Veena Balram – mentoring helps me relate to my customers
"The Mentoring Partnership gave me an opportunity to mentor skilled immigrants in a structured way". When Veena Balram arrived in Canada from India 11 years ago, she got a job within a week. Veena is now Director, Unsecured Lending at Scotiabank. Years after arriving...
James Strasman – all my mentees are intelligent and beautiful people
"Be interested in your mentees and be honest with them". James Strasman’s empathy for newcomers comes from his personal experience. In 1964, as a young architect he went looking for a job in Switzerland. “I can still remember carrying my drawings around and trying to...
Ranil Mendis – Mentor to 10 or more skilled immigrants
When Ranil Mendis immigrated to Canada in 1987, there was nothing like The Mentoring Partnership in place. He came with significant qualifications and experience, but it wasn’t translating well with employers in Canada. “I ended up doing very very junior roles,” he...
Riaz Shaikh – Mentor to 10 or more skilled immigrants
Riaz Shaikh, Supervisor Capital Projects, City of Toronto After immigrating from his native India in 2002, Riaz was unable to find a mentor in his professional field of architecture. “When I came to Canada, The Mentoring Partnership Program didn't exist,” recalls...
Saleha Hussain – Mentor to 10 or more skilled immigrants
Saleha Hussain, Building Engineer, City of Toronto Saleha’s parents immigrated to Canada when she was a teenager. She witnessed their struggle settling in Canada and trying to find jobs in their professional fields. Unfortunately, it never happened for them and they...
Sam Samanta – Mentor to 10 or more skilled immigrants
Sam Samanta, Senior Financial Analyst, City of Toronto Having mentored eleven times since 2004, Sam Samanta, a senior financial analyst at Corporate Finance Division, City of Toronto, always finds it rewarding. Sam is a Professional Engineer and holds a Master's...
Vijay Chander – Mentor to 10 or more skilled immigrants
Vijay Chander, Senior Program Manager, Rogers Communications Vijay Chander came to Canada from the Philippines as a student, which afforded him both the opportunity to learn what Canadian employers were looking for and also understand the cultural dynamics necessary...
Kathy Wu – Mentor to 10 or more skilled immigrants
“When I do my research for mentees I always learn something new whether it’s about new technology or about the IT business field. I definitely get something out of it.” Why I started mentoring? I like to help and meet different people. Immigrants want to settle down...
Joe Ferreyro – Mentor to 10 or more skilled immigrants
“Mentoring provides real professional development. You learn about other cultures and get to interact with many types of people. I do a lot of mentoring on the job, so I can apply what I learn through The Mentoring Partnership to my daily activities of coaching new...
Alex So – Mentor to 10 or more skilled immigrants
“For me accounting is accounting no matter where you study and where you practice. We all follow the same accounting principles. I help my mentees market their relevant professional experience to local employers, build a new network here and explain the path to...