When Michael came to Performance Plus Rehabilitative Care Inc. (PPRC) and the Inclusion Alliance to find a new job, he already had work experience stocking shelves in a grocery store. Michael wanted to work in the produce section of a grocery store next, but he was concerned he might not have the skills to do so.
Lacey was interested in exploring a career in after school programming. After learning about a potential mentorship opportunity from the Vocational Training Centre manager, the MentorAbility New Brunswick team coordinated a meeting between Lacey and Amanda, the director of the local Boys and Girls Club. Amanda provided a tour of the facility and later introduced Lacey to the afterschool program supervisor.
Lisa enjoyed an automotive class during her schooling days and always thought that working in the industry would be a great fit for her; but, seeing as it’s a male-dominated field, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get hired as a woman. Thankfully, this concern didn’t stop her from looking for opportunities, and Lisa arrived at MentorAbility ready to gain a hands-on mentorship experience working with cars.
Having recently graduated university with a degree in Applied Economics, Doug was more than ready to jump into his career; but, Covid made for an uncertain job market and he was unsure of his next step toward employment. Thankfully, Doug looked into his university’s career counselling program and they referred him to MentorAbility — a partnership that ultimately landed Doug a great job with a big Tech company!
When Basel came to March of Dimes Canada (MODC) for help finding employment, he wanted to work full-time as a Farm Hand. Basel grew up in Syria where he worked on a farm his whole life. When he moved to Canada in 2016, however, he faced numerous barriers to employment including a lack of formal training, no Canadian job experience and deafness. With all these barriers in his way, it was not surprising that he struggled to secure employment.
After considering potential career paths, Trisha had her sights set on working in the restaurant industry because she felt her positive energy and upbeat personality would translate well into customer service.
Trisha was soon referred to MentorAbility to gain hands-on work experience, and the first mentorship opportunity that came along was in childcare (and not the restaurant industry). Trisha figured that any work experience was good experience, so she agreed to be mentored by Tiffany, owner of the ProCare Family Centre in Ottawa.
“I believe inspiration and encouragement go a long way for every person, it only takes one person who believes in you to change a life,” said Erin (an awesome mentor from Saskatchewan!). Erin chooses to volunteer as a mentor to be that one person — the person who changes someone’s life for the better.
As an Indigenous Resource Officer with the local police, Erin is an advocate for Indigenous Protocols, accessibility, equality and equity; and, as such, she works hard to change the historically troubled relationship between police (simâkansuk) and Indigenous People into something more positive.
As a massive sports fan, Brandon loves his current role as a back shop merchandiser for a sporting goods store in Calgary; and, he’s been commended on his excellent work ethic many times over the years. Despite loving his job, however, Brandon wanted to further challenge himself by moving into more of a customer service role but there were no openings at his current location.
MentorAbility is all about making connections — links between mentors and proteges, people and organizations, and turning dreams into reality. So, when Ian came to us and said he wanted to be a professional wrestler, we got to work immediately on connecting him with someone with real, in-ring wrestling experience.
When Brian first heard about MentorAbility – and the idea he could gain a valuable mentoring experience in a desired field – he immediately wanted to do something with cars. As a fan of cars, Brian thought a good entry point into this industry would be cleaning and washing vehicles for a dealership. Thankfully, MentorAbility was able to connect Brian with Chilliwack Ford in B.C.
