Expanding Newbornlander's Sewing Hope Program to Refugee Women in New Brunswick

Moncton, New Brunswick is experiencing one of Canada's fastest population growth rates, driven primarily by immigration. Existing training programs focus on construction and agriculture, not aligning with refugee women's needs or constraints

Following up on a successful Sewing Hope program in St. John’s NL, Northpine Foundation has invested in supporting the Newbornlander Baby Store to expand this employment-integrated model that combines sewing skills training, industry-specific English language instruction, and direct employment pathways within a commercial manufacturing operation into Moncton, New Brunswick.

The program will support refugee women through 4 months of integrated training delivered in three progressive levels, from domestic machine operation to production-level manufacturing, alongside language training tailored to workplace contexts.

Participants will transition into employment through direct hiring within the manufacturing operation producing goods for existing commercial demand, or through external employer placements, with wraparound supports including flexible scheduling, childcare connections, and ongoing coaching to enable program completion.