OCASI has successfully managed the Professional Education and Training (PET) project for over 10 years. The program which is supported by Citizenship and Immigration Canada was initiated by OCASI in 2000 with the main objective of providing professional development and training for settlement workers, with a view to increasing skills, knowledge and capacity to deliver client services.

In 2007-08 the project was broadened to include all staff funded under the Newcomer Settlement Program of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI), as well as specific positions within the ELT and LINC programs. In 2010 it was also expanded to include staff who are hired to coordinate Local Immigration Partnerships (LIPs)

The goal of the project is to improve services for immigrant communities by addressing gaps in skills and knowledge of service providers through provision of financial resources for the agecies and their staff to access existing courses from Ontario colleges, universities and, or tailor-made training by community-based training organizations, designed to enhance organizational capacity and knowledge sharing in an effort to enhancing the quality of services delivered to newcomers.

Through the PET, OCASI offers financial support to individual staff whose positions are funded

under the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP), HOST, Job Search Workshops (JSW), Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS), Library Settlement Program (LSP), as well as specific positions within the ELT and LINC programs and the Newcomer Settlement Program (NSP). Staff who are eligible under these funded categories may apply for and, if approved, be reimbursed up to $750 upon completion of the approved course.

In addition, OCASI offers support to agencies which are funded to provide the above mentioned programs may apply for and, if approved, be reimbursed up to $2000 for In-House Group Training designed to enhance organizational capacity and knowledge sharing. While 321 settlement workers benefited from individual trainings in the fiscal year 2010-2011, in that same year a total of 276 settlement staff province-wide benefited from Inhouse GroupTrainings organized by 13 service providers under the PET project.