Mentor stories
Ishpreet Lamba, Fall 2010
“Relationships are always a two-way street. You always learn from another person. Mustafa, for example, offered many Turkish experiences and perspectives, highlighting differences in our cultures. If I have a Turkish client in future, I will be better prepared to talk to that person.” He found more than enough payback from his role as mentor to want to continue his volunteer role with ERIEC. “The organization is very much on the right track from a business perspective.” He applauds ERIEC’s screening procedures, the workshops and its hands-on approach.
Maureen Halldorson, Fall 2010
Maureen said the orientation session really opened her eyes. “I got to see how other people think. That was invaluable. We all become so comfortable with our own way of looking at the world. It was refreshing to learn about other ways people see things.” The small group then began individual sessions, meeting weekly from January through April. The team covered everything from resumes and interviews to networking and workplace culture.
Annette Bilawchuk, Fall 2009
Annette Bilawchuk chuckles now when she thinks of her initial reluctance in agreeing to mentor a foreign-trained professional through The Career Mentorship Program. As Manager, Planning and Engineering at TELUS, Annette has engineers from all parts of the globe on her team. She was in for a happy surprise, however, when she began to realize the difference she could make in a newcomer’s life.
Craig O’Connor, Fall 2009
“ERIEC is a great idea for Edmonton because businesses are going to need to tap the workforce again very soon to meet the demand for labour. We have a lot of skilled immigrants right here. We can make use of the skills we have at home – and give these individuals the jobs they’ve trained for,” Craig says. “We need these people to sustain our economic standard of living.”
Jay Riat, Fall 2009
“Learning about the soft skills like effective communication is so important. The way new residents view things is very different from the way most Canadians would view the same thing. You can’t make judgments about people without understanding their perspective.”