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Sep 23
Love4
2000 internships

Career Edge celebrates 2000 internships for Skilled Newcomers

By Events & Holidays

Last week marked another milestone in Career Edge’s history, as the Toronto-based social enterprise celebrated the placement of its 2,000th internationally qualified professional (IQP) through its Career Bridge paid internship program.

Career Bridge was launched as a pilot project led by the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) in 2003, and has since grown into an effective, low risk hiring and retention solution for leading Canadian employers.

“When [Career Bridge] started its work with immigrants, it was our hope that through internships many immigrants would find suitable employment,” says Ratna Omidvar, President of Maytree, the founding organization behind TRIEC. “Career Bridge has been instrumental in providing a pathway to employment for over 2,000 internationally trained immigrants.”

In collaboration with employers of all sizes, across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, Career Edge facilitates the employment of IQP candidates in paid internship positions that complement their level of education and experience. RBC, Bell, St. Michael’s Hospital, City of Toronto, and the Ontario Public Service (OPS) are among the hundreds of companies that have leveraged the Career Bridge program to find well-qualified talent, demonstrating leadership in bias-free employment.

Participants of the Career Bridge program are those who have been in Canada for less than three years and have between 5 and 10 years of work experience abroad. Although they meet or exceed the qualifications for many job opportunities in Canada, a lack of Canadian experience has been a substantial barrier to employment for these job seekers.

Employers that offer meaningful work opportunities through Career Edge’s internship program for IQPs are committed to removing the “Canadian experience” barrier. This enables program registrants to compete for employment opportunities on a level playing field.

“As an internationally trained professional and a new immigrant to Canada, I faced a lot of challenges in my career planning, one of which was getting Canadian workplace experience required for engineering licensing,” said Yaghoub Norouzi Banis, an intern at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. “The internship program provided me with an exceptional opportunity to overcome this challenge and I had the good fortune of being welcomed at the Ontario Parks for this position.”

Career Edge maintains strategic alliances and partnerships with a number of industry associations, post-secondary institutions, government agencies, and community organizations to help bridge the gap for IQPs like Yaghoub. Partners like the Canadian Immigrant Integration Program (CIIP), TRIEC, Toronto Region Board of Trade, Maytree Foundation, and York University have expanded the capacity and augmented the impact of the program in Ontario and across Canada.

“With the support of a vast network of leading Canadian employers and partnering organizations, I’m proud that Career Edge has helped to successfully launch the careers of 2,000 IQPs,” says Naguib Gouda, President of Career Edge. “This proves that paid internships truly represent a sustainable and optimum path to permanent employment for internationally qualified professionals.”

Feb 21
Love2

HRPA Edge celebrates its first birthday!

By Events & Holidays

Today we are proud to celebrate the first birthday of HRPA Edge, a paid internship program that connects Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) candidates with participating host employers who need additional resources to address their pressing HR needs on a short-term basis.

It was one year ago today that we – in partnership with the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) – launched this innovative program that has already benefited a number of employers and interns. As an employer, Career Edge Organization has also benefited from the program, hiring an HRPA Edge intern for the role of Recruitment Coordinator.

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Oct 15
Love4

Looking for leaders: Nominations open for TRIEC’s 7th Annual Immigrant Success Awards

By Events & Holidays

The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) is pleased to announce the call for entries for the 7th Annual Immigrant Success (IS) Awards, sponsored by RBC. Each year, TRIEC presents the IS Awards to recognize innovation and leadership in integrating skilled immigrants into the Greater Toronto Region labour market.

If you or your organization deserve to be recognized, don’t miss your chance this year. Employers and individuals are invited to apply or submit a nomination by Thursday, November 15, 2012 at www.isawards.ca.

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Apr 26
Love3

Career Bridge honoured at the 6th Annual TRIEC Immigrant Success Awards

By Events & Holidays

Since the launch of the Career Bridge paid internship program in 2003, over 1,700 skilled immigrants have gained valuable Canadian work experience consistent with their professional experience and education, with over 80% of interns landing full-time employment in their field post-internship.

At this evening’s Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC)’s 6th Annual Immigrant Success (IS) Awards, we are absolutely delighted to have the Career Bridge program recognized as the winner of the CBC Toronto Vision Award for Immigrant Inclusion. This award recognizes a unique initiative that breaks down employment barriers for skilled immigrants and has the potential to affect change beyond one organization, while also having a wider impact because of partnerships.

