Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER CANADIAN HR REPORTER May 19, 2014 May 19, 2014 6 NEWS NEWS Connecting talent with opportunities Connecting talent with opportunities Immigrant Success Awards highlight excellence in immigrant employment Immigrant Success Awards highlight excellence in immigrant employment BY LIZ BERNIER NEWCOMERS TO Canada bring a wealth of diverse skills, perspectives, ideas and talent to the Canadian market — but, too often, they end up being an under- utilized resource. Organizations don't always take full advantage of everything new immigrants have to off er. at's why the Immigrant Suc- cess Awards (IS Awards) endeav- our to recognize organizations, initiatives and individuals who make an extraordinary contribu- tion to immigrant employment. On May 8, the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) recognized two groups and one individual with RBC Champion of Immigrant Success Awards at the eighth annual cer- emony, which recognizes leader- ship in immigrant employment within the Greater Toronto Area. Entrepreneurship Connections helps newcomers realize business ideas Entrepreneurship Connections, one of this year's award recipients, was created to fi ll a crucial gap in the market, according to Allison Pond, executive director at AC- CES Employment in Toronto. "Over the last 10 years, we've really noticed… a number of our clients wanting to start their own businesses and realizing that there aren't a lot of services out there to support new Canadians in really getting their businesses started," she said. So ACCES Employment, along with the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), embarked on a partnership to launch the Entrepreneurship Connections program. e partnership was a natural fi t, according to Peter Lawler, se- nior vice-president of fi nancing and consulting, Ontario, at BDC in Toronto. " e beauty of the program is that it is a real partnership model where there are various partners in the community who actually teach the curriculum. And BDC employees are very actively in- volved in teaching various com- ponents of the curriculum, along with other people in the commu- nity, so real-life professionals that are able to bring their skills to the table," he said. e four-week program, which has enjoyed "incredible success," is an opportunity for newcomers to learn how to launch their own business ventures in the Canadian market, said Pond. "We provide intensive com- ponents around the regulatory environment for business, legal considerations, human resources practices specifi c to the Canadian context, marketing and branding strategies, fi nancing options — so we provide all those kinds of infor- mation and then they get started on a business plan," she said. After completing the four-week program, participants receive a year of support, introductions to networking groups and additional mentorship and guidance. "Probably the most important piece is that we match them with a mentor. So each participant is matched with a Canadian mentor who can help introduce them to their professional networks, busi- ness networks, support, advice — all those kinds of things," said Pond. emergiTEL provides support for the whole career cycle Aneela Zaib fi rst came to Canada as an international student but it wasn't long before she launched her own business. "I did start my technical career, however, during that experience, I realized that the qualifi cation process that is in place by tradi- tional recruitment agencies was lacking… well-rounded qualifi ca- tion of the candidates," said Zaib, Toronto-based founder and vice- president of sales and marketing at emergiTEL — another of this year's award-winners. Zaib founded emergiTEL to ad- dress the gaps other recruitment agencies had in terms of evaluat- ing candidates, such as evaluating soft skills and long-term value to an organization. emergiTEL works closely with candidates to position their skills in a way that best displays their value to employers. e recruitment organization works with candidates through- out their career lifecycle, assessing their strengths and weaknesses — and providing coaching where necessary. Many of emergiTEL's candidates are newcomers to Canada. "We are working as a bridge to translate and expose the value of these immigrants and their skill sets to the Canadian employers," said Zaib. "Immigrants face unique chal- lenges… immigrants do not have a professional network because they didn't grow up here (and), above all, lack of the specifi c terminology or the jargon that exists in their occupation — and not to mention the cultural diff erences as well. "So that is a fact that I believe that usually traditional agencies do not recognize." LAMBA connects grads with business networks Emiliano Méndez is co-founder of the Latin American MBA Alumni Network (LAMBA), an initiative that connects Latin American MBA graduates with a broad professional network of both peers and employers throughout Canada. As an immigrant himself, Mé- ndez co-founded the network after facing barriers to build- ing professional connections in Toronto. "Individually, our networks from our business schools were limited and being newcomers we did not have family networks to rely on," he said. "So we decided to connect our individual networks to form something bigger." But LAMBA is not the only inclusion initiative that Méndez, this year's winner in the individual category, is committed to. He also helped launch a visible minority committee that is part of a Diversity Leadership Council at RBC, where he works as manager of strategy and transformation services. Méndez is a commit- ted volunteer as president of the HRC Montreal Alumni Network in Toronto, where he also helps connect new immigrants with professional contacts. Spotlight on immigrant success e IS Awards provide an oppor- tunity for all employers to refl ect on how they may be able to sup- port immigrant employment, said Zaib. "We need to eff ectively lever- age the talent available to us, in- cluding skilled immigrants, for long-term prosperity… the value that immigrants are bringing is innovation because we have im- migrants coming from all over the world. It brings us the cul- tural know-how to reach the local and international markets, and it opens up a major talent pool of potential employees," she said. An immigrant-inclusive work- force is critical to our economic growth — and employers need to recognize the benefi ts, said Zaib. " ey are highly educated, they possess unique skills, and that in- ternational business connection and expertise that they're bring- ing is ultimately going to prove successful for our employers, who can be more competitive — and it's good for the business... (as we) compete for leadership in the global market," she said. "Immigrants have studied in their professions almost all of their lives… and they should not somehow be forced to leave the profession that they studied for and take up an alternate career, just because they are in a new place." "We need to eff ectively leverage the talent available to us, including skilled immigrants, for long-term prosperity... it opens up a major talent pool." Allison Pond Allison Pond Executive director, Executive director, ACCES Employment ACCES Employment Aneela Zaib Aneela Zaib Founder and vice- Founder and vice- president of sales and president of sales and marketing at emergiTEL marketing at emergiTEL Emiliano Méndez Emiliano Méndez Co-founder, Latin Co-founder, Latin American MBA Alumni American MBA Alumni Network (LAMBA) Network (LAMBA) Peter Lawler Peter Lawler Senior vice-president of Senior vice-president of fi nancing and consulting, fi nancing and consulting, Ontario, at BDC Ontario, at BDC

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