Almost five years ago, TELUS launched an employee resource group for new Canadians, Mosaic, with the vision of unleashing the power of multiculturalism among TELUS team members, their clients and the broader community.
“From the beginning, we had the idea that helping new Canadians in our community integrate into the labour market was one way we could bring the Mosaic vision to life,” says David Garcia, Director Service Strategy and National Chair of TELUS Mosaic. “TRIEC Mentoring Partnership therefore was a great fit to help achieve our goals.”
TELUS first joined TRIEC Mentoring Partnership in 2012. Since then, 108 TELUS employees have mentored more than 140 skilled immigrants in the Toronto Region. The mentors represent a range of professions from IT to marketing to HR and finance.
“The program offers many different benefits to our team members,” says David. “Our mentors report that being a mentor opens their eyes to the reality of the new Canadian experience, helps them grow as coaches and gives them the positive experience of helping someone else.”
The benefits for TELUS are equally apparent to David, “Participating in TRIEC Mentoring Partnership helps us reach our overall diversity goals. In particular, it helps us to better understand the needs of new Canadians both as team members and clients.”
The program is one that David believes other employers can equally benefit from. “TRIEC Mentoring Partnership is a great opportunity for bringing the reality of diversity to team members and to give them the leadership development opportunities they might not otherwise have,” he says. “It is also a great way to give back to the community and helps ensure that the excellent talent that comes to Canada every year is fully embraced.”