While we are very proud to be the recipient of this award, we certainly recognize that this could only have been achieved with the support of our many partners – host employers, community agencies and educational institutions – and senior business leader champions.  We have also attributed the success of Career Bridge to the quality of talent and the supportive onboarding that is an integral element of our successful internship model.

One employer highlighted in the TRIEC IS Award video, the City of Toronto, has hired over 80 interns since 2003 as part of its HR strategy to reflect the diversity of Toronto’s communities. Through Career Bridge and related strategies, the City of Toronto is actively embedding best practices on the hiring and integration of skilled immigrants. Career Bridge is now active in 14 divisions at the City, all of whom keep returning to the program because of the quality of the talent it brings them.

Furthermore, Career Bridge has recently partnered with the Canadian Immigrant Integration Program (CIIP), a project that facilitates skilled immigrants’ transition to Canada by starting the process before they arrive. Career Bridge supports and accelerates CIIP’s efforts by virtually pre-screening their clients who are job-ready and Career Bridge-eligible. Through this relationship Career Bridge is able to tap into the CIIP client base to identify talent consistent with our host employers’ needs. Career Bridge has the capacity for national reach as a result of the partnership with CIIP and its community focal point partners. A number of CIIP clients have registered with Career Bridge and have found internships shortly after arriving in Canada.

Looking forward, we hope that more employers recognize and use the Career Bridge paid internship program as an effective hiring and retention strategy for qualified, global talent. With the continued and growing support of employers, Career Bridge will remain a sustainable and optimum path to permanent employment for internationally qualified newcomers.

Apr 04
Love3

CEO to present at Workforce One-Stop 2012

By Events & Holidays

At the end of this month, Donna Smith, Vice President of Career Edge Organization, will be leading a workshop at The Conference Board of Canada’s Workforce One-Stop 2012 conference, a rebranding of previous conferences focusing on workforce training and career development (most notably, the National Consultation on Career Development and Workforce Learning, aka NATCON).

At last year’s NATCON conference, we presented our second instalment of employer-targeted Gen Y research. Our myth-busting presentation identified what workplace culture actually means to Gen Y, the impact it has on grads’ career planning, and the kinds of research they do to seek and select their employers of choice.

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Mar 01
Love3

Mentoring & Managing Multi-Generations: 5 tips for employers

By Events & Holidays

Last month, our own VP, Donna Smith, was joined by Lauren Friese, Founder of TalentEgg.ca, and Mandy Sutherland, Senior Consultant, Applied Research and Consulting at Steelcase to share insights and best practices around leveraging the strengths of multiple generations in the workplace.

The “Mentoring & Managing Multi-Generations” workshop took place at the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO)’s 55th Annual Conference and Showcase where members and other engaged professionals gathered to exchange information and learn from informative and forward-thinking presentations that are transferable to their respective communities and workplaces.

During her segment of the workshop, Donna offered five tips to employers looking to develop collaborative, complementary, and sustainable multi-generational workplaces:

  1. Find the “lost” generation: Gen X is often overlooked as a result of being sandwiched between the persistent presence of Baby Boomers and the impatient motivations of Gen Y. Leverage the knowledge and experience of Gen X workers by encouraging them to coach Gen Y workers. It’s a win-win situation: Gen Y get the support and guidance they need to develop professionally, while Gen X gain leadership and mentoring skills.
  2. Establish semi-formal task forces: Bridge generational gaps and impart knowledge by encouraging ongoing networking and professional development opportunities.
  3. Compensation packages based on generational priorities: Opt for flexible compensation/benefit packages that suit the needs of each generation. For example, Gen Y look for dental coverage for themselves, whereas Gen X prefer flex hours or child care for their kids, and Baby Boomers appreciate elder care for their parents.
  4. Understand what drives your employees and meet those needs both individually and as a group: Celebrate the different approaches of each generation, while staying focused on company objectives and project goals.
  5. Manage demographics – don’t just play to the biggest audience: Encourage projects that involve employees from different demographics. This goes beyond generational diversity; recognizing and celebrating differences in culture, gender, and ability all play into a healthy and productive workplace.

Furthermore, Donna suggests that the key to successfully implementing all of the above tips is having a clear and mutual understanding of how each generation – and their inherent diversity of culture, gender, and abilities – contribute to the overall business strategies and organizational fit.

We want to know what you’re doing to leverage the potential of each generation in the workplace! Share your tips with us by leaving a comment!

Feb 03
Love4

Career Edge Organization joins GE Canada in celebrating 500 interns

By Events & Holidays

Career Edge Organization is delighted to be celebrating the significant milestone of GE Canada’s 500th intern.

