When you arrive in Canada as a privately sponsored refugee, the organization that coordinated your sponsorship is called a Sponsorship Agreement Holder, or SAH. These accredited bodies do far more than arrange your housing and initial settlement; many run direct employment programs, maintain employer relationships, and connect you to job coaching designed specifically for newcomers. Knowing what your SAH can offer and how to access those supports can meaningfully shorten your path to stable employment in Canada.
Quick takeaways:
- Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs) are organizations accredited by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to coordinate private refugee sponsorships
- Many SAHs offer employment supports directly or through referrals to partner settlement agencies
- Government-Assisted Refugees (GARs) access parallel employment programming through RAP service providers
- You can and should ask about employment support from your first days after arrival
- RefugeeEmployment.ca is a Canada-focused job board and resource hub built for refugees seeking work
What Is a Sponsorship Agreement Holder?
A Sponsorship Agreement Holder is a Canadian organization that has signed a formal agreement with IRCC allowing it to sponsor refugees under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program. SAHs are legally and financially responsible for privately sponsored refugees during their first year in Canada. They also organize the Constituent Groups (CGs), sometimes called co-sponsors, that bring individual refugee cases forward.
Types of Organizations That Serve as SAHs
SAHs come from a wide range of organizational backgrounds:
- Faith-based organizations including churches, mosques, synagogues, and their national bodies
- Ethnocultural community associations
- Non-profit settlement agencies
- University and college groups with formal accreditation
The SAH network spans every province, with the largest concentration in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta. Some SAHs operate nationally and oversee hundreds of active sponsorship cases at any given time, while smaller SAHs focus on a single city or region.
What SAHs Are Required to Provide
Under the PSR program, your SAH is responsible for ensuring you receive:
- Accommodation and basic household needs on arrival
- Orientation to life in Canada, including banking, healthcare, schools, and transit
- Language training referrals
- Employment assistance to support your path to financial self-sufficiency
That last point matters directly for your job search: employment support is not optional for SAHs. It is a core obligation of the sponsorship, which means your SAH has both a duty and a motivation to help you find work.
How SAHs Support Refugee Employment
Employment support from a SAH varies depending on the organization's size, staff capacity, and location. Larger SAHs often have dedicated employment counsellors on staff. Smaller SAHs typically maintain referral relationships with settlement agencies that deliver employment services on their behalf.
Direct Employment Services
When you connect with your SAH or their partner agency about employment, the services typically available include:
- Resume writing and reformatting to Canadian standards
- Cover letter guidance
- Job search coaching and access to employer networks
- Interview preparation including mock interview sessions
- Credential recognition navigation for regulated professions
- Referrals to bridging programs for internationally trained professionals
- Connections to language-for-work training programs funded through IRCC
Employer Relationships
One of the most valuable aspects of working with a major SAH is access to employer relationships built over years of sponsorship activity. Some large SAHs have standing partnerships with employers who have hired refugees before and already understand the hiring process. When you are job-ready, your SAH may be able to arrange a direct introduction to a hiring manager rather than leaving you to apply through a general posting. This is one of the less visible but most practical advantages of being connected to a well-established SAH network.
Major SAHs and Their Employment Programs
Three of Canada's most active SAHs have developed well-established employment support programs worth knowing about by name.
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
Mennonite Central Committee is one of Canada's largest SAHs, with provincial offices across the country. MCC's settlement work includes employment programming delivered through its own staff and through referrals to partner agencies. MCC offices in Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia are among the most active in terms of employment connections and employer outreach.
If you are sponsored through an MCC affiliate, ask your local MCC contact specifically about employment readiness programming and employer partnerships in your city. MCC's long history of settlement work means its staff often have strong knowledge of local labour markets and credential recognition pathways for a range of professions.
Anglican United Refugee Alliance (AURA)
The Anglican United Refugee Alliance is a joint initiative of Anglican and United Church bodies that sponsors refugees through constituent groups affiliated with local congregations. Because AURA works through faith communities, your employment support may come from a volunteer team within a congregation alongside referrals to professional settlement agencies.
Congregation-based employment support can be a genuine asset. Members often include small business owners, HR professionals, and employers across a range of industries who are personally motivated to help you succeed. This informal network layer complements the formal programming available through settlement agencies and can open doors that a general online job search would not.
Catholic Crosscultural Services (CCS)
Catholic Crosscultural Services is a major settlement organization based in Ontario with deep experience in employment services for newcomers and refugees. CCS works alongside Catholic SAH sponsors and also serves Government-Assisted Refugees through its settlement programs.
CCS employment services include career counselling, job search workshops, employer connection events, and support for internationally trained professionals working through credential recognition. Their programs have particular strength in helping refugees with professional backgrounds transition into Canadian workplace environments, and they serve clients throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
Government-Assisted Refugees and Employment Support
If you arrived as a Government-Assisted Refugee rather than through private sponsorship, your path to employment support follows a different but equally structured route.
The Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP)
GAR refugees receive support through the federal Resettlement Assistance Program. RAP service providers are federally funded settlement agencies located in designated cities across Canada. They are responsible for your immediate settlement needs in the first weeks after arrival and for connecting you to longer-term services.
