Leaders helping leaders – GTA program celebrates the impact of mentoring on newcomers

TORONTO, January 25, 2017 – Major employers from across the GTA come together today to celebrate their employees who give back to their professional community by mentoring a newcomer to Toronto.

CIBC, KPMG in Canada, the University of Toronto and Seneca College will receive awards for their achievements in mentoring at a special event on January 25 for The Mentoring Partnership, a program of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) and employer and community partners. This event falls during Mentoring Month, a time when Canada celebrates and honours those who give back by being a mentor.

This year’s event, Leaders Helping Leaders, focuses on the leadership qualities exhibited by those who mentor, as well as the skilled immigrants who receive mentoring through the program.

“It’s not just mentors who are leaders – it’s important to recognize that the skilled immigrants they mentor are also leaders in their field”, said Margaret Eaton, Executive Director at TRIEC, “all the more so because they have shown the strength and courage to start again somewhere new.”

“I think it’s important when you have a leadership role to help and mentor people in their careers”, says Jennifer Veenboer, a Senior Policy and Strategic Issues Advisor at the City of Toronto, who has mentored more than 10 newcomer professionals. “It goes back to my belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to access employment.”

CIBC will be recognized as part of the evening’s festivities for supporting 1,000 immigrants through the program.

Matt Petersen, Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion at CIBC says “Mentoring is a true measure of a collaborative, inclusive culture. It’s a win/win scenario which strengthens the leadership and coaching skills of the mentors and develops an expanded professional network and enhanced confidence for their mentees.”

KPMG, who provided mentors to 500 newcomers, will also receive an award. Kunal Verma, Senior Manager, Audit, Consumer and Industrial Markets at KPMG, says of the program: –

“Mentoring new foreign-trained professionals is a very rewarding experience and establishes long lasting relationships. I’ve seen the positive impact mentoring can have on their careers in Canada and, as a mentor, I highly recommend the experience.”

The University of Toronto and Seneca College will be recognized for matching mentors with 100 newcomer professionals.

The Mentoring Partnership is also recognising individual volunteer mentors who have given up their time and made a difference in the lives of 10 or more immigrant professionals, as well as newcomers who received mentoring through the program and have gone on to become mentors themselves.

The program has ambitious plans to grow in coming years. As a result of its partnership with LEAP: the Centre for Social Impact, they received new funding in 2016 from the Ontario Government, the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the RBC Foundation to scale and provide mentors to thousands more recent immigrants across the GTA.

About The Mentoring Partnership
The Mentoring Partnership is a collaboration of employer and community partners, and operates as a program of TRIEC. TRIEC creates and champions solutions to better integrate skilled immigrants in the Greater Toronto Region labour market. Funding for The Mentoring Partnership is provided by the Governments of Canada and Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the RBC Foundation, and Manulife.

Follow @TRIEC or the hashtags #WhyMentor, #TRIECMentoring, and #MentoringMonth to join the celebration!

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For more information and interview requests, please contact:
Helen Davies, Communications Manager, TRIEC
T: (416) 944-1946 ext. 271, C: 647-267-8452, e: hdavies@triec.ca