Seneca’s commitment to meeting the needs of skilled immigrants is already high: by providing education, training, and support, they help them to become job-ready graduates who are prepared to make valuable contributions to Canada’s workforce.
In joining TRIEC Mentoring Partnership, Seneca has been able to more broadly serve internationally-trained professionals, by providing them with mentors to help them build their networks and navigate the local labour market.
According to Denis Gravelle, Chair of the Faculty of Continuing Education and Training, TRIEC Mentoring Partnership presented an ideal opportunity for Seneca because the college shares similar goals. “Seneca and The Mentoring Partnership are strongly aligned based on our shared vision of supporting new Canadians as they seek to establish themselves in a new country,” he says.
Seneca has been a partner in TRIEC Mentoring Partnership since 2007. So far, 65 staff and faculty have helped to foster more than 100 occupation-specific mentoring relationships through the program.
For the Seneca employees who sign up as mentors, this presents a unique opportunity to share their advanced expertise and diverse career experiences with new Canadians who can benefit from the transfer of knowledge and the meaningful relationships formed.
A key part of what appeals to Seneca about the program is how it supports leaders to grow. “Our world needs leaders who make a difference at work and in the community – and our graduates are those leaders,” said Gravelle. “By supporting initiatives like TRIEC Mentoring Partnership, Seneca is able to extend its institutional commitment to developing great leaders who are also engaged citizens, ready for today’s careers and tomorrow’s opportunities.”
The benefits also extend to those coordinating the program for the institution. “Being part of TRIEC Mentoring Partnership has allowed me to not only grow as a leader at my organization but to also experience collaboration in its truest sense,” says Amy Koning, Manager, Employer Services. “As [the program lead at Seneca], I have been able to connect with departments in my organization and meet colleagues that otherwise I would have never known. Being part of this initiative has developed my own communication skills and knowledge of diversity.”