Knack

Founder: Ted Killin

Knack builds up refugees’ language skills to achieve career goals and expand social growth.

Website: www.knackofwriting.com (external link) 

Knack is a social venture that enables refugees to swiftly advance their language and writing skills. With upgraded literacy levels, refugees can accelerate their integration into social, academic, and professional networks and significantly improve their employment outcomes. 

In several different surveys, refugees have indicated their dominant focus on securing employment as soon as possible—while also expressing sincere doubts about language classes being an asset in this goal (Huang, 2021; Ghadi et al., 2019). So Knack is introducing and testing a new educational workshop for refugees, addressing their requests for more on-the-job language skills.

Knack trains refugees through one-on-one coaching sessions with a professional writer. These personalized workshops provide deep insights into key professional projects—including emails, resumes, cover letters, and university applications. By completing such high-priority documents, refugees gain crucial experience in writing for a Canadian audience, growing confident in their communication skills while also enhancing their career prospects.

When refugees learn how to self-promote early in settlement, they can accelerate their own career development!

Knack is also hosting inclusive group workshops, establishing a safe community space for refugees to express themselves openly in their new country. This initiative aims to cultivate cultural exchange and generate warm social connections among Canadians and newcomers—showing how language learning can be a powerful tool for building diverse communities and integrating refugees into Canadian society!