Michael's Case

Applied to Recognition Counts: November 2012

Education: Bachelor of Technology, Major in Automotive, Certified Automotive Technician

Experience/profession in his/her country: 10 years working as an automotive technician, including 2 years as a department manager.

Qualification Recognition Summary: Accepted in Winnipeg Technical College to take the Automotive Mechanics course which starts September 2012 and ends February 2013. He is also taking career counselling and training at WISNIT (Workplace Integration of Skilled Newcomers in the Trades). He is scheduled to write the Red Seal exam in February 2013 after completion of the Winnipeg Technical College program.

Background Sketch:

Michael came to Canada in 2010. He came here by himself, but sends money home to support his two children. He has been getting casual work in several places. His income varies depending on the type of job he can find. When he works as a labourer in a machine shop his income is minimum wage but when he is hired as an automotive technician his income is about $13.00 per hour.

Professional Goals:

Obtain Red Seal as an Automotive Service Technician and obtain full-time employment with an average wage of $25.00 per hour.

Financial Sketch:

Michael is renting a small apartment and owns an older vehicle. He has bought some tools for his trade and has no money saved. He will have to reduce the time he can work at his casual jobs while he attends Winnipeg Technical College and may not be able to find any work that meets his schedule.

Recognition Counts Application:

Michael applied for an $8,000 loan to be disbursed as follows:

1st disbursement (November 2012):

2nd disbursement (February 2013):

Career Action Plan Information:

Timeline
First disbursement: November 2012
End of the Career Action Plan: February 2013
Total amount of months: 3

Plan: Michael knows he is a good mechanic and has passed similar exams for his occupation in his home country. He is confident he will get his Red Seal. He knows finding full time employment at the Red Seal wage will not be easy and has started networking with people he knows in the industry so they will keep him in mind if a job becomes available.

Backup Plan: Michael is a hard worker and knows from experience he will be able to continue to find casual jobs at the Red Seal rate even if he is unable to find full-time work. If he doesn't pass his trades' qualification exam, Michael can attempt to pass the exam three times a year.

Case Outcome:

Michael is approved for an $8,000 loan at the rate of 5% (prime rate of 3% plus 2%). The approval is based on his extensive experience and continued employment in the field. SEED staff feels that Michael has a very good chance of reaching his goal and wages at a Red Seal rate will give Michael enough income to repay the loan.

Payments:

First disbursement (November 2012) = $5,000.
Interest payments from December 2012: approximately $20.83 per month

Second disbursement (February 2013) = $3,000 (the principal he now owes is $8,000).
Interest payments from March 2013: approximately $33.33 per month

Payments on principal are due 6 months after the career plan ends. He must start making principal payments in August 2013. Michael will have used 9 months of the 5-year maximum term allowed (3 months for the career action plan and 6 months grace period). Michael will have 51 months to repay the principal interest on the loan.

For the 51 months, he will pay approximately $174.44 (principal and interest). Repayment terms are flexible so Michael can pay any amount extra on principal whenever he wants without penalty.