Government “WorkBC” plan to grant job seekers greater access to employment services takes effect April 2

By Noa Glouberman

In 2011, after two-and-a-half years of provincewide consultations, research and data analysis, the Ministry of Social Development announced a new employment program for British Columbia. Its goal: to grant all job seekers greater access to a more flexible menu of employment services, ensuring clients are supported in finding work as quickly as possible – regardless of where they live.

One way the government set about achieving this was to identify various proponents to deliver four provincially funded employment programs and six programs funded under the Canada-BC Labour Market Development Agreement (learn what these are by visiting www.labourmarketservices.gov.bc.ca) through 85 new “storefront” WorkBC Employment Services Centres, which are scheduled to open on April 2 throughout the province.

“Think of the new WorkBC Employment Services Centres as one-stop shops for certain employment services,” explained Shameemah Kalaichelvan, a former Job Options BC program facilitator at the Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) Society in White Rock.

RBC poll says many Canadian immigrants feel their current work is a “step down”

Almost half (49%) of newcomers who have been in Canada for one year or less feel underemployed, according to a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) poll released last summer.

Even after six to 10 years in Canada, a third (32%) of newcomers continue to feel that their current job is at a lower skill level than they had, or would have had, in their country of origin.

According to the poll, a majority of newcomers (52%) measure success based on their career, which includes having a good-paying job in their field of expertise.

“Once newcomers get past some of the career challenges they face when they move to Canada, they make a tremendous contribution to the country’s productivity and diversity,” said Camon Mak, RBC director of multicultural markets.

“Canada is built on immigration; new skills and resources continue to be key drivers of our country’s global success. It’s important that we help newcomers get settled quickly both into their new home and their new careers.”

Revising your career plan midway through school isn’t necessarily a bad thing

By Derek Sankey, Postmedia News

When Simon Zhu entered the electrical engineering program at McGill University, his plan was to finish his degree, get a job as an engineer and eventually get an MBA.

Instead, he took a different path. His last summer internship wasn’t at an engineering-related company but in sales at Procter & Gamble.

“I kind of knew I wanted to end up in business at some point – to get an MBA, for example – but when I started engineering, I didn’t think I would do it through business,” said Zhu.

He liked the sales job so much that he revised his career plan. He was surprised to see how many of the other sales interns were also engineers.

“They liked the technical aspect of engineering. But they saw themselves working with people on projects that require more soft skills, like presentation, selling and interacting with clients,” said Zhu.

Job seekers need to be aware of the differences between CVs and resumés

By Dave MacFadden, Postmedia News

So, here’s a job-related, multiple-choice question to help stimulate the grey matter during the mid-winter lull. In job ads where an applicant is asked to submit a “CV,” the two letters stand for:
a) Career Vision: a written explanation of your personal career goals and how they will help you succeed in the posted position;
b) Curriculum Vitae (Latin for “course of (one’s) life”): a detailed summary of academic and other accomplishments;
c) 105 (in Roman numerals): refers to Form 105, a standardized job application form used by many larger companies; or
d) Core Values: a statement of no more than 500 words, which explains how your personal values fit with the job applied for.

If you answered “b,” give yourself a gold star.