Employment support for GARs typically begins after the initial RAP settlement period. Your RAP service provider should connect you to employment programming at a local settlement agency, and IRCC-funded language-for-work programs are widely available in most major Canadian cities.
Comparing PSR and GAR Employment Access
For privately sponsored refugees, the SAH and its partner agencies are your primary employment resource. For GARs, RAP service providers and local settlement agencies fill that role. In both cases, asking specifically and early is the most important step you can take. These organizations serve many clients, and employment support may not be automatically offered unless you request it by name.
How to Access Employment Support Through Your SAH
Following a clear process helps you get connected to employment support faster and avoids delays that can cost you weeks of progress.
Step 1: Confirm Your SAH or RAP Provider
If you are unsure which organization sponsored you or which agency is your RAP provider, check the documents you received on arrival. Your case worker should also be able to confirm this information quickly.
Step 2: Ask Directly About Employment Services
Settlement workers cover many areas of life in Canada, and employment is just one of them. When you contact your SAH or settlement agency, ask directly: "Does your organization have an employment program, or can you refer me to one for newcomers and refugees?"
Step 3: Get Your SIN Early
To work legally in Canada, you need a Social Insurance Number (SIN). You can apply at any Service Canada location once you have your refugee status documents. Starting this process early means you are ready to begin work as soon as you receive a job offer. Your SAH or settlement worker can walk you through the application if you need help.
Step 4: Run a Parallel Job Search
SAH employment support is valuable, but it works best alongside your own active search. Browsing job boards, attending networking events through newcomer community groups, and building a professional profile are all steps you can take independently while working with your employment counsellor.
The RefugeeEmployment.ca job seekers page is a free, Canada-focused resource that connects refugees with employers actively looking to hire. Creating a candidate profile takes only a few minutes and puts your background in front of employers who have already expressed interest in hiring refugees.
Building a Strong Job Search Strategy
Your SAH or settlement agency is a support system, not a placement service. The most successful job seekers treat it as one part of a broader personal strategy.
Set Goals Before Your First Counselling Session
Before meeting with your employment counsellor, think through your previous work experience, your comfort level with English or French, whether you need to upgrade credentials, and whether you are open to entry-level roles while building Canadian experience. The clearer your goals, the more specific and useful your counsellor's guidance will be from the start.
Build a Canadian-Format Resume
Resume conventions in Canada differ from those in many countries. Settlement agency employment staff are trained to help you reformat your work history to match Canadian employer expectations, including how to present credentials earned abroad and how to address employment gaps that occurred during migration. Your resume is your first impression, so investing time here pays off quickly.
Practice Interviews in Advance
Canadian-style job interviews can feel unfamiliar even for highly experienced professionals. Many settlement agencies run mock interview programs, and some SAHs organize employer connection events where you can practice in a lower-pressure setting. Taking every practice opportunity available to you before your first real interview makes a measurable difference in how confidently you present yourself.
Stay Connected to Newcomer Employment Resources
RefugeeEmployment.ca provides a centralized space where Canadian employers who are actively seeking to hire refugees post job listings. Using it alongside your SAH and settlement agency resources gives you the widest possible view of what is available in your area.
FAQ
What is a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH)?
A Sponsorship Agreement Holder is a Canadian organization that has signed a formal agreement with IRCC to sponsor refugees under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program. SAHs are responsible for the financial support and settlement of privately sponsored refugees during their first year in Canada, including connecting them to employment programming.
Do all SAHs offer employment support directly?
Not every SAH has in-house employment staff, but all SAHs are responsible for ensuring you can access employment support. If the SAH itself does not run a program, it should refer you to a partner settlement agency that does. Ask your SAH contact directly about what employment services are available in your city.
Can I start looking for work before my first year of sponsorship ends?
Yes. There is no waiting period for starting your job search. Finding employment before or shortly after your sponsorship year ends is one of the goals of the private sponsorship program. Ask your SAH or settlement worker about employment support as early as possible after your arrival.
What is the difference between a PSR and a GAR for employment purposes?
A Privately Sponsored Refugee (PSR) accesses employment support through their SAH and the agencies their SAH works with. A Government-Assisted Refugee (GAR) accesses employment support through RAP service providers and federally funded settlement agencies. Both pathways lead to similar types of programming, but through different organizations.
What documents do I need to start working in Canada?
You need a Social Insurance Number (SIN), which you can apply for at a Service Canada office using your refugee status documents. If you have regulated professional credentials such as a medical, engineering, or legal qualification, you will also need to contact the relevant regulatory body in your province to begin the credential recognition process. Your SAH or settlement worker can help you navigate both steps.
Where can I find job listings specifically for refugees in Canada?
In addition to working with your SAH and settlement agency, you can browse job listings and create a free candidate profile at the RefugeeEmployment.ca job seekers page. The site is built specifically for refugees in Canada and connects job seekers with employers who are actively looking to hire.
Ready to take the next step? Visit RefugeeEmployment.ca at https://refugeeemployment.ca/job-seekers to browse current openings and create a candidate profile. The supports described in this post, from SAH employment programs to settlement agency services, work best when combined with your own active job search, and RefugeeEmployment.ca is built to help you do exactly that.