Posts Tagged ‘BC’

Three years ago, ISSofBC proposed the idea of a mentoring program that would connect skilled immigrants with Vancouver-area professionals, in career-focused mentorships. In June 2008, Mentoring Connections was born! Today, what is most exciting about our program is the number of high-profile corporate and community partners that are beginning to hop aboard. It is with great pleasure that we announce ISSofBC Mentoring Connections’ newest partner, Deloitte. [Continue]

One thing our program has observed over the past few years is that engineers are a busy group of people. Luckily for us, we have engaged a core group of local engineers as volunteer mentors, many of whom have taken on multiple mentorships at our program, and who spread the word about Mentoring Connections to their colleagues. Long-time mentor and Professional Advisory Committee member Carlos Perez did just that, and last Tuesday our program welcomed Carlos and members of his CH2M Hill team to our office for an Industry Insights event for our engineer mentees. [Continue]

Karim Makalai has been a career mentor with ISSofBC’s Mentoring Connections program since January 2010. Originally from Uganda, Karim and his family came to Vancouver as refugees in 1973. In honour of the 60th anniversary of the Refugee Convention, Karim kindly shares his story with us... [Continue]

Vancouver City Hall’s council chamber was the setting for the official launch of a new pilot program that matches new immigrants with city employees in career-focused mentorships. ISSofBC’s Mentoring Connections has been working diligently with SUCCESS, MOSAIC, the Immigrant Employment Council of BC, and the City of Vancouver to launch this pilot program.One of the program’s mentees, Karla Claros, was among the speakers at the event. In the presence of the Mayor and a handful of city councilors, she shared her personal experience and what she hopes to gain through the program. [Continue]

"Personally, I believe the main gaps are a lack of understanding of Canada-specific communication styles, the Canadian taxation system, as well as the industries that are unique in Canada," says Vishwa. Vishwa Mootooveeren obtained his MBA, majoring in Finance from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. He also holds Diplomas in HR and Export Management and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) from Canada. [Continue]

“Who has done cold calling?” asked presenter, Yan Liang. The audience out of shyness did not put up their hands. All the way from the back of the room, the two previous presenters, Kai Mark and Paul Kernan raised their hands. Yan cited cold calling and personally going to companies to be effective alternatives to emailing dozens maybe hundreds of resumes to potential employers. From his experience, Yan finds that these methods allow people to get to know you and not just your resume. [Continue]

Recently, The Tyee featured articles that address the idea of identity amongst young Canadians and immigrants. Originally published in Schema Magazine, the authors discuss how it feels to be asked, “But Where Are You Really From?” As I read their stories, I found myself nodding along in agreement. As a 1.5 generation Canadian, I’m all too familiar with what Tahira Ebrahim calls “the dance.” In my experience, “the dance” usually starts with the question: “What are you?” Each time I’m asked to explain myself, I find myself wondering what exactly we expect a Canadian to be. [Continue]

If you’re looking for creative ways to connect with your new community this summer, August is your month. There is certainly no shortage of affordable events going on around town, from cultural festivals and live theatre to sports tournaments and the PNE. Here's a freebie, for those of you interested in music and discussions around social change... [Continue]

The other day I was sitting in on a training session with Romanda, and while talking about mentoring relationships a few points were brought up concerning various interactions, life in general and the values each of us holds. Values such as commitment, honesty, trust, respect, integrity (and many more) all concern individuals to this or that extent. For me, positive attitude is of high significance. This is probably genetic –it’s my personality – but also, it’s because of my experience learning how to exercise positive affirmations in life. [Continue]

I was a little late in finding out that May 2-8th was North American Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Week, which makes me think that many of you likely didn’t know either (unless you did, and then can claim you are smarter than me)! The fact that the week wasn’t highlighted to the extent that many other special days, weeks or months are (such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month) may be one of the reasons why so many of us go to work every day without knowing our rights regarding workplace safety. [Continue]