Free Employment Program Helps Immigrant Get Back to their Pre-Arrival Professions

What makes you passionate about your job?

What makes me passionate about my job is the awareness that I am working with and supporting clients who made a life-changing decision to move to Canada. It is not an easy decision to make leaving everything behind, so being able to support them and make notable contributions to help them rebuild their lives give meaning to what I do - that through my work, I can touch someone's life and make a difference.

What is the work that you do with newcomers?

As a Career Strategist, I work with and support internationally trained professionals return to their pre-arrival occupation by providing career planning and job search assistance   capitalizing on their pre-arrival skills and qualifications, developing a realistic action plan that is tailored to their career goals, helping them build Canadian style resumes and letters of application, facilitating further training or re-credentialing/licensing where appropriate utilizing the skills enhancement funding provided by the federal and provincial government of BC to assist them in their employment journey, and with the support of our Employer Relations Specialists, providing mentoring, networking and employer connections to create more opportunities for clients to find work in their field of expertise.

How did you come to Canada? What is your immigrant story?

My family and I came to Canada through the Federal Skilled Worker Express Entry program. We immigrated in early 2018 in hopes of pursuing not just better economic and life opportunities for the entire family including our kids, but the overall quality of life. It was tough in the first year, but with optimism, perseverance and support of families and friends and immigrant-serving organizations, I can say that we made it through.

What brought you to ISSofBC?

When we arrived, my husband was referred to ISSofBC Career Paths by a settlement service provider in which he became a client in 2018. He also worked briefly for one of ISSofBC's programs before landing a career in the banking industry. His experience in ISSofBC opened its door for me in 2019 when they were hiring for a Service Assistant in one if its settlement programs, and then an opportunity for the same role opened up in an employment program, and as it was more aligned with my background/work experience, I moved to Career Paths program where I am now working as a Career Strategist.

What is the best part of your job?

Being an immigrant myself, I can truly relate to the challenges that my clients go through and being able to support and help them get back on track genuinely make my day as their success is my success. So, I guess the best part of my job is being given the opportunity to make a difference in our clients' lives - to be a part of our their career journey in achieving their employment goals which can greatly lead to them finding a happy and meaningful life here in Canada.