbery. Exchange rate at airport was $1 USD - $1.18 CAD. I exchanged $100 USD to be able to pay cab fares and all that. Eventually exchanged more same day at ScotiaBank $1 USD - $1.33 CAD and CIBC $1 USD - $1.32 CAD. To put it in perspective, exchanging $1000 USD at the airport will give you $1,180 CAD while same amount will give you $1,330 at Scotiabank (a significant difference of $150 CAD).

BANKING
Opened a chequing and savings account with ScotiaBank. Service was quite good and was impressed. Many lessons for the Nigerian Banks. Offered a $3k credit card. Opened another account with CIBC and was offered a $1.5k credit card. The newcomers package for both banks are good, but for ScotiaBank, you start paying charges on your account from day one, while CIBC will give you a year of free transactions.

TIP: If you do accept a credit card, ensure to decline the inclusion of credit protection insurance. When you are being offered the credit card product, the bank staff will usually just gloss over that part and recommend that you add it. In reality, it offers very little protection, yet you pay premiums based on your outstanding balance. This was in the news recently - https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/credit-card-balance-protection-hidden-camera-marketplace-1.4892961. If you already have a credit card, you most likely have the feature enabled on your card.

TIP: If you do not have or are not likely to get a permanent address very quickly upon landing, give whatever address where you will be staying temporarily to Service Canada when you are getting your SIN. You need proof of address to open a Bank account, and your SIN slip can be that life-saver where all else fails. However, be careful about giving your SIN details to anyone aside Bank and work. To get a library card when you do not have proof of address, the library will send a postcard to your address. You then return the postcard to the Library and you will get your library card.

COMMUNICATION
Got a Chatr line (SIM only) for $35 - 1GB data and free nationwide plus a few other features. Was tempted by the $50 8GB offer, but heck, I have unlimited internet where I live, so that may just be excessive. Besides, the internet doesn't cut off after getting to 1GB... it just becomes slower... so lets see how that goes.

JOBS
Jobs in Canada are largely based on networking. In Nigeria, we call it 'long-leg', 'connection,' 'who-know-man.' etc. In Canada, its a given. Referrals are very key, otherwise you may start out lower on the foodchain. Using LinkedIn as a networking tool is therefore very important, and you can take advantage of LinkedIn's one month free premium offer. You can deactivate the premium features within one month if you are not satisfied. I used it and got linked to a team working on a Fintech project and now have an equity offer so long as am ready to pitch in to get my part of the work done. Also got job invites and all that, but my focus is not job... its Business.

BUSINESS
The support structure for starting a business in Canada is pretty impressive, but reduces as you stay longer in Canada. If your focus is to do business in Canada eventually, you will do well to take advantage of the resources early, while using a side hustle to pay your bills. I just got into a free entrepreneurship programme for starting a business in Canada starting next week. Will share more info as we go along.

WEATHER
Hmmm... not as cold as I thought, though I checked this morning and it is -8 and feels like -13. Thats the coldest I have experienced so far, and am wondering what it will feel like, cause I have a lot of walking around planned for today (though I already have Presto card and will be carrying it).

So in the few days I have been here... thats about it.

Iyamefa:
As the new year approaches, people in the GTA can you suggest fun things to do or places to visit for the countdown/New Years day? My friends are saying it might not be safe to be downtown specifically at Nathan phillips square for the countdown (but I kinda don’t believe that). Anywhere else one can visit for fun?

Am interested in that too... the countdown should not just pass like that.

Because its winter, the sun doesn't rise early... so 7am here is still as dark as 4am in Nigeria. The sun also sets early and it gets really dark before 6pm.

Getting ready to tour the city starting from the library.

Am staying in a 2bedroom condominium (like 1004 in VI). My flatmate is a new immigrant from Belgium. So I asked him... why immigrate from Belgium to Canada? His answer? Canada is a much more developed country than Belgium and he finds life more enjoyable here and more in tune with his aspirations.

We have an opportunity to export African food to the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, and we are seeking manufacturers/processors/packagers of local food products.

CRITERIA
1. Product must be professionally packaged and aesthetically appealing
2. Must be produced/packaged in hygienic conditions
3. Must be willing to work with us to develop the market and make changes as required

Samples of packaged products are below.

If interested, send your proposal and product images to amdman4eva (at) gmail (dot) com

dominique:
This is the mistake most rookies in the currency exchange business make, you don't do your due diligence before rushing to transact.

Did you come to the forum to verify that the person that contacted you is the real amdman? If only you had run searches on his details, this would have been avoided.

Please help to investigate this and take necessary action become these spoil will spoil my moniker's career.

The allegation in this link too

https://www.nairaland.com/4435334/sell-paypal-funds-me#73368338

dominique:
This is the mistake most rookies in the currency exchange business make, you don't do your due diligence before rushing to transact.

Did you come to the forum to verify that the person that contacted you is the real amdman? If only you had run searches on his details, this would have been avoided.

Somebody contacts you and says I am so and so. You don't bother to confirm his/her identity. You wire your hand-earned money fiam! Then you start dragging an innocent person in the mud.

Dominique, Puskin, Naijacutee... Please help before these folks soil my hard earned name.

lightwhite:
If only you had checked what nairaland has to say about the person you sent money to. Faith Daluk is a notorious serial scammer . I just searched the name Daluk and it came out in RED. You were just another victim.

Thank you! They didn't do basic due diligence for doing business with people on Nairaland and here they are trying to drag my name in the mud