About the Program
The two-year SSWI program is the first of its kind in Ontario, offering an in-depth understanding of the evolving landscape of newcomer reception and support in Canada. Learning through a critical and anti-oppressive lens, you will graduate prepared to support immigrants and refugees from diverse backgrounds. The program, which is grounded in equity, social justice and anti-oppression principles, provides insights into pre-migration conditions and how to offer meaningful support to individuals and families throughout the migration and integration process.
You will gain knowledge and skills required for social service work with a specific focus on settlement counselling and case management aligned with the experiences of those newly arrived in Canada or undergoing the settlement process. Community development is highlighted with a focus on co-creation and co-design with citizens of the community to identify and respond to gaps in service. Additionally, you will develop advocacy skills to represent clients' needs, fundraising and proposal writing to secure resources, and program planning, development and evaluation to create and assess effective support programs. Success in this program is measured by your ability to grow, challenge personal beliefs, and promote social justice, human dignity, and equality.
Please note that due to the nature of this program and profession, some course work and field placements are held in-person to adequately form interpersonal communication skills.
Graduates with a GPA of 3.0 or higher are eligible to pursue many different educational pathways including Seneca’s Honours Bachelor of Mental Health and Addiction (BMHA) program.
Credential Awarded
Ontario College Diploma
Duration
4 Semesters (2 Years)
Starts
September
Program and Course Delivery
This program is offered in Seneca's hybrid delivery format with some courses available in Seneca's flexible delivery format. Some coursework is online and some must be completed in person. Students will need to come on campus to complete in-person learning requirements. For courses offered in the flexible delivery format, professors use innovative learning spaces and technology to teach students in a classroom or lab and broadcast in real time to students attending remotely. In flexible courses, students have the choice of coming on campus or learning online.
Skills
Throughout this program you will develop the following skills:
- Trauma-informed settlement counselling and practice across the lifespan
- Case management
- Community development and program planning
- Fundraising and proposal writing
- Referrals, intakes, assessment and evaluation
- Interpersonal communication and interviewing
- Group dynamics and facilitation
- Advocacy, system navigation and familiarity of international and national migration policies
You will complete two unpaid placements specifically within immigration, migration and settlement services. Your first placement will take place during your second semester, for 200 hours. You will then complete a 400-hour placement within a different organization or program during your third and fourth semesters. These placements will provide you with the opportunity to practice the skills and theoretical concepts you have learned in the classroom, preparing you for entry into the field with a specialization in settlement services.
Your Career
When you graduate from this program, these are the types of career options you can explore:
- Trauma-informed settlement counselling and practice across the lifespan
- Settlement agencies
- School settlement worker
- Refugee shelters
- Community health organizations
- Criminal justice system
- Women’s programs, shelters and agencies offering services for immigrant youth
- Community mental health and addiction non-profit organizations
- Agencies that support income, food and housing security
- Newcomer reception agencies
Professional Accreditation
Graduates of the SSWI diploma are eligible for registration with the Ontario College of Social Work and Social Services Work (OCSWSSW).
Program Learning Outcomes
This Seneca program has been validated by the Credential Validation Service as an Ontario College Credential as required by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities.
As a graduate, you will be prepared to reliably demonstrate the ability to:
- develop respectful and collaborative professional and interpersonal relationships that adhere to professional, legal, and ethical standards aligned to social service work.
- record information accurately and communicate effectively in written, digital, verbal and non-verbal ways, in adherence to privacy and freedom of information legislation, in accordance with professional and workplace standards.
- integrate a practice framework within a service delivery continuum, addressing the needs of individuals, families and communities at micro, mezzo, macro and global levels, and work with them in achieving their goals.
- plan and implement accessible and responsive programs and services, recognizing the diverse needs and experiences of individuals, groups, families and communities, and meeting these needs.
- examine current social policy, relevant legislation, and political, social, historical, and/or economic systems and their impacts for individuals and communities when delivering services to the user/client.
- develop strategies and approaches that support individual clients, groups, families and communities in building the capacity for self-advocacy, while affirming their dignity and self-worth.
- work from an anti-oppressive, strengths-based practice, recognizing the capacity for resilience and growth of individuals and communities when responding to the diverse needs of marginalized or vulnerable populations to act as allies and advocates.
- develop strategies and approaches to implement and maintain holistic self-care as a member of a human service profession.
- work with individuals, groups, families and their communities to ensure that service provider strategies promote social and economic justice, and challenge patterns of oppression, discrimination and harassment, and sexual violence with clients, coworkers and communities.
- develop the capacity to work with the Indigenous individual, families, groups and communities while respecting their inherent rights to self-determine, and to identify and address systemic barriers that produce ill-effects, developing appropriate responses using approaches such as trauma informed care practice.
- Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), or equivalent, or a mature applicant
- English: Grade 12 C or U, or equivalent course
Canadian citizens and permanent residents may satisfy the English requirements for this program through successful Seneca pre-admission testing.
Recommended upgrading for applicants who do not meet academic subject requirements.
After admission but before beginning field placement, you must obtain a Police Vulnerable Sector Check.
International Student Information
International admissions requirements vary by program and in addition to English requirements, programs may require credits in mathematics, biology, and chemistry at a level equivalent to Ontario’s curriculum, or a postsecondary degree or diploma, equivalent to an Ontario university or college. Program-specific pre-requisite courses and credentials are listed with the admission requirements on each program page. To review the academic requirements please visit: Academic Requirements - Seneca, Toronto, Canada (senecapolytechnic.ca).
Pathways
As a leader in academic pathways, we offer a range of options that will allow you to take your credential further in another Seneca program or a program at a partner institution.
To learn more about your eligibility, visit the Academic Pathways web page.