The Career Mentorship Program (CMP) matches newcomer immigrant professionals (mentees) in the Edmonton region with established professionals and local employers (mentors) who share a similar occupational background and creates networks through real-life connections and experience. ERIEC mentor (Colin) met ERIEC Mentee (Ikemefuna) through the ERIEC mentorship program.
Their mentor-mentee meetings provided a platform for them to connect over their shared career background, learn more about each other and transfer knowledge. The mentee had the opportunity to receive coaching from an established professional in his field and the mentor gained improved coaching and leadership skills.
The CMP Experience: “My experience with ERIEC was great. I felt the program was designed well, the resources provided by ERIEC were great, and the intent and objective of the program is wonderful. I enjoyed helping out an individual who was already successful and highly capable but needed some guidance to thrive in the Canadian workplace.
My Biggest Takeaway: It was nice to gather insight about the challenges immigrants face entering the Canadian workplace and satisfying knowing that I could help another person be more successful in life.
My advice for future mentors would be to “enjoy the process”, and to develop a structured mentorship plan with a mentee. Both the mentor and mentee need to invest time in order for it to be successful.
My advice for a mentee would be if you don’t know something or are unsure – ask questions! Knowledge is power.”
Ikemefuna – Foreign trained IT Project Manager – CMP Mentee
The CMP Experience: Going through the ERIEC mentorship program was quite an insightful experience. Preliminary sessions leading up to the mentorship engagement were well thought through, as it enabled me align my expectations and understand my commitment in order to derive maximum outcome from the program.
Being paired with Colin also ensured that we resonated on similar frequencies and were able to communicate effectively.
My Biggest Takeaway: A better understanding and appreciation for the Canadian work environment (especially how to spot passive aggression and identify sometimes indirect modes of communication ) and business culture.
Mentees: Keep an open mind and be willing and humble to learn new approaches.
Mentors: Provide a pragmatic approach to communicating ideas across to mentees (as a mentee I found this helpful). The CMP program would be whatever the mentor/mentee determines it to be, whether by deliberate action or negligence; so be responsive!
This platform has been an amazing opportunity for me to forge new, professional, lasting relationships, for which I’m immensely grateful to ERIEC!
If you are an immigrant professional, Permanent Resident, currently in Edmonton, and interested in ERIEC’s Connector Program, please contact the Program Assistant- Gustave Gatabazi at 780-497-8866 or [email protected]
If you are an established professional or business leader looking to volunteer as a mentor or establish corporate partnerships, please contact the Program Director- Azumme Degun at 780-497-8866 or [email protected]