The Career Mentorship Program (CMP) matches newcomer immigrant professionals (mentees) in the Edmonton region with established professionals and local business leaders/employers (mentors) who share a similar occupational background and creates networks through real-life connections and experience.
Before immigrating to Canada in December of 2020, Swetha Nair spent close to 13 years in the Manufacturing sector specializing in process control and automation.
“The pandemic in itself was a great challenge. For me, it was indeed at a different level having to immigrate from India to Canada in the middle of COVID and deal with all of the travel restrictions. I was starting a new life with my family and also I was looking out for opportunities to get back into a profession related to my experience as soon as I could.” Swetha recounts.
“ERIEC was one of the first choices for me when seeking professional help understanding how I fit into the Canadian workplace and adapt to a new work culture. I was fortunate to be informed about the Career Mentorship program and the various Networking opportunities ERIEC provided regularly to newcomers. Even though we weren’t meeting in person, various members of the ERIEC team, Sarah, Azumme and Gustave provided all the virtual support I needed to prepare myself for my career in Canada.”
“As soon as I started my interactions with ERIEC, like participating in the information and networking and how I could be more prepared by standing out. He helped out with orientation sessions as well as the intercultural workshops they conducted, I was accepted into the ERIEC Career Mentorship Program. The team matched my interests and experiences to a suitable mentor. My mentor was very approachable, and he helped me organize my priorities when it came to preparing for a job search in Canada. He always provided me with a logical approach to the multitude of tasks I had to do, and it helped me optimize my time better without losing focus on the critical things. He educated me about the nuances of the Canadian workplace, the importance of the engineering licensing process, how to make interview preparations – he even helped me with the regular interview norms for attaining jobs in Canada. He also reviewed my APEGA application and provided feedback on how to improve my job descriptions and have them relate better to a Canadian context.”
Swetha said, “I was lucky that my efforts eventually paid off, through good sound advice and being coached in the right direction. I was able to secure a position relevant to my work experience four months after I had started my job search efforts.”
If you are an immigrant professional, Permanent Resident, currently in Edmonton, and interested in ERIEC’s Mentorship and/or Connector Program, please contact the Program Assistant- Gustave Gatabazi at [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 [email protected]