Helping new immigrants find work in Vancouver
My friend Astarte Sands has a really cool job. She coordinates a program for MOSAIC called Workplace Connections – matching local mentors with immigrant professionals who need help moving their careers to Canada.
“A lot of newcomers have never had to look for work in the same way you look for a job here,” says Astarte, who researched, developed, and launched this new program in September, 2008. “Sometimes you would be looking at making a whole different career choice. If you’re a doctor, the chances of you working as a doctor are very, very slim and very costly and time-consuming… There’s a lot of barriers in terms of what Canadian employers want. The people have arrived, they’ve got skills, and they’re led to believe they will find work – but Canadian employers are reluctant to hire anybody without Canadian experience.”
At first my intention was to write a post about Astarte and her work for my Super Citizen Showcase blog. Yet the more I heard about the program, the more curious I was about the newcomers and mentors. I spoke with some of these folks and then decided to write a story for MOSAIC to use as they wished. Instead of volunteering as a mentor, I volunteered my writing services – and now the full story about Workplace Connections is published in HRVoice.com.
If you want to be a mentor – or you are a newcomer – call MOSAIC at 604-254-9626 or leave a comment below.
This “arriving in Vancouver” photo (above) courtesy of Evan Leeson