Safe employment integration of recent immigrants and refugees

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Institute for Work & Health
481 University Avenue, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario

Agnieszka Kosny
Institute for Work & Health

Basak Yanar
Institute for Work & Health

Dina Al-Khooly
Institute for Work & Health

Settlement and integration involve helping recent immigrants and refugees find work and become economically solvent. Many newcomers end up in survival jobs that expose them to hazards and are precarious and physically demanding. In this plenary, presenters Dr. Agnieszka Kosny, Dr. Basak Yanar and Dina Al-khooly summarize a recent study investigating how newcomers come to understand their rights and where there are gaps in resources and training. They offer suggestions on ways to help recent immigrants and refugees successfully prepare for and remain in safe, quality jobs.

About presenter

Dr. Agnieszka Kosny is a scientist and the chief privacy officer at the Institute for Work & Health in Toronto, and has over 14 years of experience in using qualitative research methods to explore occupational health and safety and workers' compensation issues. Kosny holds a PhD in public health sciences from the University of Toronto. In 2014, she completed a two-year term as a research fellow at Monash University in Australia before returning to her position as a scientist at the Institute. Kosny’s research interests focus on new immigrant workers, return to work after injury and the functioning of workers’ compensation systems.

Photo of Basak Yanar

Dr. Basak Yanar is an associate scientist at the Institute for Work & Health, and an assistant professor in the division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She holds a PhD in organizational behaviour and human resource management from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Dina Al-Khooly is a practicum student at the Institute for Work & Health. She holds a master's in public health from the University of Waterloo, and is a leader in Vision for Science's STEP Community Leaders program.

About IWH Speaker Series

The IWH Speaker Series brings you the latest findings from work and health researchers from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and beyond. For those unable to attend, the recorded webinar of most presentations in the IWH Speaker Series are made available on its web page within a week of the event.