As one of the first organizations to start hiring Career Edge program interns in 1996, GE Canada has continued to leverage the potential of recent graduates, hiring their 500th intern this past December.

“This is an excellent program that brings incredible talent to GE,” notes Terry Peach, Manager of Human Resources, GE Canada.  “The caliber of graduates working in GE has been outstanding, we have offered approximately 40 percent of the intern’s full-time positions, and many of these individuals have gone on to leadership positions within the company.  Others have leveraged their work experience at GE Canada for jobs outside the company.”

GE hosted a celebratory event last Wednesday, bringing together many Career Edge alumni, including the company’s first and 500th interns: Stephanie Bangarth and Mehreen Khan.

Career Edge Organization would like to take this opportunity thank GE Canada for the continuous support of our paid internship programs, and we look forward to another 15 years of launching careers!

Click here to read the press release to learn more about GE Canada and Career Edge Organization’s successful partnership.

Jan 03
Love12

Ringing in a New Year of optimism and change

By Events & Holidays

After a highly eventful – and occasionally exhausting – 2011, the New Year has certainly been welcomed as an opportunity to embrace change and refocus on new projects and priorities.

At Career Edge Organization (CEO), we have already begun transitioning through various organizational shifts over the past couple months, most notably being the unveiling of our new and improved website. This exciting milestone in CEO’s history has brought us ever closer to our ongoing objective of meeting and exceeding the needs of our stakeholders. In 2012, we resolve to continuously improve the quality of our services by using our website as a solid foundation along with our client relationship approach to bringing your talent needs into focus.

In addition to the evolution of our online presence, our social media initiatives (including the CEO blog) welcome a new voice – mine!

Please allow me to introduce myself: I am Sydney Helland, Marketing & Communications Coordinator. Having launched my career at Career Edge Organization through a Career Edge internship nearly two years ago, I have experienced first-hand the effectiveness of our internship model. Since joining in early 2010, I have been fortunate enough to have been mentored by fantastic marketing professionals, and am proud to be the new representative of CEO in our social media forums. In 2012, I look forward to engaging in conversations with Canada’s HR community by sharing insights, perspectives and expertise from Career Edge Organization.

On behalf of Career Edge Organization, I would like to wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year and thank you for your ongoing support during these exciting times as we continue working together to meet your recruitment needs and put diverse, qualified talent to work in 2012.

Tell us how we can help with your 2012 recruitment resolutions! Feel free to comment here, or contact us today!

Dec 19
Love6

Introducing the new www.careeredge.ca!

By Events & Holidays

Today is a special day in Career Edge Organization history as we are proud to unveil our new and improved website, www.careeredge.ca.

Our new website has been a labour of love that was a collaborative effort, not only of our team but of all our stakeholders, including our host employers, alumni, interns and registrants. We took everyone’s input, needs and ideas into consideration, and the result is something we are very proud of.

Of course, no website is perfect. There may always be glitches or areas to improve, but we trust our site will meet all your needs and beyond! Some of our new features include:

  • One website for all your needs – www.careeredge.ca is now your one-stop-shop for sourcing, hiring and managing recent graduates, graduates with disabilities and/or internationally qualified professionals. One login will give you access to all three paid internship programs, internship postings, current and past interns, a wide selection of resources, and much more.
  • Simple navigation, intuitive design – We’ve combined state-of-the-art technology with user-friendly features to create a stylish and universally accessible website to meet your business needs.
  • Intern management made easy – Finding talent has never been easier! Whether you are posting an internship, completing a hire or using the new performance management tool, our website will guide you through all online processes with easy to follow instructions, “info pop-ups,” comprehensive FAQs and video demonstrations.
  • Practical tools and resources – Our employer resources have all been updated to reflect our new look and our growing knowledge in the areas of diversity, recruitment, Gen Y, and much more.
  • Personal dashboard – Your “Activity Log” will help you stay informed and organized without cluttering your email inbox! Upon logging in you will be greeted with your personal dashboard featuring Messages, Alerts and Notices.
  • Reporting 2.0 – We know how important it is to track and monitor your hiring activity. That’s why simple reporting is integrated throughout our website. Need more information? Talk to your Client Relations Manager about our custom reports.
  • Online performance management tool – To ensure both employers and interns get the most out of their internship experiences, we’ve created this proprietary tool to help guide participating Coaches, Managers and HR professionals through the process.
Please enjoy exploring our website! If you have any suggestions, feedback or  questions, feel free to leave us a comment here on the blog, or visit the Contact Us page of our new website!
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